For the past 7 years in a public Midwestern school district, 75% of the English learners (ELs) in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades have performed below proficiency on the state examination. To address the declining academic achievement, district administration required that K-5 teachers attend professional development (PD) that featured culturally and linguistically responsive (CLR) instructional practices for ELs. Despite district wide PD, school administration did not monitor implementation of these practices and student achievement continued to decline. This qualitative bounded case study was grounded in Vygotsky's constructivism and Krashen's second language acquisition theories. The purpose of this study was to explore teachers' perceptions and use of CLR instructional practices when teaching ELs. Data were collected via 23 individual interviews with and 22 observations of teachers, who had taught ELs within the last 3 years. Data were analyzed using typological analysis and a priori codes were established based on the typologies. Teachers reported they were using academic language and native language in class, but these instructional practices were not supported in observation data. Furthermore, teachers reported that using the student's native language, incorporating language and content, lack of instructional time, and a need for further training in how to teach ELs were barriers that affected implementation of CRL instructional practices. Based on the findings, a 3-day professional development was created to increase teachers' knowledge of how to develop ELs' academic language, to use ELs' native language in the classroom, and to overcome classroom barriers. These endeavors may contribute to positive social change when administrators provide teachers with CLR instructional practices, ELs may increase their academic performance.

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There is an increasing interest in using deep neural networks in various downstream natural language processing tasks. Such models are commonly used as black boxes, meaning that their decision-making is difficult to interpret. In order to build trust in models, it is crucial to analyse their inner workings which lead to predictions. The need to interpret natural language processing models has induced research on linguistically-informed interpretability. This field revolves around choosing specific linguistic phenomena and inspecting models' capability to capture them without being explicitly trained for it.  This thesis project contributes to the field by assessing the ability of BERT-style models to learn subject number in Lithuanian and English. The experiments revolve around designing diagnostic classifiers which are used to determine if the models are capable of learning this particular linguistic phenomenon. The results show that BERT-style models are capable of implicitly learning the number of a subject both in Lithuanian and English. However, this seems to be harder in Lithuanian, as diagnostic classifiers show a lower accuracy. The study observes that the accuracy of logistic regression diagnostic classifiers fluctuates to a large extent. Fully connected neural network classifiers outperform logistic regression classifiers.

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This research analyses the influence of the power of a name, particularly on Zulu speaking people in South Africa. It further analyses the effect of names in other Nguni speaking communities in this country. On a wider scale it also looks at the power and the influence of names given to people of other countries on the African continent. The research primarily investigates the effects of the power of a name on the life of a black person. A name could actually lure a person to enact its meaning. For instance, the name uBagangile could influence the bearer of the name to be generally naughty or if not so, relatives around her might act naughty in different ways. It is pointed out that the act of name-giving with concomitant power vested in a name originates from God. The bearer was expected to act out the meaning of his/her name. God's power hidden in the name would constrain an individual to behave in a certain way within his/her community. The research points out that a name is not only a label that helps in the identification of an individual or an entity. A name is something that is multi-functional. First it becomes a label, a descriptive tool that may refer to a person's body structure. It is possible that a name may divulge a situation in which the person was born. Most importantly, it has the power to make the bearer become what the name means. Usually names carry one of the above accounts. If the name was chosen by an insightful name giver it may carry more than one of the above qualities. During the years of oppression before the advent of democracy in South Africa in 1994, community members made extensive use of names from the languages of the white oppressors. White names had an impact on the lives of bearers, because of the meanings and contexts associated with them. / African Languages / D.Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

<p> </p><p>Internet har sedan starten öppnat nya portar för kommunikation. En av de allra populäraste just nu är att blogga. Att uttrycka sig språkligt har kommit att bli så mycket mer än bara att använda sig av ord. På bloggen ges möjlighet att tillföra bild, film, färg och att använda olika typografiska medel, såsom att kursivera eller göra text fetstilt. Element som alla bidrar till hur text tolkas.</p><p>Utifrån fjorton dagboksbloggar och totalt 289 blogginlägg har min uppsats syftat till att undersöka hur framställning på dessa bloggar, tillhörande gymnasieelever, skett.</p><p>Mina frågeställningar jag utgått ifrån lyder:</p><ul type="disc"><li>Hur använder sig gymnasieungdomar av olika uttrycksmedel för att estetiskt och kreativt skapa ett blogginlägg på så kallade dagboksbloggar?</li></ul><p>-          Hur används rubriksättning, bild, film, färg och olika stilformat på texten för att skapa kommunikation och olika uttryck på blogginläggen?</p><ul type="disc"><li>Hur förhåller sig gymnasieungdomars dagboksblogg till den traditionella dagboken vad det gäller utformning och kommunikationsmöjligheter?</li></ul><p>Genom en strukturalistisk analys, med utgångspunkt hos Jurij Lotman, har jag gripit mig an blogginläggen på olika plan där jag både undersökt detaljer i texten och övergripande utformning. Jag har funnit att dagboksbloggen och dagboken skiljer sig på flera plan. Främst i fråga om kommunikationen som sker öppet på dagboksbloggen. Språkligt utmärker sig bloggen främst genom att ord och meningar betonas genom fetstilt och kursiv text, både för att göra texten mer lättövergriplig men också för att betona uttryck. Smileys och andra känslouttryck visar i sin tur hur ungdomarna undviker missförstånd på ett sätt som inte kräver bearbetning av texten. Jag vill säga att uppsatsen visar på hur en vidgad syn på språklighet och kommunikation idag är nödvändig, i och med de nya medel som tillkommit i dagens IT-samhälle.</p><p> </p> / <p> </p><p>Internet has since the beginning widened the form of communication. In recent times one of the most popular form is via blogs.</p><p>To express yourself has become more than words. The blogs give you the ability to add pictures, videos, colors and more. You are also able to use typological medium like italic and bold types. All these elements contribute to how the text is read and interpreted.</p><p>From 14 different diary blogs written by high school students and 289 posts in total my thesis intend to study which method of fabrications these blogs use.</p><p>The question formulations I have based my thesis on are:</p><p>·         How do high school students use different ways of expressions to esthetical and creatively create posts at the so called diary blogs?</p><p>-          How does headlining, pictures, film, colour and different typological medium being used to create communication and different expression on the posts?</p><p>·         How does the diary blog relate to the traditional diary regarding the formation and forms of communication?</p><p>Through a structuralistic analysis method based on Jurij Lotman’s analysis I’ve approached the posts on different levels, where I examine details in the text but also the structure. I’ve found that the diary blog and the diary separate from each other on several plans, foremost the way of communication which is overt in a diary blog. Linguistically the diary blog distinguish itself from diaries by the way to be able to emphasize words or a sentence with italic and bold types. Smileys and different kinds of emotional forms of expressions are used by the blogger to avoid misconceptions.</p><p>The thesis has proven that a widening way of looking at linguistic and communications are necessary due to the new medium that comes with the IT.</p><p> </p>

abstract: One of the major issues confronting education in Arizona and across the United States has been the consistent low performance of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students in comparison to their peers as evidenced by the disparity of the achievement gap at every level in the educational pipeline. A contributing factor has been the lack of teacher preparation focused on teaching CLD students. Preparation focused on a culturally responsive curriculum about dispositions and pedagogical knowledge and skills as well as field experience placement with CLD students have been previously identified areas to consider when training preservice teachers (PSTs). Therefore, this study examined how a Culturally Responsive and Linguistic Teaching (CRLT) Framework would raise preservice teacher’s critical consciousness about teaching CLD students. The CRLT Framework focused on two specific areas; (a) a culturally responsive curriculum and (b) a team-based service-learning experience. The CRP curriculum included lessons designed to increase PSTs understanding about how their sociolinguist views influenced their pedagogical knowledge about teaching CLD students. In addition, the team-based service-learning approach, as a community of practice, provided experiences for PSTs to apply theory to practice. A mixed method analysis was employed to collect and analyze the quantitative data (surveys) and qualitative data (interviews and photovoice). Results from this study suggested increases in PSTs’ knowledge, self-efficacy, and perceptions of usefulness of CRP in their future practices. The team-based, service-learning component, which was based on a community of practice framework, enhanced the learning experience by allowing students to move from theory to practice and served as an important contributing factor to the overall results. Given the findings of this research study, it appeared that an introductory course focused on a culturally responsive and linguistic teaching influenced PSTs’ dispositions, knowledge, and skills. Thus, providing an introductory course, earlier rather than later, has the potential to change the trajectory of preparing PSTs so they were more prepared to teach CLD students as they continued through their program of study. Results showed effective work with CLD students was about so much more than ‘just good teaching.’ / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2019

The purpose of this multicase study was to describe and explain the perceptions of three Spanish-English culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) high achievers on their biliteracy journeys to become educators in the United States (U.S.), by answering: What elements constitute the perspectives of three L1-Spanish/L2-English CLD high achievers on the relevance of their biliteracy experience in order to become educators in the U.S.?; What factors do these three L1-Spanish/L2-English CLD high achievers perceive as key to describe their biliteracy experience?; What relevance, if any, do these three L1-Spanish/L2-English CLD high achievers perceive their biliteracy experience had for them to become educators in the U.S.?; From the perspectives of these three L1-Spanish/L2-English CLD high-achiever educators, what impact, if any, did digital technologies have on their biliteracy experience? With a critical-pedagogy approach to multicase-study (Stake, 2006) inquiry, I used online methods to collect data on three high-achieving (GPA > 3.01) L1-Spanish graduates initially identified as limited-English-proficient by the American school system. For data collection, I used a participant-selection questionnaire, individual and group semi-structured interviews via Skype, e-journals for biliteracy autobiographies, artifact e-portfolios, my reflective e-journal, and one face-to-face unstructured interview with one participant only. Concurrently, I engaged in on-going data analysis to build meaning inductively and guide further data collection, analysis, and interpretation, until saturation, in an application of the dialectical method into research (Ollman, 2008). I included the email communications with the participants and their member checks. Two external auditors reviewed all data-collection and analytic procedures. I analyzed each case individually followed by the cross-case analysis. The findings indicated the importance of family and L1-community support, host-culture insiders as mentors, access to information, empowerment by means of conscientization, and the participants' advocacy of others by becoming educators. In this way, the study identified how the participants escaped the statistics of doom, which helps understand how to better serve growing L2-English student populations. The study closed with a discussion from the viewpoint of reviewed literature and critical pedagogy, my interpretation of the findings, and suggestions for future praxis in education and research.

A large number of English language learners (ELLs) in secondary school are long-term ELLs who have attended public schools in the United States for at least seven years, having received English language support services, yet have not acquired English proficiency (Capps, Fix, Murray, Ost, Passel, & Herwantoro., 2005). Formal or informal programs and educational services to address the particular needs of long-term ELLs are scant to non-exist (Zehr, 2010). In spite of the growing presence of long-term ELLs in secondary schools, little research has been conducted about their academic challenges. Due to the scarcity of research, effective practices for long-term ELLs in secondary school are very limited (Ruix-de-Velasco & Fix, 2000). Research is needed to better understand risk factors associated with dropping out, retention, and the high incidence of disproportionate representation of long-term ELLs in special education programs. Equally absent from available literature are the voices of students themselves. This study aims to expand the existing database about long-term ELLs' academic challenges from the perspective of students themselves about their language and academic learning experiences. A qualitative, naturalistic inquiry (NI) approach was utilized to explore the perceptions of long-term ELLs about their learning experiences in the context of their school history, including program placements, special education referral, and academic outcomes. Thirteen long-term ELLs at a high school in metropolitan area of Texas were participated in this study. Data were generated from semi-structured, in-depth interviews and various documents, including students' cumulative folders, language proficiency assessment records, and the state assessment data, and analyzed using a grounded theory approach. The findings of the study indicate that participants experienced multiple layers of lack of opportunity to learn as they moved through the educational process. Participants perceived themselves as English-proficient, motivated learners who were successful in spite of challenges they had experienced, which they attributed mainly to their limited development of academic language proficiency in English. The study also revealed a gap between participants' postsecondary aspirations and the reality of their academic underachievement, which raises questions about the adequacy of general educational programs for this population and appropriate identifications of ELLs with disabilities. / text

Doctor of Public Health / For many years the major cause of infant mortality in NSW has been the result of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Statistics show the area defined as 'Western Sydney' is no exception, and in 2002, a report prepared by the Epidemiology, Indicators, Evaluation and Research Unit (EIRE) in Western Sydney presented data indicating SIDS rates in the area were higher than the state average. In particular, two Local Government Areas (LGAs) had clusters of SIDS deaths. Previous Australian research identified a higher risk of SIDS and other causes of infant mortality in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations. The areas of Western Sydney where SIDS rates were higher than expected were home to Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Pacific Island residents. The number of SIDS deaths in Aboriginal infants did not explain the higher than expected rate of SIDS in the areas under investigation. Studies undertaken in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands have identified higher than expected risk of SIDS in Maori and Pacific Island communities in those countries, although this has never been studied in Pacific Island residents living in Australia. The reasons for these communities exhibiting a higher than normal SIDS rate is not completely understood, but can be partially explained by behavioural practices which are known to impact adversely on the risk of SIDS. This study sought to investigate the level of knowledge concerning the prevention of sudden and unexpected death in infants (SUDI) in three key groups of infant caregivers: general practitioners, nurses and parents living or working in the area geographically defined by Sydney West Area Health Service (WSAHS). In addition, the study sought to identify any variation in knowledge of SIDS reduction strategies in the three groups under study, and to investigate factors influencing knowledge and practice in these participants. The study findings were then used as a basis on which to develop strategies and recommendations to enhance the delivery of safe sleeping messages through the health care system. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, this cross-sectional study highlights a number of issues around infant care practices and the major influences on new parents living in a multicultural community. Results of the study showed there is a large variation in knowledge around safe sleeping practices (including SIDS reduction strategies) in all the groups studied. Although educational campaigns are conducted regularly, many general practitioners and parents are confused about the key SIDS reduction messages and still place infants in sleeping positions considered unsafe. While nurses and midwives were aware of the SIDS reduction strategies, they still occasionally used infant sleeping positions considered unsafe. General practitioners born overseas in a country where English is not the first language were less likely to be familiar with safe sleeping messages, including SIDS reduction strategies. Families from a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) background were less likely to have seen SIDS information in their own language than families who spoke English, and as a result were more likely to use traditional methods of infant care, including co-sleeping with siblings and parents and side or tummy sleeping. CALD parents were more likely to rely on herbal remedies and friends and family for assistance, than English speaking parents who accessed health professionals as the first point of call when infants were unwell. The study identified a relatively recent practice, which until reported in this study, has not been documented in the literature. The practice of draping infant prams with blankets originated from the Cancer Council of Australia guidelines which recommend covering a pram with a light muslin wrap to protect infants’ skin from the sun. It appears parents have misinterpreted this message and are covering infant prams with blankets to encourage sleep, even when sun exposure is not an issue. Research suggests that poor air quality around the head of an infant may affect an infant’s arousal response. While no research has been conducted on the air quality around an infants head when covered by a heavy blanket in a pram, it is possible based on research into air quality around infants, that that this practice may increase the risk of sudden and unexpected death in an infant. In conclusion, this study found that multiple changes to the SIDS reduction messages since the initial ‘Reduce the Risks’ Campaign have led to confusion about ways of preventing SIDS in GPs, nurses and parents in Western Sydney. The study makes seven recommendations aimed at improving knowledge of safe sleeping practices in these groups, and optimizing health outcomes for infants using a collaborative approach to service delivery and future initiatives.