The Swedish study circle is a type of popular, non-formal adult education which was adapted in Sweden from an idea which originated in the Chautauqua Literary Circles of the late 1800s. Study circles became instrumental not only in providing educational opportunities to adults but in promoting non-violent social change in Sweden. These are still the most popular form of adult education in Scandinavia. The conditions which led early Swedish educators to adopt the study circle as an educational alternative were similar to those which led a group of Latino educators in the United States to use an adapted model of the original version of study circles with three groups of Latinas in a community-based agency. Current study circles in Sweden have evolved far away from the original model and the intention of this project was to use the original concepts. This study reviews the history and variety of adaptations of study circles in different settings and explores the extent to which this model could be adapted and used for empowerment education, and how gender and differences of race, ethnicity, language, culture and class influence personal and collective development. The study uses a qualitative research methodology grounded in feminist principles. The author took a leadership role and participated in an action-oriented process which led this group of Latinas to begin a journey of reclaiming their integrity and heritage. The results of this study revealed that study circles as adapted can be a powerful strategy for Latinas to break silence about their particular experiences of oppression. The study circles promoted a safe and caring environment which allowed the women to begin a process of discovering their power and ability to name, to reflect upon, analyze and value their experiences. From this experience a different set of conditions emerged which were essential for the success of study circles. Some of these include having a foundation in an organization with a commitment to promote people-centered education within a process of consciousness-raising.

The purpose of the study was to examine reading strategies used for students whose spoken language is Spanish, and are learning to read in Spanish. The study has as one of its goals, to try to unify the methods used in the process of reading development for Spanish speaking students. The study describes events of reading in six classrooms, and explore methods used in the development of reading. The impact of these methods on students and the result of testing. Another goal is to explore the attitudes of teachers, and if these attitudes affect implementation of methodology. The information for the study was gathered through interviews and questionnaires with teacher respondents and, students, as well as test scores at the end of the trial period. The test used was the, Unit Test, used in many Bilingual Programs. The test are divided into two parts. The teacher determines when to offer the test after having taught the skills of the Unit, according to the basic series used by the Bilingual Program. The gathered information showed which of the reading strategies used for the development of reading of Spanish speaking first graders appeared most effective. The three strategies reported by teachers were: The Phonics Methods, Whole Language and a combination of both methods (and in some cases other methods were included in the combination). From the information shown in the findings chapter it can be observed that the Phonics Method obtained the highest percentage when used as a reading strategy. The combination of methods obtained the second highest percentage as a reading strategy. The Whole Language Method obtained the lowest percentage when used as a reading strategy for Spanish speaking children. Students of teachers who have an average of 17-18 years of experience, had the highest scores in the tests. This is relevant, for the methods are not the only variable that seems to affect the results.

Previous studies on the sensitivity of Subjacency by adult L2 learners whose native language does not observe the rule have drawn different conclusions concerning adult sensitivity to Universal Grammar (UG) principles. This study further explores this issue by investigating not only Subjacency but also the Empty Category Principle (ECP). Using Chinese L2 learners of English, the present study tests their limitations on extraction out of several island conditions and their sensitivity to Wh-arguments (what, who, which) and Wh-adjuncts (when, where, how and why). Participants in the study included 180 Chinese freshmen and sophomores in a Chinese university, who were non-English majors and had never been exposed to an English speaking country and 16 Chinese L2 learners who were studying at University of Massachusetts at the time of study and who had at least 3 years of intensive English training before and had continually employed English afterwards. 25 English-speakers also participated in the study as a control group. They were asked to perform a grammaticality judgment task and a reading comprehension task on Subjacency and the ECP. The proficiency of the first group was measured with CELT and Assessment of Syntactic Capabilities tests. The study has found Chinese L2 learners demonstrated limitations on extraction from island conditions. Once they had sophistication in English, their performance score on Subjacency tasks showed no difference from that of the native English-speaking group. The informants also treated the different island conditions differently. They also distinguished Subjacency violations in relative clauses from that in noun complement clauses. In the reading comprehension task, the 180 Chinese informants had similar patterns to the control group and the children in DeVilliers' study. They allowed Wh-LD movement when the COMP in the embedded clause was not filled in English; when the COMP in medial was filled, they (like children and native speakers), gave answers to the lower clause when the trace was properly governed; they distinguished argument questions from adjunct questions by giving more answers to the former than the later questions. The study considers the implications of the above results for L2 teaching.

In Southern New England as well as throughout the United States, middle school and high school aged language minority students are often found to be poor readers and writers of English despite their having received extensive English as a Second Language instruction in the primary grades. By and large, these are children who did not have the opportunity to fully develop literacy in their strongest language due to the school's policy that they be exposed to English as soon and as much as possible. Such a dilemma produces two negative possibilities to the secondary student which often contributes to a decision to drop out of school: the students' taking less demanding courses in which they do not wish to be enrolled, or the students' being enrolled in the program of their choice and finding the level of scholarship which is required to be overwhelming. This study measures the effects of varying degrees of native language literacy development on the mainland Portuguese immigrant child's later reading success in English as measured at the secondary school level. Specifically, it examines the impact of four to six years of participation in a community-operated, Portuguese language after-school program (in grades two through seven) on junior and senior high school English reading achievement as measured on the MAT6. The study also examines the relationship between participation in both this program and the primary grade (K-2) public school transitional bilingual education program in terms of later reading achievement in English. The results of the study indicate that a student's chances to be a good reader in English increased proportionally with the degree of development he/she had attained in literacy in the native language. The most successful group consisted of students who had been enrolled in both the bilingual education program and the after-school, Escola Portuguesa program. Conclusions. That public schools consider either providing late-exit bilingual education programs instead of early-exit programs currently in use, or that they work to help community groups to design and implement their own structured, after-school programs whereby native literacy can develop beyond the level which is provided in the early-exit, TBE model.

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The present study was conducted to ascertain undergraduate views about the effectiveness of International Teaching Assistants (ITAs) in the American classroom. The study was administered to a stratified cluster sampling by college of the target population, undergraduate students at the University of Central Florida, in Orlando, Florida. The instrument used, Questionnaire of Undergraduates about International Teaching Assistants (QUITA) as developed by Wanda Fox (1990), is composed of a total of 40 items regarding personal and academic background, cultural exposure to and views about non-native speakers of English, and ITA-classroom effectiveness and problem-solving strategies. On the basis of data from the Fall 1998 semester, approximately 15% of the total number of ITA-taught course sections per college were surveyed. The subjects responded anonymously using computerized answer sheets. Upon completion of the data collection phase, all surveys were analyzed for response frequencies. In addition, background and demographic information regarding the participants and information regarding undergraduate exposure to IT As and IT A instruction were also summarized. The Likert-type items were combined to reveal an overall ATITA (Attitude toward International Teaching Assistants) score. The results of the ATITA portion of the study indicate that undergraduate student views toward IT As and IT A instruction are between neutral and mildly positive. Furthermore, survey responses indicated that undergraduates resolve conflicts involving IT As through personal means. The closing recommendations suggest maintaining open lines of communication between undergraduates, ITAs, and administrators alike.

Contemporary theorists have explored the potential benefits of using literature in higher education foreign language programs to achieve a broader linguistic, cultural and aesthetic focus. Their insights have drawn attention to the current practice of college foreign literature. Three problems having serious implications for the pedagogical results have emerged. First, the potential benefits of foreign literature study are still unrecognized and the role of literature in college foreign language instruction remains unclear. Second, since there is still a bias against the integration of literary criticism into undergraduate curricula, students are not equipped with critical concepts and methods needed for higher levels of literary study. Third, because empirical research is lacking, many pedagogical issues and instructional ideas have remained undiscovered. The purpose of this study was to examine content and methods of current pedagogical practice in college foreign literature instruction, and the viability of teaching literary criticism at the undergraduate level. Using Spanish as a prototype, a survey based on questionnaires and follow-up interviews was conducted with Spanish language and literature instructors at the Five Colleges in Western Massachusetts. The investigation included: objectives for teaching literature; selection of curriculum; perspectives on literary criticism; relative study of literature and language, and literature and culture; and finally, the structure of literature courses within language programs. The data revealed that foreign literature teachers see the ideal curriculum as developing reading comprehension, content analysis, multicultural awareness, and critical thinking. Four pedagogical issues were identified: the gap between literature and language; the inadequacy of cultural study in literature; the difficulty of teaching criticism; and the structure of literature courses in foreign language programs. The majority supported the teaching of literary criticism as a goal of the college literature major's professional training. However, no concerted efforts have been directed toward this goal. The areas of difficulty that emerged were the following: students' limited linguistic level; theoretical and textual problems of criticism; and the deficiencies of course structures. Ideas, approaches and techniques were also explored.

Bilingual education is controversial in many places in the U.S. Some traditional bilingual education programs only stress teaching a second language to non-native English speakers. Sometimes in these programs, non-native English speakers remain separated from native English speakers, have low expectations placed upon them, and do not learn English proficiently. Diverse groups have proposed eliminating bilingual education, and bilingual education was banned in California and Arizona. Hillcrest Elementary School, located in Orlando, Florida, has a large percentage of students who speak English, Spanish and Vietnamese as their first languages. Hillcrest Elementary is distinctive, since it teaches bilingual education to both non-native and native English speakers. Second-language instruction at Hillcrest Elementary differs from the standard model; for example, students are taught science in their second language. Students also have what is called "Community Time," where students who speak different native languages are mixed together, and are taught subjects in English. The purpose of my research was to gain an understanding of the type of bilingual education taught at the school, including how the curriculum is set up and taught. I began ethnographic fieldwork using the cultural anthropology method of participant observation by volunteering in an after-school program at Hillcrest Elementary starting in Spring 2004. I also observed language classes at Hillcrest, carried out interviews with administrators, faculty members, teachers, parents and students at the school, and examined FCAT scores. My analysis shows that students are succeeding at learning a second language, and that Hillcrest Elementary has an effective bilingual program.