Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-11, Section: A, page: 4584. Adviser: Eyamba G. Bokamba. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 393-442) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

<p> In spite of growing numbers in high schools and colleges, US-resident adolescent bilingual learners, sometimes termed "English as a second language" (ESL) or "Generation 1.5," are not succeeding academically in proportion to their monolingual English-speaking peers. This achievement gap is evident in their writing as they enter college. Depending on the elementary and secondary schools they have attended, bilingual learners may have received no extra English learning support (often termed "immersion"), ESL support classes, or bilingual education. In addition, depending on school and community resources, bilingual learners have varying knowledge of their first language (L1): some may only speak it, others may have basic L1 literacy, others may have studied their L1 as a school subject, while others may have studied in the medium of their L1, either in their family's home country or in a bilingual education program in the US. The purpose of this study is to determine which kind of English learning support and which kind of L1 education are more likely to prepare bilingual learners to write English successfully at college. </p><p> This study uses three sources of data: a survey on language background, a writing sample, and an optional interview. Twenty-nine college undergraduate bilingual learners participated. Their survey responses develop a profile of the varied kinds of English and L1 education they received. Each participant's communication course placement composition, written as she was applying to college, is analyzed with 12 different measures: six for surface features, four for discourse/rhetorical features, and two for coherence. The writing analysis scores are correlated with the survey data and enriched with interview excerpts to discover which forms of English and L1 education correlate with high or low writing analysis scores. </p><p> The results for this group of participants show that bilingual education and ESL support correlate most often with highly-rated communication placement compositions. Moreover, formal education in the L1 explains the writing analysis scores more accurately than the kind of language learning education the participants received. Interview data suggests that bilingual education and formal L1 education may assist students' English composition skills by helping them develop metalinguistic awareness.</p>

<p> A new French teaching program, &ldquo;French for Spanish Speakers&rdquo; (FSS) is spreading throughout Southern California whose aim is to bridge Spanish and English to facilitate learning French. FSS speculates that Spanish-English speakers have a greater advantage in learning French than monolingual English speakers (MES). This thesis is the first to empirically examine these speculations. The first section contrasts four linguistically different groups&rsquo; French grammar and French written fluency, accuracy, and complexity. The second section attempts to evaluate the FSS program. This study found a statistically significant difference in which Spanish-English speakers produced more fluent and complex compositions than MES. In addition, the findings of this study predict that Spanish-English speakers will ultimately internalize and retain French longer than MES. However, there seems to be no statistical significance in terms of written performance between Spanish-English speakers enrolled in FSS and those enrolled in regular French courses.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of French and Italian, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-09, Section: A, page: 3825. Advisers: Barbara Vance; Julie Auger. Title from dissertation home page (viewed May 7, 2008).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-11, Section: A, page: 4690. Adviser: Diane Musumeci. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 227-233) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-11, Section: A, page: 4317. Adviser: Paul Prior. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 225-233) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-11, Section: A, page: 4158. Adviser: Kimberly McDonough. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 110-119) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-07, Section: A, page: 2423. Adviser: Steven Aragon. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 181-189) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Language Education, 2006. / "Title from dissertation home page (viewed June 26, 2007)." Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-06, Section: A, page: 2085. Adviser: Martha Nyikos.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: . Adviser: Gary A. Cziko. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-87) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.