The purpose of this study is to explore the viability of an international distance English-language program in the development of language and cultural proficiency. Students participated in tests at the beginning and at the end of the course to determine how well they developed both language and cultural proficiencies. The measures included (a) the computer-administered Oral Proficiency Interview (OPIc) from theAmerican Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), (b) ACTFL-aligned assessments of reading, listening, grammar, and vocabulary skills, and (c) the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS). In addition, course activities surveys provided additional information about student perceptions of course activities. Participants in this study came from various countries as they prepared to attend a U.S. university in Hawaii.The distance learning program fostered language proficiency through various learning activities, with an emphasis on synchronous dialogue over video chat technologies. In addition to English-language proficiency, the program sought to help students learn to effectively communicate with students from other cultures. Cross-cultural proficiency was fostered through cross-cultural dialogue with tutors, teachers, and other students. Students showed improvement in speaking, listening, vocabulary, and grammar. However, on average, students did not show an improvement in reading proficiency. Students reported that dialogue with tutors and teachers was among the most helpful activities in learning English. Students showed some improvement in cultural proficiency. However, this improvement was not universal across all measures of cultural proficiency. Students reported that certain activities—particularly dialogue with tutors and other students—as helpful in developing cross-cultural proficiencies.This study also investigated the relationship between language proficiency and cultural proficiency. Results were mixed. With a few exceptions, cultural proficiency did not predict a student’s language proficiency at the beginning of the course, during the course, or at the end of the course.

Over the last five years, there has been an increased number of computers in schools and teachers' colleges in Jamaica. In addition, recently revised national policy documents have indicated the need to infuse technology into the curricula of all schools. Despite these investments in computers, however, there has been little corresponding development in training teachers to use computers and emerging technologies as teaching learning tools. The purposes of the study were three-fold: (a) to describe the current state of technology integration in Jamaica's teacher training programs (b) assess the extent to which teachers' college faculty and pre-service teachers perceived themselves as prepared to teach with computers, as well as their perceived computer proficiency; and (c) to use data gathered in the study to inform an action plan for integrating technology into Jamaica's teacher training programs. To gather required data, a survey design was employed because the study required collection of data from a large number of persons located in diverse sections of the island. Data were collected from three distinct groups of participants in three teachers' colleges in Jamaica. These included six teachers' college administrators--two principals and four vice-principals, 121 teachers' college faculty, and 268 final-year pre-service teachers. Data were gathered through interviews with college administrators and IT faculty, questionnaires administered to college faculty and pre-service teachers, and focus group discussions with pre-service teachers. The results indicate that, in general, teacher training programs in Jamaica have not systematically incorporated technology in the college curricula. In addition, to a large extent, teachers' college faculty and pre-service teachers did not perceive themselves as prepared to teach with computers. These respondents also reported low levels of proficiency with various computer tools. In response to the urgent need to integrate technology into Jamaica's teachers' college curricula, the author proposes a new VIBES conceptual framework as an action plan specifically designed to facilitate technology integration into this setting. VIBES is comprised of five components: Vision, Infrastructure, Behaviour, Experience, and Support, hence the acronym. Each component of VIBES is required in teacher training programs if technology is to be systematically incorporated into the college curricula.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the educational outcomes of Lebanese-background students in high schools in South-western Sydney, and to investigate some of the factors contributing to their pattern of achievement. The main thrust of this study is to empirically examine in detail two factors which are strong contributors to school achievement. The first is the motivational goals of these students. The second is the Language proficiency of Lebanese-background students in their first language (Arabic) and their second lanaguage (English). The study involves quantitative analyses of two sets of questionnaires administered to all the Year 9 students in three South-western metropolitan Sydney high schools. The Year 10 School Certificate results of this same group of students was then used to measure their level of achievement. Four groups were established for comparison: the non-Lebanese-, English-, Chinese- and Vietnamese- background groups. This study is contextualized within a discussion of some of the family factors which contribute to the achievement of migrant children in schools. Of particular relevance to Lebanese-background students are the socio-economic and educational background of parents, and the historical and social context of the Lebanese in Australia. The thesis concludes by putting forth some recommendations which involve the collaborative efforts of the home, the school and the community, suggesting that part of the solution lies in this collaborative effort. Boundaries can be crossed and stereotypes changed only through a concerted effort by the three sides / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Today, English is spoken by more non-native speakers than native speakers; current estimates by Graddol (2007) indicate five to one. With this transformation English has become the international language of business and intercultural communication. The emergence of English as Lingua Franca is apparent in Korean society where English plays a defining role in educational, career, social, cultural, and economic domains. Despite such inextricable links the acquisition of English in Korea has not been successful. This study examines the relationship between Korean university students' International Posture or non-ethnocentric attitude (Yashima, 2002, p. 57) and their L2 (Second Language) Learning Motivation, and L2 Proficiency in English, first described by Yashima (2002) in her study of Japanese EFL (English as a Foreign Language) tertiary students. The methodology used in this thesis was quantitative as it employed Likert scales in order to elicit students' International Posture, and L2 Motivation, and obtained L2 Proficiency from percentile grades in the TOEIC exam. With the use of path analysis software, AMOS 7, data from 118 university freshman (majoring in English literature) from Hannam University, South Korea were analyzed in order examine the relationship between International Posture, L2 Learning Motivation, and L2 Proficiency among South Korean EFL students. The results indicated a significant and very strong relationship between International Posture and L2 Learning Motivation and a significant and moderate relationship between L2 Learning Motivation and overall L2 Proficiency. The findings of the study conclude that EFL learner motivation can be understood by an agglomeration of integrative and instrumental motivational orientations. The findings in this study also suggest that the tendency for Korean EFL learners to approach, rather than avoid, interaction with people of different cultures is especially important to understanding Korean tertiary level students' attitude, motivation and performance in EFL. These findings could be implemented in the classroom by providing Korean EFL learners with safe and appropriate opportunities to interact with foreigners. Potential areas for further research include longitudinal studies (utilizing both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies) that look into the effect of EFL learner age, gender, and teaching pedagogy on International Posture, L2 Learning Motivation, and L2 Proficiency.

This study sets out to describe the current situation in the Home Tutor Scheme in the Australian Capital Territory, and to evaluate the Scheme's effectiveness in achieving its goals as listed in the Australian Institute of Multicultural Affairs Review (1980). These stated goals were: to improve the students' English language proficiency, to encourage integration of the students into the wider community, and to prepare them to attend more formal English language classes. The writer also considered a further question in evaluating the Scheme, whether it satisfied the needs and expectations of the tutors and the students. There were two sections to the investigation: the main study, in which the progress of eighteen tutors and their students was followed for a period of up to six months, and a subsidiary study that was designed to assess the generalisability of the data elicited in the main study. A range of instruments were employed. In the main study, findings were derived principally from interviews, and from lesson reports written by tutors. In the subsidiary study, data were collected by means of questionnaires issued to a greater number of tutors and to students from the Scheme's four major language backgrounds. The introductory chapter sets out the purpose of the study and explains its relevance in the current Australian context. This is followed, in Chapter 2, by a review of the relevant literature and previous research. The design of the study is set out in Chapter 3, where details are given of the procedures and instruments employed to gather data. In Chapters A, 5 and 6, the results of the study are presented. Discussion of these results and a consideration of their implications may be found in Chapter 7. In the final chapter, Chapter 8, the findings are summarised and recommendations are made for future developments in the Scheme. In summary, the study found that in the ACT the Scheme was achieving some success in its language teaching and social objectives, and in satisfying its student clientele. It was also found, however, that the Scheme's operational efficiency was hampered by the low level of staffing and that a significant number of tutors withdrew from the Scheme after a short period because they were not experiencing a high level of satisfaction. The recommendations made would, it is thought, lead to greater efficiency of organisation and could raise the level of tutor satisfaction.

本研究主要探討台北市國中生的單字能力及性別差異是否影響其英語單字策略的使用。主要目標欲(1)探究三組單字能力組別在單字策略使用上的差異；(2)探討男女生使用單字策略的頻率；(3)發現單字策略使用上的性別差異；(4)確認單字能力組別內，在單字策略使用上的性別差異；以及(5)從性別的角度來說明單字策略使用的規則。 共有來自台北市區一所國中的203位學生參與本研究。研究工具為單字策略使用問卷及英語單字能力測驗。前者用來引出學生所認為的單字策略使用方式，而後者則是用來將學生依單字能力分成高中低三組。資料分析採用SPSS 12.0版本，分析工具包含描述性統計、單因子變異數分析、及獨立樣本t檢定。本研究結果指出(1)單字能力越高的學生，傾向使用較多的單字策略，尤以決定策略、社會策略、記憶策略、及後設認知策略最為顯著。(2)整體而言，男生及女生使用單字策略的頻率皆不高。男女生皆最常使用決定策略，最少使用後設認知策略。(3)除在整體策略、決定策略、記憶策略、認知策略有顯著較高的使用頻率外，女生也比男生較常使用與歸類相關單字、運用學習工具作手寫練習、及聽力練習等相關的單一策略。(4)單字能力組別內，亦發現十七個單一策略具有顯著的性別差異。大部份策略顯示女生運用的頻率較高。然而高分組男生使用聽英文廣播及想像單字畫面比高分組女生較頻繁，且中間組別的男生較女生常使用分析字根字首。(5)對男女生而言，發音及意思是學習單字中最難的兩部份。雙方在有效的策略上有所共識，但在無效果的策略上意見有些分歧。至於教師協助的需求方面，男生偏好動態的單字練習，女生則較喜歡靜態的學業練習。 最後，本研究建議教師應該(1)介紹學生更多元的單字策略，尤其是低成就的學生；(2)進行以策略為主的教學時，將性別差異納入考量；(3)就單字能力及性別差異的交互關係，進一步了解學生單字策略的偏好。 / This study investigated vocabulary proficiency and gender differences in English vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) used by junior high school students in Taipei. The goals were to (1) explore the differences in VLS use among three vocabulary scoring levels, (2) to investigate the frequencies use of VLS by male and female students, (3) to find out gender differences in VLS use, (4) to indentify gender difference in VLS use in terms of vocabulary scoring level, and (5) to illustrate the patterns of VLS use in gender perspectives. A total of 203 junior high school students from an urban school in Taipei City were involved in the study. A vocabulary learning strategy questionnaire (VLSQ) and an English vocabulary proficiency test (EVPT) were administered as instruments. The former was used to elicit the self-report strategy use by the students and the latter was utilized to categorize the participants into three vocabulary levels. The data was analyzed by employing SPSS version 12.0, including descriptive analysis, one-way analysis of variance, and independent t-Tests. A summary of the results are as follows. (1) The higher vocabulary level students belonged to, the more VLS they tended to apply, especially determination strategies, social strategies, memory strategies and metacognitvie strategies. (2) Both male and female students could be regarded as moderate users of VLS. Both groups favored determination strategies the most and metacognitive strategies the least. (3) Besides a significantly more frequent use of overall strategies, determination strategies, memory strategies and cognitive strategies, female students also tended to use more often individual strategies concerning grouping related words together, writing practice with study aids and auditory practice. (4) Significances found in each scoring group seemed to favor female students in strategy use, except three strategies, analyzed affixes and roots by the Intermediate-Scoring group, listening to English broadcast and image word’s meanings by the High-Scoring group. (5) To both genders, the most difficult aspects in learning vocabulary are pronunciation and meanings. As for the effectiveness of VLS, male and female students had the same opinions on the most five but thought slightly differently on the least five. Besides, sharing some similar needs for teachers’ assistance, male students preferred dynamic vocabulary activities but female students favored academic vocabulary practice. The findings suggest teachers should (1) introduce a variety of VLS to students, particularly those of lower levels, (2) take gender differences into consideration when administering strategies-based instruction, and (3) be aware of students’ preferences of VLS use with both gender and vocabulary level perspectives.

<p>This essay attempts to investigate the use of lexical chunks in an empirical way. It tries to probe into the possible relationship between L2 learners competence of lexical chunks and their language production through analysing results from a multiple-choice chunk test and a writing test.</p>

A study was conducted among a sample of Korean American students to investigate the potential moderation of the risks related to English proficiency by the protection of school belonging. Perceived scholastic competence, self-reported school grades, and academic expectancies were used for dependent variables. It was hypothesized that students with higher sense of belonging would be less affected by English proficiency than their peers with lower sense of belonging. The risk of English proficiency was confirmed. However, school belonging did not have as much of an effect as expected and students with higher English proficiency seemed to gain more benefit from increased school belonging. This finding reminds educators of the pressing importance of English proficiency, and future research is suggested to investigate the unique effects of belonging among students of Korean, and perhaps other Asian, backgrounds.

This study investigated cognitive factors that might influence Chinese EFL learners’ argumentative essay writing in English. The factors that were explored included English (L2) language proficiency, Chinese (L1) writing ability, genre knowledge, use of writing strategies, and working memory capacity in L1 and L2. Data were collected from 136 university students who received a battery of tests in two sessions. The tests consisted of timed essay writing tasks in L1 and L2, post-writing questionnaires for genre knowledge and use of strategies in the writing process, a timed grammaticality judgment task for L2 grammar knowledge, a receptive vocabulary test and a controlled-production vocabulary test for L2 vocabulary knowledge, and working memory span tasks in L1 and L2. Quantitative analyses using correlations, paired-samples t-test, analysis of variance and multiple regression revealed that L2 language proficiency is the most important predictor of L2 writing, followed by genre knowledge and L2 writing strategies. L1 writing ability and working memory capacity have slight impact as explanatory variables for L2 writing performance in the timed essay writing task.

Purpose: Our purpose is to study how language proficiency and cross-cultural adaptation affect ethnically diverse teams in their cross-cultural communication competence. Methodology: The data was collected through six interviews of team members working in a product development project in a multinational company. The interviews were conducted in March of 2012. The data analysis followed an interpretative thematic analysis inspired by Boyatzis (1998). To analyze the data we have utilized some steps of the thematic analysis. With the analysis it was identified that ethnically diverse teams build language proficiency and cross-cultural adaptation. Findings: The findings from this research indicate that cross-cultural adaptation and language proficiency should be considered as important dimensions of cross-cultural communication competence within ethnically diverse teams. Language proficiency remains a challenge for many ethnically diverse teams and should be included in studies related to communication. Employees’ ability to adapt to the current environment and culture has an essential impact on team communication. Research limitations/implications: The research was done in a Multinational company based in Sweden within one team at Electrolux AB, therefore implications from our study may not be applicable to all ethnically diverse teams in Multinational companies globally.