The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the cultural competence of district leaders and their potential resulting influence on campus leaders in the face of a rapidly changing educational and community landscape. A secondary purpose was to ascertain district and school leaders' placement on the cultural proficiency continuum to gain a greater understanding of (a) the potential effect, if any, that district leaders' level of cultural competency had on the cultural competency of campus leaders, and (b) how the cultural competency level of both district and campus leaders influenced district policies, practices, and school climate. The analysis and interpretation of findings of this research study were based on a conceptual framework, informed by the six constructs of the cultural proficiency continuum as developed by R. Lindsey, Nuri-Robins, D. Lindsey and Terrell. Four district office leaders and three campus principals, from the same district, were selected as participants. The campus principals represented elementary, middle, and high schools. Data were gathered from semi-structured face-to-face interviews with each participant, three meeting observations, and document analysis. Findings revealed evidence of a strong relationship between district leaders' cultural competence, campus principals' cultural competence, and district policies and procedures. There was also a direct relationship between the district leaders' cultural competence levels and their direct reports' level of cultural competence. This study can afford school districts an opportunity to recognize the value and implications of culturally proficient leaders, as they serve all students.

abstract: English proficiency is one of the major factors affecting international students’ academic adjustment to American universities. Many international college students select to improve their academic English proficiency through an English intensive program. Collaborative learning is an educational approach to teaching and learning that allows students and teachers to engage in a common task and work together to search for knowledge and skills. This thesis study aims to develop, design, and iteratively refine strategies to help English intensive program teachers build collaborative learning and promote international students’ effective collaboration, so as to improve students' academic English proficiency. In this study, two different collaborative learning strategies were designed, implemented and iterated. Data was collected using qualitative methods and follow the principle of design-based research (DBR; Barab, 2014) The results of this study suggest that successful instructional strategies for collaborative learning should be designed in the following ways. First, gathering participants’ opinions and feedback at all phases of design and iteration; Second, linking the new strategies or activity to students’ grade should be the center of the design. Third, in DBR，researchers need to be patient to build good relationships with practitioners, which can provide a basis for continuing research. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Art 2020

Language is central to all teaching and learning. The ability to communicate effectively, and more specifically during instruction is one of the key competencies beginner teachers should develop. While English is the home language of ±10% of South Africans, the majority of learners are taught in English from Grade 4 onwards, many of their teachers being non-native English speakers themselves. The English proficiency level of most South African teachers has been identified as problematically low by a number of researchers. This study aimed to investigate the nature of Classroom English and the underlying oral English proficiency of native isiZulu-speaking pre-service teachers as a first step toward being able to better support Classroom English proficiency development of non-native pre-service teachers. Within my conceptual framework for the study oral English proficiency is viewed as part of and foundational to Classroom English proficiency. A mixed methods approach was used. Data were gathered through questionnaires which gauged perceptions of the pre-service teachers’ English proficiency in the classroom as well as voice recordings of lessons they presented during their practice teaching period in rural KwaZulu-Natal schools. Voice recordings of this case study were analysed with the support of existing oral English proficiency rubrics and a self-designed Classroom English proficiency rubric. In a broad sense findings correspond with previous studies in similar fields, pointing to the nature of Classroom English of this case study at a level not considered ideal for effectively facilitating teaching and learning. These isiZulu-speaking preservice teachers require more support to develop better Classroom English proficiency. An approach that specifically addresses development of language proficiencies required in the classroom, with vocabulary and grammar embedded therein, is suggested. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Humanities Education / MEd / Unrestricted

Doctor Educationis / The language of instruction plays a determining role in students’ academic performance. This suggests that students should be taught in a language they are familiar with in order to enhance understanding of the content subjects. In Rwanda, almost all Rwandans communicate and interact in Kinyarwanda, their mother tongue. It is, thus, expected that Rwandan children should be instructed in this home language. However, the status of English as a global language has also found echo in Rwanda, and this foreign language was adopted as medium of instruction from Primary 4 onwards. This thesis, therefore, aims to determine what role English as a medium plays in delivering quality education in Rwanda. To respond to the above question, the researcher investigated three secondary Third Form schools in the rural Gisagara District of the Southern Province. She wanted to explore the teaching and learning strategies deployed in the English language classrooms and the learning materials and infrastructure available at the schools. The focus was on English language classes as these were the spaces in which Rwandan children were explicitly exposed to English and where their proficiency in the language was developed. However, the researcher also needed to find out the effect that English had on the students’ academic performance, the correlation between their results in English and their results in content subjects, and the students’ and teachers’ perceptions of English as language of instruction. It is in this vein that a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches was used and various data collection techniques employed to obtain enriched data. Classroom observations and interviews with students and their English teachers were conducted. A questionnaire was also distributed to the students and their results in English and in content subjects were analysed to supplement the data generated by other methods. This study was guided by sociocultural theories of second language learning according to which language is a mediating tool that helps to adjust relationships between people that live in the same community. Language is, hence, a necessary artifact that is worth acquiring. For language learning to take place, learners need to interact with more knowledgeable people. In the classroom, it is the teacher who has to mediate this learning, assuming that he/she is more knowledgeable than the students. Classroom peer interactions in the target language also provide room wherein brighter students may assist their struggling classmates. Language across the curriculum approach and content-based instruction also inspired this study. These approaches suggest that language should be taught in context and especially through the content related to the students’ fields of study. The research findings indicate that the students were not proficient in English, the language of instruction, which hindered their school achievement. In addition, no correlation could be established between the students’ results in English and their results in content subjects. Indeed, despite the students’ poor performance in English they did better in this language than in the content subjects. Furthermore, not all students who fared well in English succeeded in the content subjects, and some students scored good marks in the content subjects whilst they failed in English. The findings also show that the teaching and learning strategies used in the language classrooms, as well as the learning materials and infrastructure at the schools, did not promote English acquisition. Ironically, despite English being a hindrance to the learning of other subjects, both the students and their teachers affirmed that they preferred that this language remain as medium of instruction. They believed that being competent in English could offer them more life opportunities than any other language.

The study's purpose was to assess, through mixed methods, written linguistic features of 20 Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) in middle school. Students came from Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. Participants wrote two expository and two narrative formal texts, each in Spanish and English, for a total of eight writing samples each. Additionally, students developed 10 journal entries in their language of choice, and 6 randomly selected, focal participants were interviewed for the qualitative analysis. The quantitative analysis involved scoring formal texts at the lexical, syntactic, and discourse levels. Scores were analyzed using Friedman's 2-way ANOVA by ranks, and resulting ranks were compared across genre-topic and language. A key outcome was that the text topic, rather than genre or language, impacted on rank differences at all levels, possibly due to student engagement or influence of the prompt structure. Performance at the three levels was essentially similar across both languages, revealing that participants were emerging writers in Spanish and English. Similar outcomes in Spanish and English also implied potential cross-language transfer of academic language proficiency. Results further highlighted the interaction of multiple linguistic levels in text composition. Finally, students appeared to apply a knowledge telling strategy to writing, resulting in unsophisticated vocabulary and structures. For the qualitative analysis, focal participants' journals and interview transcripts were analyzed with domain and taxonomic analyses to discern how their language learning experiences shaped their identities as bilinguals. Results showed that 1) Spanish was preferred for all focal participants; 2) students shared the experience of language discrimination; 3) bilingual and monolingual identities resulted in different attitudes toward language learning and varied writing performance; and 4) Mexican and Puerto Rican students had diverse language learning experiences, leading to differences in identities and writing outcomes. Overall, the quantitative and qualitative findings raise two questions: 1) which aspects of academic language proficiency are shared across both languages, and how might these be assessed with bilingual, integrated language measures? 2) How might integrated assessment in L1 and L2 aid in identifying adolescent ELLs with language impairment?

This dissertation discusses with both the teaching and testing systems associated with the language of Arabic in Pakistan. This study does not only discuss the pedagogical issues of teaching this language in Pakistan, but it also highlights the importance of it being a symbolic language and the resultant symbolic interpretation. The focus of the study is the translation and interpretation of the Arabic language and how it has affected socio-political aspects, in general, and linguistic issues, in particular, in Pakistan. Due to the Arabic language, linguistic symbolism has brought a distinctive intervention in the society. Arabic, as a symbolic language, has promoted a parallel ideological perspective in Pakistan. This study was conducted in four phases. The first phase was empirical and it started in 2009 with the translation and teaching of the book entitled, “Modern Stan-dard Arabic: An Elementary-Intermediate Course” to the Arabic-language students in Lahore, Pakistan. The second phase was to evaluate the translation and teaching of the book with the help of pre- teaching and post-teaching assessments. The third phase of the research was to understand the scope of the Arabic language as it exists in Pakistan with the help of the survey method. The researcher interviewed 220 conveniently selected respondents in Lahore and Multan, Pakistan. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze the three types of data (pre-teaching, post-teaching and the scope of the Arabic language). The fourth phase of the research was to analyze the data that comprised the research report. The study revealed that a significant majority (80%) of the respondents were interested in learning Arabic because it is the language of the Holy Qur’an and Islam. It also showed that people also wish to learn the Arabic language in order to secure employment in the Middle-Eastern and in the Arabian Gulf countries. The respondents also reported that they want to learn the Arabic language because of its rich literature of history, science and culture. However, the respondents were at odds with the traditional method of teaching and testing the Arabic language. As a result, these students were learning less language but more ideological construct in the name of Arabic. This pedagogical problem has serious consequences. The study also found that the “Modern-Standard Arabic: An Elementary-Intermediate Course” is an excellent resource to use to change the traditional peda-gogical skills. It ascertained that people shifted their traditional perspective of the Arabic learning for religious purposes to the “living language”, the language of everyday conversation. The students of the course ranked the “Modern Standard Arabic” high as compared to the traditional methods of teaching. However, they also had trouble and these were highlighted in the dissertation. This research gleaned that Madrasas (religious schools) in Pakistan were the major source of the Arabic-language teaching in Pakistan. These Madrasas teach with traditional methods and imparted a vested interest-based interpretation of the religion. In this way, the Arabic language as it existed in Pakistan did not give real linguistic meaning to the students but rather give a single-dimension perspective of the religion to the students. This inadequate teaching of the language has simultaneously promoted less tolerance and has expanded the extremist point of view in Pakistan. The language, in other words, seems to be a breeding ground of the extremism that appears to prevalent in Pakistan and thereby gives a misguided version of the language to the members of the society. The second source of Arabic-language teaching in Pakistan was the public-sector universities. These universities were training students to become religious scholars rather than linguistics or translators/interpreters of the Arabic language. The focus of the syllabi of the universities promoted Islamic Arabic literature and the Middle-Eastern perspective of Islam. However, a few of the universities were promoting some level of standard Arabic and Arabic language. Nevertheless, linguistic Arabic as such was virtually non-existent and people regard the language of English as a linguistic subject. Theoretically, ‘Arabic’ has not been treated as a living language in Pakistan. On the one hand, even native-Arabic societies did not take into account the importance of the Arabic language and they hardly emphasize the standardization of it. Native-speaking Arabic scholars have rarely developed theoretical perspectives of the Arabic language or have contributed to its linguistic theory, on the other hand. This state of affairs has developed pedagogical illusions regarding language and linguistics. This dissertation argues that Arabic is a ‘living language’ and that to incorporate it as such a lot of work needs to be done. A standardization of both the language itself and the systems of teaching and testing it needs to be developped. This language re-quires a modernized perspective, both pedagogically as well as linguistically. Theatrically, Arabic requires linguistic perspectives in order to address the pedagogical illusion. Generally, these scientific developments are lacking in the Arabic language. The result is the misinterpretation, confusion and vagueness that have left space for Arabic to be regarded simply as a symbolic language. This symbolic perspective has promoted a single dimension of the language, i.e. the ideological construct, but has also reduced the role as a language of translation and linguistic vigour.

Student practice and the influences that shape self-regulated behavior (habits) remain of interest among educators. This self-regulated behavior includes factors such as what informs a student’s selection of a goal during self-regulated practice, the motivation to engage in an activity, and the value attributed to an activity. Interest exists concerning the discrepancy, if any, in student-versus-teacher evaluation as informed by these factors. Through the application of Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory, I examined the motivators, informers, values, and sustainers of the practice habits of eight university undergraduate performance and music education majors during self-regulated practice. The instructors came from five applied lesson studios in which the students were enrolled. Using a primarily descriptive methodology, the source of the data I collected was two pre-arranged applied lessons and two pre-arranged practice sessions for each student during the fall semester of 2018. I contrasted the information taken from the practice sessions with the goal-directed and instructor-modeled activities typical of the applied lessons. To compare the self-assessment of competencies with the assessment of the instructor, I employed a survey in the form of a questionnaire and reviewed videotapes of the participants in both applied lessons and self-regulated practice. The data collected for applied lessons and self-regulated practice were then separately coded and placed into one of two categories, musical or non-musical behavior. I then compared this data among and within the participating applied lesson studios. My analysis revealed that the preponderance of instructional time was spent in musical activities. The same was true, but to a slightly lesser degree, for students during self-regulated practice. I observed that motivation and the value attributed to an activity were informed by modeling of goal-directed activities (habits) during applied lessons. The students carried this goal-directed activity into self-regulated practice. These practice habits maintained the behavior that supported the goals, the achievement of which informed students’ self-assessment of their performance competencies. Students were less satisfied with their level of performance competency than were their instructors. This lack of satisfaction occurred despite the alignment of the observed selection of practice habits with the activities modeled by the instructor in applied lessons and was contrary to previous research (Varela et al., 2016) that found students’ assessment of their competencies higher than the assessment of their instructors. One implication of this study is the importance of instructors’ training of students in task analysis regarding practice habits. Such training, combined with modeling, may enable students to choose goals wisely and to self-assess accurately to affect the self-regulation necessary to achieve musical proficiency. The differences in goals between students and instructors, practice-room behavior, and self-assessment warrant further exploration.

Hearing loss is considered a global health concern with 466 million people affected worldwide. Current hearing health care delivery models are based on several consecutive face-to-face consultations that occur in-person. Information and communications technology, and especially mobile technology, can be used to support or enhance health care delivery. This can be employed in addition, or as an alternative to, current patient treatment pathways. This project developed a hybrid hearing health care approach by combining online and face-to-face services. The services were offered using a five-step approach: (1) online hearing screening, (2) motivational engagement by voice/video calling, messaging, or emailing, (3) diagnostic hearing testing in a face-to-face appointment, (4) counseling, hearing aid trial and fitting using face-to-face and online methods, and (5) online aural rehabilitation, counseling and ongoing coaching using face-to-face and online methods. Three studies were conducted. Study I investigated the readiness, characteristics and behaviors of patients who sought hybrid hearing health care. Over three months (June–September 2017), 462 individuals completed the online hearing screening test: 59% (271/462) of those failed (age M = 60; SD = 12), indicating that further assessment and treatment might be required. These patients had been aware of their hearing loss for a period of between 5 to 16 years. A significant positive correlation was observed between age and speech reception threshold (r = 0.21; p < .001), where older participants presented with poorer scores. Five participants completed readiness measurement scales and attended a face-to-face diagnostic hearing evaluation during this time. Study II investigated patient uptake, experience and satisfaction with hybrid hearing health care using a process evaluation. The process evaluation study was conducted over a three-month period for patients who sought services from the clinic over a period of 19 months (June 2017–January 2019). A total of 46 patients seen at the clinic were invited to complete an online questionnaire regarding their experiences and satisfaction with the steps completed and services provided. Of those, 31 (67%) patients responded (age M = 66; SD = 16). Of the 61% of patients who had previously sought hearing services, 95% reported the hybrid clinic services as superior. Two main themes emerged from the patient’s comparison of their experience with the hybrid clinic versus previous experiences: clinician engagement (personal attention, patience, dedication, thorough explanations, professional behavior, exceeding expectations, friendliness and trust) and technology (latest technology, advanced equipment and hearing aid trial). Patients who completed all five steps, including acquiring hearing aids and taking part in an online aural rehabilitation program (continued with hearing health care), were significantly older and had significantly poorer speech reception thresholds compared to those who did not acquire hearing aids after the diagnostic hearing test and hearing aid trial (discontinued hearing health care). A significant positive correlation was found between age and the number of face-to-face appointments attended per patient (r = 0.37; p = .007). Study III investigated whether digital proficiency (proficiency with mobile devices and computers) was a predictor of the uptake of hybrid hearing health care. A total of 931 individuals failed the online hearing screening test and had submitted their details to the clinic for further care over a 24-month period (June 2017–June 2019). Of the 931 online test takers, 53 persons (age M = 64; SD = 15) who attended a face-to-face diagnostic hearing testing completed a mobile device and computer proficiency questionnaire. An exact regression model identified age as the factor associated with patients completing all five steps, including acquiring hearing aids and taking part in an online aural rehabilitation program (continued with hearing health care) from a hybrid model (β = .07; p = .018). Older patients were more likely to continue to seek hearing health care. Digital proficiency was not significantly associated with adults with hearing loss taking up services through a hybrid hearing health care model. The results from these three studies demonstrate that asynchronous internet-based services such as an online hearing screening test can be used to create awareness of hearing health care. It is possible to provide online support to patients during the initial stages of seeking hearing health care online prior to the first face-to-face visit. Patient uptake, satisfaction and experience of using hybrid hearing health care services are positive when compared to traditional methods of service delivery. Hearing health care models that combine face-to-face and online methods hold promise for audiologists willing to incorporate online modalities into current treatment pathways. This research project highlights the opportunity for audiologists to provide services and personalized support to patients using a combination of face-to-face and online modalities. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / This work was supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa under the grant number 107728. / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / PhD (Audiology) / Unrestricted

The purpose of this study is to find out how the six participating primary teachers teach vocabulary in the EFL-classroom, in particular through children’s literature and digital tools. Furthermore, this study aims to discuss how the participating teachers motivate their pupils to acquire vocabulary through various strategies and methods. Two research questions, first, how primary teachers teach vocabulary in the EFL classroom, second, what functions children’s literature and digital tools play when it is used by the teachers to enhance pupils’ vocabulary, are applied. This is a qualitative study where semi structured interviews have been conducted. The findings are coded through a thematic analysis to find patterns in the result. The results show that participating teachers differ in their reasoning when children’s literature can be used, where some of the teachers thinkthat it is possible to start using them in first grade, while others think that the pupils first need a basic vocabulary. Moreover, large screens are mostly used to display other teaching materials, while individual screens, such as iPads and computers, are used to differentiate the teaching. Additionally, the participating teachers mainly use children’s literature and digital tools to motivate the pupils in their vocabulary proficiency development.

This paper aims to investigate to what extent creative writing promotes motivation for EFL learners to write. A report published by the National Assessment Project (NAFS) commissioned by The Swedish National Agency for Education evaluated the national tests in English for Swedish students during 2018/2019, documenting that the Swedish students obtained the lowest English scores on writing. This result corresponds with the national test scores in English from earlier years. According to The Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket, 2019) motivation is a necessary component for L2 learning, and teachers are expected to play a fundamental role in creating student motivation. However, research within the area of motivation indicates that the understanding of motivation in L2 learning is limited. Likewise, the research indicates a need for the understanding of motivation to be both revised and subject to further research, both to understand the nature of motivation and to define tools on how to push motivation in L2 writing. One such tool could be creative writing (CW). Thus, to understand to what extent CW can motivate EFL learners to write, we explore recent studies that examine how different implementations of CW activities and CW courses can motivate students to write within a school context. In the study, we argue that CW motivates EFL learners to produce text. CW seems to facilitate relevance for the student and empower writing activities that consider the student’s self-interest as well as bring new life to the student’s understanding of writing. The insights of this study hold pedagogical values for L2 writing in the EFL classroom.