Elicited Imitation (EI) is an assessment approach that uses sentence imitation tasks to gauge the oral proficiency level of test takers. EI tests have been created for several of the world's languages, including English, Spanish, Japanese, French, and Mandarin. Little research has been conducted for using the EI approach with learners of Russian. This dissertation describes a multi-faceted study that was presented in two journal articles for the creation and analysis of a Russian EI test. The EI test was created for and tested with Russian-speaking missionaries and employees at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, UT. The first article describes the creation of the test and analyzes its ability to predict oral language proficiency by comparing individuals' scores on the EI to their scores on the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI). The test was found to effectively predict an individual's OPI score (R2 = .86). The second article analyzes the difference in person ability estimates and item difficulty measures between items from a general content bank and a religious content bank. The mean score for the content specific items (x̄ = .51) was significantly higher than the mean score for the general test (x̄ = .44, p < 0.001). Additionally, the item difficulties for the religious items were significantly less than the item difficulties for the general items (p < 0.05).

As part of BYU's Distance Learning Project to teach English for gospel purposes, a committee created a survey to assess the English needs of LDS non-native English speakers in native-language units in the United States. This thesis uses several sections of the survey to correlate proficiency, callings in the Church, and demographic information. In addition to survey data, this thesis uses qualitative information from focus groups, and interviews to illustrate the statistical findings. The theory underlying this research is that learning precedes involvement in a community. Although learning in the LDS Church community is multi-faceted, this study examines the learning of English tasks and involvement in the Church community, defined as callings.The results indicate that male leader (high councilors) callings correlate with church tasks, and that female vice-leader callings correlate with survival English and church tasks. Demographic information, although relevant, does not alter the correlations. The qualitative findings supports these findings, whereas the trend indicates that bilingual leaders are preferred to monolingual non-English language leaders.

Educators are attempting to eliminate the disproportionate representation of culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education through initiatives such as Response to Intervention (RtI). Prior to the implementation of such initiatives, existing research relevant to this population must be critically reviewed and expanded. A synthesis of the available literature can provide significant insight into the type of data necessary to make informed decisions involving English language learners (ELL) at Tier I of an RtI model. In forming the theoretical foundation for this research, cognitive deficits associated with language-based disabilities and principles of cognitive load theory were examined. The study is an investigation of the following research question: Is the effectiveness of the bilingual English as a Second Language (ESL) model significantly altered under certain conditions? The research question was addressed through testing moderator effects using hierarchical linear regression. Initial English proficiency and initial Spanish proficiency were examined as moderating variables of the relationship between ESL model type and Kindergarten academic achievement. Academic achievement was defined as student learning growth on the Florida Assessment for Reading Instruction (FAIR) and student outcome scores on the Comprehensive English Language Learning Assessment (CELLA) Listening/Speaking and Reading constructs. Results supported: a) the relationship between initial English proficiency and FAIR growth, CELLA Listening/Speaking, and CELLA Reading, b) the relationship between initial Spanish proficiency and FAIR growth and CELLA Listening/Speaking, c) the relationship between type of ESL model and FAIR growth, CELLA Listening/Speaking, and CELLA iii Reading, d) the additional effect of the interaction of initial Spanish language proficiency with ESL model type to alter FAIR learning growth over time, and e) the additional effect of the interaction of initial English language proficiency with ESL model type to alter CELLA Listening/Speaking scores. Overall, this research supports the hypothesis that initial language proficiency can significantly alter the effectiveness of a bilingual ESL model. Recommendations for future research in this area include longitudinal studies using a similar hierarchical regression design with moderators in order to contextualize positive student outcomes.

A robot is proficient if its performance for its task(s) satisfies a specific standard. While the design of autonomous robots often emphasizes such proficiency, another important attribute of autonomous robot systems is their ability to evaluate their own proficiency. A robot should be able to conduct proficiency self-assessment (PSA), i.e. assess how well it can perform a task before, during, and after it has attempted the task. We propose the assumption-alignment tracking (AAT) method, which provides time-indexed assessments of the veracity of robot generators' assumptions, for designing autonomous robots that can effectively evaluate their own performance. AAT can be considered as a general framework for using robot sensory data to extract useful features, which are then used to build data-driven PSA models. We develop various AAT-based data-driven approaches to PSA from different perspectives. First, we use AAT for estimating robot performance. AAT features encode how the robot's current running condition varies from the normal condition, which correlates with the deviation level between the robot's current performance and normal performance. We use the k-nearest neighbor algorithm to model that correlation. Second, AAT features are used for anomaly detection. We treat anomaly detection as a one-class classification problem where only data from the robot operating in normal conditions are used in training, decreasing the burden on acquiring data in various abnormal conditions. The cluster boundary of data points from normal conditions, which serves as the decision boundary between normal and abnormal conditions, can be identified by mainstream one-class classification algorithms. Third, we improve PSA models that predict robot success/failure by introducing meta-PSA models that assess the correctness of PSA models. The probability that a PSA model's prediction is correct is conditioned on four features: 1) the mean distance from a test sample to its nearest neighbors in the training set; 2) the predicted probability of success made by the PSA model; 3) the ratio between the robot's current performance and its performance standard; and 4) the percentage of the task the robot has already completed. Meta-PSA models trained on the four features using a Random Forest algorithm improve PSA models with respect to both discriminability and calibration. Finally, we explore how AAT can be used to generate a new type of explanation of robot behavior/policy from the perspective of a robot's proficiency. AAT provides three pieces of information for explanation generation: (1) veracity assessment of the assumptions on which the robot's generators rely; (2) proficiency assessment measured by the probability that the robot will successfully accomplish its task; and (3) counterfactual proficiency assessment computed with the veracity of some assumptions varied hypothetically. The information provided by AAT fits the situation awareness-based framework for explainable artificial intelligence. The efficacy of AAT is comprehensively evaluated using robot systems with a variety of robot types, generators, hardware, and tasks, including a simulated robot navigating in a maze-based (discrete time) Markov chain environment, a simulated robot navigating in a continuous environment, and both a simulated and a real-world robot arranging blocks of different shapes and colors in a specific order on a table.

This study explores the impact of cultural competence on success in completing key missionary tasks. Qualitative survey results are supported by data from an intercultural effectiveness assessment and a Mandarin Chinese listening proficiency test to describe themes related to missionary communicative success and to explore correlations between intercultural effectiveness and listening proficiency. Missionary communicative tasks are clarified into themes:"obtaining referrals,"obtaining teaching opportunities," and"helping people make and keep commitments." Factors perceived as associating with communicative success include"feeling and communicating love" and receiving"spiritual guidance." The effect of training on intercultural competence is also described. The intercultural effectiveness subcategory of positive regard is shown to have significant correlation with listening proficiency and with missionaries' perceptions of their own awareness of Chinese culture. Suggestions are made for further research and program development.

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