This study compared the improvement in English language proficiency and in confidence and willingness to use English among low-proficiency first-year Puerto Rican university students enrolled in a content-based course in English as a Second Language and similar students enrolled in a conventional structural/functional course. Results are pertinent to adult students in similar academic settings in Spanish-dominant regions or countries. / A quasi-experimental study using a pretest/posttest design was carried out with 83 subjects. Instruments measuring proficiency were the Pre-Test of English as a Foreign Language (Pre-TOEFL), a timed writing test, and a self-report questionnaire. Data was analyzed using Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) to equate the groups. Adjusted means for all dependent variables were calculated, using pre-test scores as covariates, and a four-stage comparison of adjusted means of the four groups on each dependent variable was carried out. / Findings showed significant and meaningful differences between groups only on the writing test, with students taught in content-based classes scoring higher on content, organization, and overall writing effectiveness. Performance on other measures was essentially the same for all groups. The researcher concludes that although long-time EFL students of low proficiency probably need quite intensive language experiences to break through to new levels of language accuracy, their academic writing can become richer, more fluent, and more cohesive when they participate in real and extensive meaning-making through talking, reading, and writing about authentic subject matter. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-09, Section: A, page: 2746. / Major Professor: Frederick L. Jenks. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77236 |
| Contributors | Camalo-Hernandez, Rose Ann., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 127 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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