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Descriptors:
Measurement; Testing; Language Proficiency; Test Construction; Bilingualism; Language Variation; Generalizability Theory; Error of Measurement; Culture Fair Tests; Language Minorities; Second Language Learning; Validity; Scores; English (Second Language)

Abstract:
We discuss generalizability (G) theory and the fair and valid assessment of linguistic minorities, especially emergent bilinguals. G theory allows examination of the relationship between score variation and language variation (e.g., variation of proficiency across languages, language modes, and social contexts). Studies examining score variation across items administered in emergent bilinguals' first and second languages show that the interaction of student and the facets (sources of measurement error) item and language is an important source of score variation. Each item poses a unique set of linguistic challenges in each language, and each emergent bilingual individual has a unique set of strengths and weaknesses in each language. Based on these findings, G theory can inform the process of test construction in large-scale testing programmes and the development of testing models that ensure more valid and fair interpretations of test scores for linguistic minorities. (Contains 2 tables, 3 figures, and 1 note.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Immigrants; Foreign Countries; Language Proficiency; Preschool Children; Student Adjustment; Cultural Background; Behavior Problems; Child Rearing; Academic Ability; Spanish; Student Attitudes; Second Language Learning; Cultural Differences

Abstract:
The continuing incorporation of immigrant populations into the Spanish educational system poses an important challenge in that all participants must cooperate toward creating the best possible adaptation process at the academic level as well as on the personal and social levels. A number of different factors appear to influence children's adjustment during the preschool stage, and these factors are especially relevant since many studies have shown that this is a key period for the prevention of future difficulties. The present study examines the variables involved in the adaptation of a group of preschool-aged children from different cultural backgrounds in Spain. The results indicate that preschoolers, regardless of their background, have similar performance and learning potential, with language proficiency being the factor that most clearly affects the other variables investigated. It was also found that children's attitudes toward learning were related to the presence of behavioral difficulties and with the quality and type of parental child-rearing practices. These practices appear to be related to a number of difficulties immigrant children may experience on personal and social levels. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Academic Achievement; Student Attitudes; Classroom Environment; Second Language Learning; English Language Learners; Nursing Education; Community Colleges; College Students; Interviews; Phenomenology; Guidelines; Urban Areas; Power Structure; Qualitative Research; Inclusion; Educational Experience

Abstract:
This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of students as English language learners in the nursing classroom. Employing interpretive phenomenological methodology, participants at an urban community college in the Northeast engaged in open-ended interviews that yielded new understandings of everyday concerns that impacted their academic success. Four themes emerged and included the ways students made adjustments, overcame doubts, demonstrated determination, and co-created community in the college classroom. A critical theoretical framework applied during data analysis revealed student perceptions and experiences in the classroom environment as uneven and unequal. Students shared that some faculty fostered student learning while others did not. Traditional and monocultural practices, representing acts of power and dominance, thwarted learning and possibly contributed to lack of academic progress. Despite these challenges, participants also articulated examples of gains in learning. This study concludes with recommendations for faculty, administrators, students, and researchers for creating inclusive classrooms. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Literacy Education; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; English Language Learners; Classrooms; Elementary School Science; Science Curriculum; Literacy; Science Education; Science Instruction; Grade 2; Grade 3; Elementary School Students; Instructional Materials; Teaching Methods; Scientific Concepts

Abstract:
Although literacy plays a large role in elementary science classrooms, one thing that offers a challenge for educators is meeting the linguistic needs of English language learners (ELLs) while also meeting their content needs. An additional challenge is ensuring that academic literacy extends beyond the classroom. This article presents ways of extending classroom literacy into the home. The suggestions and activities emphasize literacy strategies appropriate for ELLs as well as English-speaking students. (Contains 4 figures and 9 resources.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Immigrants; Literacy; Foreign Countries; Comparative Analysis; Educational Development; Human Capital; Social Capital; Family Environment; Interviews; Asians; Observation; Educational Attitudes; Bilingualism; Mandarin Chinese; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Middle Class

Abstract:
Social capital--the social relations between people--is an important component of the family environment and is crucial for the creation of human capital for the next generation. Drawing on James S. Coleman's theory of family capital, this study focuses on parents' utilization of social capital to support children's literacy acquisition in four Singaporean and immigrant middle-class Chinese families in Singapore. Comparative analyses of observation and interview data reveal that these families differed not only in the volume of social capital they possessed but also in the activation of this capital for their children's biliteracy and educational development. They also reveal that the parents' application of social capital is motivated by such factors as the status of the family (immigrant or native), parental occupation, parents' educational views and the family's acculturation to the host society (in the case of immigrant families). Furthermore, a family's skilful use of its social capital could compensate for a relative shortage of human capital. These findings, taken as a whole, contribute to Coleman's theory by disentangling potential from actualized social capital. (Contains 1 table.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Philosophy; English (Second Language); Biblical Literature; Theological Education; Interdisciplinary Approach; Second Language Learning; Cross Cultural Studies; Communicative Competence (Languages); Second Language Instruction; Cultural Awareness; English for Academic Purposes

Abstract:
This article introduces English for Bible and Theology (EBT), an inherently interdisciplinary field that merges English language learning with the content of biblical and theological studies in a context that is, by nature, cross-cultural. Within this collaboration there exists the possibility not only to enable theological study, but also to enhance it through a focus on personal meaning and its communication, both of which are foundational to the communicative language classroom. That is, EBT seeks both to aid students worldwide in attaining the specialized language and cultural proficiency necessary to access English theological resources and to provide a community in which students can connect theological content to their lives. It is this second aim that provides EBT its relevance across a range of theological contexts, as native English-speaking students likewise stand to benefit from the application of EBT's principles. (Contains 1 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Teaching Methods; Human Geography; Foreign Countries; Educational Philosophy; Writing Instruction; Self Concept; Political Influences; Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; Language Planning; Educational Trends; Critical Theory; Standards

Abstract:
In this article, the author examines Makiguchi Tsunesaburo's philosophy and practice of human geography ("jinsei chirigaku"), community studies ("kyodoka"), and composition instruction based on "value-creating pedagogy" ("soka kyoikugaku") for thinking through and responding to two competing trends intersecting language, identity, and education in the contemporary United States--the politicized imagining of America and increasingly ineffective critical approaches to second language education. As the politicized imagining and language policies Makiguchi faced in wartime Japan are echoed, though in substantively different form, in the contemporary United States, the author draws on Makiguchi's own words in these areas to think through and suggest ways contemporary educators can "create value" from the two aforementioned trends intersecting language, identity, and education in the United States. (Contains 1 footnote.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Pragmatics; Korean; Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; Teaching Methods; Language Styles; Multimedia Instruction; Cultural Traits; Consciousness Raising; Language Usage; Undergraduate Students; Learning Activities; Television; Programming (Broadcast)

Abstract:
This article reports on the design, implementation and evaluation of an activity used to teach non-honorific speech styles through multimedia to a class of intermediate learners at a university in Europe. Although much emphasis has been placed in Korean language learning and teaching on the importance of honorific styles, my article reveals that this at times has come at the expense of ignoring the other side of the coin: non-honorific language. Indeed, Korean language teaching materials delay the teaching of non-honorific language to intermediate level and then only deal with them in a perfunctory way. This is unfortunate as the pragmatics of non-honorific styles can be complex and learners frequently encounter these styles outside of class, even when their Korean level is rudimentary. I argue that this lack of emphasis on non-honorific language is not limited to Korean but represents a common tendency within language pedagogy to avoid language that is considered "casual" or "impolite". With traditional teaching materials doing a poor job at representing these facets of language use, the solution I put forward is the use of multimedia activities. These activities are designed specifically to raise consciousness of the pragmatic factors influencing the use of non-honorific styles. (Contains 1 table, 1 figure and 10 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Reflection; Web Sites; Electronic Publishing; Social Distance; Nationalism; Self Concept; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Language Role; Cultural Awareness; Role; Computer Mediated Communication; Language Usage; Language Variation; Semiotics; Teaching Methods; Intercultural Communication; Secondary School Students

Abstract:
The rise of English as an international language (EIL) has brought to light the needs of those who speak it as an additional language. This has in turn radically reshaped the role of culture in the EIL classroom, which may now aim at developing critical transcultural awareness. By reporting on a joint initiative undertaken by three schools in two countries, the "EIL in Poland and Spain" blog project, this article explores how a transcultural curricular approach could be implemented in the EIL classroom with particular reference to computer-mediated communication (CMC) that might lead to the creation of virtual "third spaces". Results show that, upon task-induced reflection, participants (1) overwhelmingly acknowledge the power of the othering discourses which are central to national identity; (2) bond together through (2.1) widespread usage of the same register in English and CMC-standard non-verbal semiotic codes and (2.2) similar subcultural (yet transnational) affiliations; and (3) may be seen to develop some critical awareness of their place in the world beyond their respective national borders. Finally, the pedagogical implications of a tool through which youth appears as a meaningful cross-cultural experience, bringing both Polish and Spanish participants together as critical thinkers through EIL, are discussed. (Contains 1 table and 7 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Immigrants; Foreign Countries; War; Educational Change; Self Concept; Second Language Learning; Second Language Programs; Classification; Citizenship; Acculturation; Social Integration; Discourse Analysis

Abstract:
The study presented in this paper focuses upon conceptualisations of language and identity in the institutionalised arena that emerged in the post-Second World War period with the specific intention of teaching Swedish to adult immigrants in the nation-state of Sweden. Our analysis focuses upon the development of the educational programme "Swedish for immigrants" over time. Our specific interest relates to how categorisations are framed and what, if any, kinds of labels--pertaining to language and identity--emerge in national and local policy documents from the 1960s onwards. Taking a sociohistorical perspective as a point of departure, our analyses indicate discursive changes with regards to the categories and aims of the educational programme, making certain identity positions more accessible than others at specific times. Focusing upon categories from sociohistorical perspectives helps to reveal the social organisation and institutional means that enable society to process citizenship issues. The complex relationship between the empowerment of the immigrants, on the one hand, and the need for integration or assimilation into society on the other, becomes visible through the analysis of empirical data that spans half a century. (Contains 4 tables, 3 figures and 12 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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