Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2007, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2019, Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures

Becoming a competent speaker of a language requires learning how culture and language interact with one another. Language, broadly speaking, can be used to help project a desired identity. A competent L2 user can use language to bring about desired social effects, just as an L1 speaker can. For example, a competent L2 speaker of English should be able to use politeness to avoid disrupting commercial transactions; they should be able to recognize and use sarcasm to align with others; they should be able to vary their speech according to the level of formality of a given setting. Generally speaking, however, these aspects of linguistic competence are not taught in the language classroom. Instead, it is generally assumed that this knowledge will be acquired when a language user is immersed in the target-language context. Yet this is a problematic assumption for a number of reasons: first, prior studies have indicated that time spent in the target culture is not necessarily tied to higher sociolinguistic competence; and second, quite often, only a privileged minority have access to the target culture. This dissertation tests an educational intervention designed to teach Russian L2 learners about culturally-situated aspects of language in a way that is broadly accessible. Students of Russian were taken through an online program that taught them about the intersection of culture and language; this program also trained them in ethnographic methods. After this, the participants carried out small-scale ethnographic explorations of an online Russian-using speech community. At various points, quantitative and qualitative measurements of their intercultural competence and sociolinguistic competence were taken. Participation in this program was correlated with an increase in intercultural competence and sociolinguistic competence. Qualitative data showed that participants saw particularly strong development in certain aspects of their competence, while other areas lagge (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ludmila Isurin (Advisor); Leslie Moore (Committee Member); Carmen Taleghani-Nikazm (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Language; Linguistics; Slavic Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2022, Germanic Languages and Literatures

This qualitative dissertation focuses on intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in a video-mediated environment, as ICC is considered to be one of the most vital skills language learners need to have in the 21st century to successfully communicate and interact with their interlocutors. More specifically, the aim of my dissertation research is to empirically examine how intercultural communicative competence is organized in and through the actual course of the interaction and how intercultural moments – moments during which cultural differences between people become exposed – evolve. Put differently, this dissertation examines how low intermediate German language speakers display their ICC in real-time interactions with L1 speakers of German, how they test their cultural assumptions and co-construct cultural knowledge. In addition to examining L2 learners' and L1 speakers' conversational practices and their demonstration of understanding and view of each other's cultural similarities and differences, this dissertation illustrates how L2 speakers perceive such moments in their reflections. For this study, modules based on previous research (Byram, 1997; Liddicoat & Scarino, 2013) that provide occasions for intercultural moments were created. These intercultural modules consist of instructional stages including preparing students for a recorded video-mediated conversation with L1 speakers of German that involve inquiring about their firsthand experience with a variety of cultural products, practices, and perspectives and a follow-up self-reflection on their experience and shift in cultural knowledge and perspectives. By employing the methodological framework of conversation analysis (CA), which helps us scrutinize how participants demonstrate their understanding of coparticipants' language use and their cultural and sociocultural background in interactions, the type, position, the outcomes of questions L2 speakers pose, and their assumptions of cultural practic (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Carmen Taleghani-Nikazm (Advisor); Matthew Birkhold (Committee Member); Leslie Moore (Committee Member); Ludmila Isurin (Committee Member) Subjects: Conservation; Foreign Language; Language; Linguistics; Modern Language; Multicultural Education; Multilingual Education; Teacher Education; Teaching

PHD, Kent State University, 2018, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies

The purpose of this qualitative multicase study was to examine how college foreign language instructors implement communicative language teaching (CLT) to teach beginner-level classes across six foreign languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Russian, and Spanish. Multiple data collection methods were used to gather the data: one electronic survey, 48 classroom observations, document analysis, and a semi-structured interview with each participant. Findings revealed that the instructors' implementation of CLT was limited as a few CLT features occurred across the six classes, including providing positive feedback and accepting students' errors.Only two instructors (Chinese and German) used the target language extensively and used visual aids to support students' comprehension.There were several factors that hindered the instructors' ability to implement CLT: lack of teaching preparation and experience, lack of teaching freedom, the predominance of structure-based activities in the textbooks, the instructor's domination of the classroom communication and interaction, the instructor's explanation of language rules explicitly, and the classroom layouts. The findings also revealed that language differences played a role in implementing CLT. Five language instructors (Arabic, French, German, Russian, and Spanish) reported that it was challenging to implement CLT when teaching inflections in these highly inflected languages. By contrast, the Chinese instructor reported that the simplicity of Chinese grammar helped her engage students in communicative activities.The Chinese instructor's concern was teaching pronunciation and to what extent her implementation of CLT was effective in giving students feedback on their pronunciation errors. The implications of this study point to the need for strategies and techniques, such as using visual aids and follow-up questions to maximize the use of the target language and enhance the implementation of CLT in the classroom.Th (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Denise Morgan Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); William Bintz Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Jessie Carduner Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Foreign Language; Teaching

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1986, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Mass Communications

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1984, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Master of Education (MEd), Bowling Green State University, 2016, Curriculum and Teaching

The purpose of this study is to discuss the methods two teachers have used in Saudi Arabia, the training and support is given to the teachers, and what barriers are present in implementing the new curriculum. In Taif, S.A. a new curriculum was adopted to teach English as a foreign language (EFL) students. A new textbook series was introduced that used communicative language teaching (CLT) methods. This study examined how the new curriculum using CLT was implemented. There were three research questions that were asked in this study: 1) What methods and approaches do these high school EFL teachers believe they apply in their classrooms? 2) What, if any, support and training have these high school EFL teachers received before and during implementation of teaching the new curriculum? 3) What barriers do EFL teachers face in implementing the new curriculum? There were three participants in the study: two EFL teachers and their respective supervisor. The participants were asked to take a preliminary questionnaire, were interviewed twice each, and a member check was conducted for each participant. During the interviews, most of the questions that were asked discussed the teachers' experiences and opinions about the new curriculum. After the data was collected and coded, the methods, training, support, and barriers to implementing the new curriculum were identified. The textbook series that was implemented along with the new curriculum also was analyzed. The teachers described using more traditional methods like Grammar-Translation (GT) methods with some CLT methods. Both teachers were identified as “hybrid” teachers that use a combination of GT and CLT methods (Burke, 2006). The teachers' respective supervisor discussed how most of the EFL teachers he oversees use traditional methods like GT. The results suggested that the teachers and the supervisor received no training or support concerning the new curriculum. The study identified barriers to implementing the new curr (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Brigid Burke (Advisor); Tracy Huziak-Clark (Committee Member); Nancy Patterson (Committee Member) Subjects: English As A Second Language; Teacher Education; Teaching

EdD, University of Cincinnati, 2009, Education : Curriculum and Instruction

For a variety of reasons, U.S. higher education has employed an increasing number of international teaching assistants (ITAs) to teach undergraduate courses in science, engineering, and humanities departments. Often, ITAs arrive on campus and are placed in undergraduate classrooms without having previous training or teaching experience; they are handed their assignments and given copies of a syllabus and textbook without any knowledge about what their new role entails. Although institutions have recently been putting more effort into training programs, they are usually limited and focused primarily on basic issues, resulting in an inability to address unique needs. The purpose of this study is to explore the teaching experiences of international graduate students at an American university. Qualitative research methods are used to analyze data and assess how ITAs use their communicative competence of English in this new role and what they might need to learn in order to function more effectively as a teaching assistant (TA) and thus better acculturate into their new social context, U.S. academia. The eleven participants in this study are international graduate students from a variety of countries and fields of study who had lived in the U.S. from three to seven years. One of the students participated in a single case study that addressed her experience as a first-time instructor. Ten students participated in a focus group interview session that addressed their challenges, their expectations, and their overall teaching experience. Participants identified several challenges that hindered their success. They also indicated that they were impacted by the process of acculturation. Factors they found helpful in their teaching experience included guidance from previous ITAs, familiarity with the American academic system, and acquaintance with American culture. Factors that affected them negatively included: lack of certain types of assistance, differences in attitudes and (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Mary Benedetti EdD (Committee Co-Chair); Ken Martin PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Wayne Hall PhD (Committee Member); Mitch Leventhal PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Education

EdD, University of Cincinnati, 2002, Education : Literacy

This qualitative study investigates communication issues in English as a second/foreign language using discourse analysis as a theoretical and methodological tool. This study investigated how three Hispanic international graduate assistants used their communicative competence with four evaluators in a performance test at a university in the American Midwest. Furthermore, this study explored the nature of communicative competence using conversational and critical discourse analyses. Conversational analysis of the discourse patterns of the three Hispanic international students revealed that their performance of conversational competence is observed when they make eye-contact, limit their participation to answering what is asked of them, use clarification questions, introduce themselves to their audiences, talk about class objectives, class requirements, textbooks and grading policy, among other possibilities. Critical discourse analysis of the data showed that the three test-takers embedded in their conversational frames issues related to social class, national and cultural origin, teacher talk, language of control, among other possibilities. From a sociolinguistic perspective, the data showed that the female and the male participants used language differently. Women tried to connect with their audiences all the time whereas the male participant always remained detached from his audience creating a status difference between him and his audience. This qualitative study suggests that conversational competence and the language of power typical of American academic interviews be included in the current conceptualization of communicative competence. Both of these subcategories were observed repeatedly in the discourse of the participants in this study. Pedagogical, assessment, and research implications are included.

Committee: Dr. Mary Benedetti (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2005, Secondary Education

This study was a content analysis of nine chapters in three level one Spanish textbooks and their alignment with Goal One of the Standards for Learning Spanish. The researcher examined 251 communicative activities to determine how well they aligned with Communication Standards 1.1,1.2, and 1.3 and what skill areas the activities required. Moreover, the amount of Spanish the activities required of students was examined. Four research questions were developed for this study. Research Questions 1-3 were directly aligned with Communication Standards 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3. Research Questions 1-3 were designed to answer to what extent the communicative activities met the standards and what communicative paths or skill areas the activities required. Research Question 4 was designed to answer how much Spanish the activities' components required. Each research question had a corresponding coding form. The coding forms were evaluated and the researcher then conducted a pilot test of the forms. As a result of the evaluations and the pilot test, the forms were revised. The content analysis of the 251 communicative activities yielded 1,004 coding forms. Frequency counts and percentages were the basis of the data analysis. The findings from the study indicate that overall, the communicative activities did not meet Goal One, as defined by the three communication standards. Research Questions 1-3 focused on the standards and the communicative paths or skill areas aligned with each standard. More activities met Standard 1.1 than Standards 1.2 or 1.3. Thirty-five activities partially met Standard 1.2 and 24 activities partially met Standard 1.3. Zero activities fully met Standards 1.2 and 1.3. The analysis highlighted that the communicative paths used most frequently were receptive rather than productive. Reading and listening were used more frequently than other communicative paths. Research Question 4 (divided into three parts) was concerned with the amount of Spanish required in the d (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Susan Kushner Benson (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Arts, University of Akron, 2013, Communication

The purpose of the proposed study was to examine the relationship between superiors and subordinates with respect to communicative behaviors. This study focused on subordinates' perceptions of their superiors' levels of communication competence; communication competence was studied as a function of the use of the five conflict management styles. In addition, this study addressed the following question: Is there a significant relationship in terms of superiors' styles of conflict management and their respective subordinates' perceptions of their ability to effectively communicate? The study was based on the communicative behaviors that leaders of an organization display and their potential to influence the manner in which they are perceived by those they lead. The underlying theories that framed this study are those of conflict management and communicative competence. The results of the study showed a significant relationship between the conflict management styles displayed by a supervisor and how he or she was perceived as a competent communicator by his or her subordinates. The post hoc analyses also demonstrated that there was a significant difference in the subordinates' perceived communicative competence level of the supervisor between the conflict management styles of competing and accommodating and between the conflict management styles of avoiding and accommodating. Finally, the analysis revealed that supervisors who used an accommodating style of conflict management had significantly better communicative competence levels than the supervisors that used either competing or avoiding styles of conflict management. Discussion of these findings and recommendations for future research are provided. ¿¿¿

Committee: Heather Walter Dr. (Advisor); Julia Spiker Dr. (Committee Member); Andrew Rancer Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication