Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2014, Foundations of Education: Educational Psychology

There is a growing body of work that examines the epistemic beliefs of learners and the role those beliefs play in the development of their critical thinking and other cognitive processes (Hofer, 2001). This study examines the epistemic beliefs of English language learners, a population of learners that is relatively understudied on the topic of personal epistemology. More specifically, this qualitative study explores ELLs' dimensional and developmental epistemic beliefs about vocabulary knowledge in English. First-year international undergraduate students enrolled in remedial ESL writing courses were given a series of speaking and writing placement tests in an Intensive ESL program at a Mid-western university. Responses to writing prompts and interviews were analyzed for this study from an epistemological lens to determine the espoused epistemic beliefs of English language learners. Results suggested that many ELLs espoused advanced epistemic beliefs (i.e., evaluativism) about vocabulary knowledge most of the time. There was a general disparity found, however, with ELLs' epistemic beliefs about the source and justification of English vocabulary knowledge. That is, there was a tendency for ELLs to espouse less sophisticated epistemic beliefs (i.e., absolutism) about source and justification of vocabulary knowledge. This implies that participants' beliefs about these dimensions of knowledge and knowing might be hindering the emergence of more sophisticated epistemic beliefs in the domain of English language learning. Additional implications suggest that ESL curriculum needs to focus on developing ELLs' use of the appropriate cognitive strategies (i.e., critical thinking) to determine the most accurate sources of vocabulary knowledge in specified communicative contexts.

Committee: Florian Feucht Dr. (Committee Chair); Lisa Pescara-Kovach Dr. (Committee Member); Thomas Dunn Dr. (Committee Member); Susanna Hapgood Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Psychology; English As A Second Language; Epistemology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2006, Teaching and Learning

This study investigates the effectiveness of teaching U.S. immigrant Limited English Proficient (LEP) students in one district in Ohio. It studies the educational programs and instructional approaches related to linguistic development and academic achievement of LEP students. The study hypothesizes the effect of programmatic, interceptive social interactions both at an instructional and peer level in a school setting on the LEP students' learning, strategies, engagement, behaviors, motivation, and attitudes during their transition into the mainstream classroom and into society. The data help to understand the learning conditions, characteristics, and outcomes of the U.S. immigrant LEP students who entered one school district as a middle or high school student, and were at the final stages of their education and training in a high school setting. A sample of 103 voluntary 11th and 12th grade LEP English-as-a-Second- Language (ESL) students (immigrants, n=38, refugees, n=59, and temporary residents, n=6) in nine high schools in the district participated in the study by completing the three questionnaires. Validity of the instruments was established by expert opinions from colleagues in the state and district school, while reliability was assessed based on a pilot study. Measures were descriptive statistics and t-test statistics. The results of the data analyses showed that the district's LEP ESL high school students tended to have better proficiency in oral language (i.e., listening and speaking) than in reading and writing. In particular, ESL teachers were identified as “the best English helpers,” indicating a lack of systematic school support of LEP students from mainstream teachers, American peers, or ESL peers. The results showed that the LEP ESL high school students' social interaction was either self- or family-oriented, where they were more likely to use their home language and to receive little linguistic and academic assistance. Overall, the findings indicate (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Charles Hancock (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Language and Literature

Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, 2024, English

While some resources exist to support adult English language learning in Dayton, Ohio, many immigrants and asylum seekers are prevented from accessing language classes due to barriers of scheduling, transportation, and childcare. This prevents the city of Dayton from incorporating the skills and strengths of its members not fully integrated into the community. In this study, the researcher takes a holistic and assets-based approach to adult English Language Learning (ELL). A tutoring, classroom hybrid English program was implemented to support the large Hispanic/Latinx population at Immaculate Conception Church, in partnership with Brunner Literacy Center. To mitigate barriers of scheduling, transportation, and childcare, the program was scheduled immediately after the well-attended Spanish worship service each Sunday morning, while a children's program took place simultaneously. Attendance increased over the course of the program from about 20 to 30 learners weekly. Volunteers reported feeling supported and satisfied with their volunteer experiences. Learners reported positive relationships with their tutors and an increase in confidence in their ability to speak English.

Committee: Jennifer Haan (Advisor); Colleen Gallagher (Committee Member); Stacie Covington (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Education; Educational Sociology; Educational Theory; English As A Second Language

PHD, Kent State University, 2022, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration

In 2015, then-Higher Education Minister Rodolfo Alarcon said in response to many Cubans' inability to communicate in the international language, English fluency would be required by students as a university exit requirement (“Mastering English,” 2015). The purpose of this interpretive qualitative study was to understand the experiences of Cuban university English instructors, who encountered these curricular changes. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews with six university instructors and emailed responses from another six. The participants included both current and former faculty members who left the teaching profession for more lucrative careers in private tutoring or tourism. Motivational Systems Theory (Ford, 1992), various aspects of social identity (Gray & Morton, 2018) and my own experience as an EFL instructor guided the study in understanding the instructors' social identity, motivation, and self-agency. The data were analyzed using computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software. The findings showed differing experiences among men and women and urban and rural instructors. Faculty expressed both positive and negative teaching experiences, and, as a result of some unfavorable experiences, some instructors left the field of teaching altogether and applied their talents to the growing tourism and private business sectors. In addition to understanding the experiences of the study's participants, the investigation also provides valuable insight into the evolution of English teaching in Cuban higher education, the consequences of educational borrowing and the complexity of conducting research within an authoritarian regime.

Committee: Martha Merrill (Advisor) Subjects: Bilingual Education; Caribbean Studies; Comparative; Education; Education History; Education Policy; Educational Evaluation; Educational Theory; English As A Second Language; Foreign Language; Higher Education Administration; Latin American History; Latin American Studies; Linguistics; Modern Language; Multicultural Education; Multilingual Education; Personality Psychology; School Administration; Teacher Education; Teaching; Technology

Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, 2022, English

A significant body of scholarship exists on second language (L2) learning investment and strategies within the classroom, yet considerations for successful L2 learners in fragile contexts with limited formal education are conspicuously absent from literature. This article explores enabling factors of successful L2 learning in the particular warscape (Korf et al., 2010) of Afghanistan within the sociological framework of investment (Norton, 1995) and psychological framework of motivation (Garner & Lambert, 1972). The researcher surveyed and interviewed U.S.-based individuals from Afghanistan who acquired English proficiency there. Results indicate participants were able to overcome barriers to formal education through independent study and family advocacy and achieve high levels of proficiency despite little to no formal language instruction. The article discusses participants' motivation and social positioning with respect to English language learning in light of Norton's framework of investment, as well as possible implications for aid agencies serving regions in conflict.

Committee: Jennifer Haan (Advisor) Subjects: English As A Second Language

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2022, EDU Teaching and Learning

The present study attempted to examine the general trends and details of English majoring Korean EFL college students' L2 academic writing anxiety and self-efficacy and to explore potential sources of their L2 academic writing anxiety and self-efficacy. Although affective aspects in second language acquisition (SLA) have been extensively studied over time, the majority of study has focused exclusively on the negative psychological aspects (e.g., language anxiety). On the other hand, self-efficacy has been considerably explored in the field of educational psychology to discuss the relationships between self-efficacy and academic performance. In the L2 context, however, self-efficacy is a more recent topic of interest, and only a few studies have explored both L2 writing anxiety and self-efficacy. Hence, drawing on Bandura's (1986) social cognitive theoretical framework, both negative and positive psychological dimensions centered around L2 academic writing anxiety and self-efficacy were chosen as the foci of the present study. This study adopted an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach to understanding quantitative results with more in-depth qualitative data (Creswell, 2014). The first quantitative phase of the study derived from a series of statistical analyses of survey data of a total of 174 participants by using two measurement scales, Cheng's (2004) Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI) and Latif's (2015) English Writing Self-Efficacy Scale (EWSS); one independent writing task from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL); and a background information questionnaire. In the following qualitative phase, there were two sets of qualitative data: one derived from open-ended questionnaire responses from a total of 150 participants and the other from individual semi-structured interviews of 16 participants. For the interviews, based on the survey results, 16 focal participants were selected and divided into 4 groups: (a) high anxiety and l (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Alan Hirvela Dr. (Committee Chair); George Newell Dr. (Committee Member); Leslie Moore Dr. (Committee Co-Chair) Subjects: Education; Educational Psychology; Foreign Language; Language

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), University of Findlay, 2020, Education

Limited research has been conducted on culturally responsive teaching (CRT) and college level English Language Learners (ELLs). The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the perceptions and practices of CRT among college level English as a Second Language (ESL) instructors. Two questions guided the multi-case study: 1) What are college level ESL instructor's understandings of culturally responsive teaching; and 2) How do college level ESL instructors use culturally responsive teaching practices in their classes? Data was collected from three college level ESL instructors, working in university Intensive English Programs (IEPs), through non-participant classroom observations and semi-structured interviews. Four themes emerged from the data: creating a classroom community, not pushing the American way, unbiased treatment of cultures, and preparation for a culturally responsive classroom with the subthemes of asking questions, listening to students, and researching backgrounds. Additionally, the study examined the frequency of the 17 CRT practices created by Rhodes (2013) used and compared that to the instructors' perceptions of use. Lastly, the study investigated the practices describe as the most important to the instructors' teaching.

Committee: Allison Baer (Committee Chair) Subjects: Adult Education; English As A Second Language

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2020, Cross-Cultural, International Education

As the student population in Minnesota continues to diversify, the school environment increasingly does not reflect student needs. In Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs, there is often an English as a New Language (ENL) track in which adults may participate. ABE students range from Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE) to students with advanced degrees from their country of origin. The dearth and aging body of ENL ABE research concerning overarching student perceptions has led to the following research questions I examine in this study: 1) How do low level English as a New Language adult Latino immigrant students experience their own learning? 2) How do these participants teach others in the community and their family? I use a combination of Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (CSP) (Kinloch, 2017) and Cultural Capital Theory (Bourdieu, 1986) as a framework to analyze the perceptions of participants. I collected data from nine individual interviews with Mexican and Ecuadorian low level ENL students enrolled in an urban ABE program in Minnesota. I coded the data to examine common themes from the interviews. The data suggests adult Latino low-level ENL learners use and exchange their capital to access linguistic capital for different outcomes including agency, assimilation and personal fulfillment. Participants reported they teach others while seeking an outcome of building linguistic capital for their children, gaining United States school-cultural capital, and/or agency. Mediating factors such as gender, psychological factors, seeking different capital influenced this exchange process for participants.

Committee: Bruce Collet Ph.D. (Advisor); Christy Galletta Horner Ph.D. (Committee Member); Timothy Murnen Ph.D (Committee Member); Megan Strom Ph.D (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Education; English As A Second Language

Bachelor of Arts, Ohio University, 2019, Political Science

This thesis provides an overview of the major policies in the United States that have affected second language teaching. Then, it examines the debate that exists between two popular instructional methods of language teaching: bilingual education and English immersion. This thesis provides a case analysis of California's Proposition 227 of 1998, which mandated the use of English immersion as an instructional method in the state of California. The analysis examines the different language ideologies used by the policy advocates who were for or against the initiative.

Committee: DeLysa Burnier Dr. (Advisor) Subjects: Linguistics; Political Science

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2017, EDU Teaching and Learning

This study was motivated to provide a thick narration (Christou, 2006; Shenhav, 2005) of life experiences of English language learners and users from one of the Kachru's (1990) Expanding Circles, Indonesia. The Indonesian government's official political position dictates that English be granted a foreign language status. Within these sociocultural and political circumstances, the study examined the life histories of seven Indonesians regarding their identity construction, language ideology, and their transnational experiences. The participants were undertaking their doctoral degree in Indonesian universities and came to a US large university in the Midwest for a semester-long study abroad program called PKPI. The study utilized narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000; 2006) and case study (Merriam, 1998; Stake, 1997) methods in its attempt in understanding the meaningful real life events (Yin, 2011) in their landscape of action and consciousness (Brunner, 1986) throughout the participants' life-long and life-wide (Duff, 2012) experiences as English language learners and users. This study contributes to a better understanding of EFL learners and users' unique, profound, and rich stories from a periphery context regarding their identity constructions, language ideology and transnational experiences to fill the voids in SLA, TESOL and related fields (e.g Firth & Wagner, 1997; 2007; Kumaravadivelu, 2012; Pavlenko, 2001). The scholarship of identity and identity construction has been at in the center stage in the L2 research in the last few decades (e.g. Block, 2007; 2009; Gee, 2001; Norton Peirce, 1995; Norton, 2000; 2007; 2013). In this study, the participants' identity construction is described through the themes of (1) the emergence of identities, (2) moments of realization, and (3) establishing membership and affiliation. Throughout the themes, the participants indicated that the stories of their identity construction were complex, multiple, contradictory, (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Keiko Samimy (Advisor) Subjects: Curriculum Development; Education; Education Policy; English As A Second Language; Foreign Language; Higher Education; Language; Literacy; Sociolinguistics; Teaching

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2016, EDU Teaching and Learning

The present study made the first attempt to investigate three different participant groups' sense of efficacy (i.e., native English-speaking [NES], native Korean [NNES], and Korean 1.5 generation English-speaking [K1.5ES] teachers) in teaching English-mediated courses (i.e., courses taught in English) at the Korean university level. Although a few studies thus far have examined teachers' sense of efficacy in EFL contexts under a social cognitive theoretical framework, they focus exclusively on locally born nonnative English-speaking teachers' self-efficacy by assuming their low self-perceived English proficiency level. However, English-language classes are taking on an increasing importance in Korean universities and are being taught by individuals with varying backgrounds in both the Korean and English languages and cultures. Hence, it was necessary to look at how these different types of teachers actually feel about teaching English, as well as how they teach it. This study adopted a mixed-methods approach, more specifically an equivalent status design with respect to the weighting of the quantitative and qualitative data. As a starting point, the quantitative findings were obtained through a survey of a total of 130 participants (NES, 50; NNES, 50; K1.5ES, 30) teaching English-mediated courses at Korean universities. In addition, open-ended items on the same questionnaire examined diverse contributors to their self-efficacy in detail. Together, these survey findings presented a macro view of the teacher self-efficacy issue. As a next step, nine focal participants (i.e., three per group) who reported having a high degree of self-efficacy were selected for the qualitative portion of the study based on the survey results. Notably, by individually interviewing these participants and observing their classrooms, this study produced a micro view of self-efficacy, meaning self-efficacy displayed in depth. In terms of results, this study derived a few significant fi (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Alan Hirvela (Advisor); Keiko Samimy (Committee Member); Youngjoo Yi (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Education; Educational Psychology; English As A Second Language; Language; Social Research; Teaching

EdD, University of Cincinnati, 2014, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Curriculum and Instruction

This study employed pragmatic parallel mixed methods to determine the impact of TPD on early childhood teachers' pedagogical methodology and English acquisition by young children in South Korea. The data included observations from the TPD sessions and classrooms, interviews and lesson plans, as well as the pre- and post- test scores of the 42 participant children. The findings have provided valuable insights into (1) how the HIA TPD program could serve as a means of effective TPD, positive impact on the growth of teachers' English instructional practice, and young children's English learning, and (2) the benefits for children in the treatment group that was generally greater than the control group in the areas of VA, LS, and PA skills. Implications for further research on TPD and other supports for the integrated early childhood English education were discussed.

Committee: Holly Johnson Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Gulbahar Beckett Ph.D. (Committee Member); Hye Pae Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Teacher Education

Bachelor of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2009, Education

The goal of my study was to compare English Language Learner instruction for Spanish-speakingsiblings when taught individually and together. The English Language Learner [ELL] field is rapidly growing; however, not a lot of research has been done in the area of ELL siblings. Through this paper I will share the findings of my study in which I worked with two pairs of Spanish-speaking siblings individually and together to determine if working with a sibling has an effect on how the students focus on the lesson (if they pay attention more, are distracted easier, etc.) and on how much information the students take from the lesson. In my study I also examined teacher, peer, administration, and parental perception of ELL instruction and teacher preparedness for working with these students.

Committee: Lora Lawson PhD (Advisor); Debra Mallonee (Committee Member); Ruth Hoff PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Language Arts

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2011, EDU Teaching and Learning

This research documents the use of a pedagogy called dramatic inquiry (Edmiston, 2011) and active, rehearsal room approaches to reading Shakespeare (Royal Shakespeare Company Toolkit, 2010) in one third grade classroom during the 2010-2011 school year. Simultaneously, this research describes reading events built around the skills-based models of reading instruction while it also documents the introduction of a new way of structuring reading events in the same classroom using multiple ways of knowing beyond verbal and abstract (e.g. dramatic play, somatic, kinesthetic, gestural, musical, etc.). The findings describe the key linkages between changes in reading instruction towards dramatic inquiry and the changes in ELLs access to academic literacy and expanded repertoires for meaning-making. Critical social cultural theories of literacy education (Lewis, Enciso, & Moje, 2007) and a performative view on social life (Goffman, 1959) and education (Alexander, Anderson, & Gallegos, 2005) informed this performance ethnography and case studies of ELLs. Multiple ethnographic data collection methods were used across the school year during both non-dramatic and dramatic practices including; field notes, researcher journal, video-coded data, student artifacts, ethnographically grounded assessments, focus groups, interviews and informal reflections with the teacher and focal students. Data analysis relied on grounded theory (Glaser & Straus, 1967) and was informed by a priori theories of drama, reading, and ELL literacy education. It employed data reduction methods through constant comparative charts, photo analysis of movement and embodied meaning, and visual data maps of related events and word knowledge. Non-dramatic reading practices (e.g. reading group, word study) created a classroom culture of comparing reading skills. These practices were characterized by performances of knowing with inauthentic reading tasks, transmission teaching models, individual displays of fluenc (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Brian Edmiston (Advisor); Patricia Enciso (Advisor); Leslie Moore (Committee Member) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2005, Curriculum and Instruction (Education)

This study was conducted to evaluate the perception of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) within Teacher of English to speaker of other languages masters degree programs. Two groups evaluated hypothetical masters program's of study: one including CALL coursework and an identical program without CALL coursework. The literature reveals little about the extent, focus, and perception of such training. The study also identified the contribution of formal CALL teacher preparation and informal CALL teacher preparation upon attitude toward technology through use of a multiple regression test. Finally, a paired samples t-test was conducted to compare the values of formal CALL teaching preparation and informal CALL teaching preparation. A web-based survey was completed by 108 graduates of Teacher of English to speakers of other languages masters degree programs. The data reveal that there is a significant difference in rating of the hypothetical programs reflecting a significant preference for the program which included CALL. The study also concluded that informal CALL teaching preparation contributes to attitude toward technology while formal CALL teaching preparation does not. Further it appears from other data collection that most of what people attribute to their knowledge of CALL is based upon personal experience. The literature suggests that reliance upon this kind of preparation may not best serve pedagogical needs due to distinctions between personal and pedagogical use. A number of additional observations were made based upon individual questions and demographic information. Among these, attitude toward technology was rated extremely high, suggesting that the teacher of English to speakers of other languages professionals are very technologically confident. The formal CALL training evaluation does not seem to differ among decades of graduation among respondents: 1965-1975, 1976-1985, 1986-1995, 1996-2005. Respondents felt their informal CALL preparation was m (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Teresa Franklin (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Technology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2022, EDU Teaching and Learning

Given that minimal research has looked at doctoral level reading and considered the extent to which this is an intercultural experience for second language readers, this multiple case study explored the academic reading practices and perspectives of four international doctoral students from different first language backgrounds all studying in an Education program at a large research-intensive higher education institute in the midwestern United States.

Committee: Alan Hirvela (Advisor); George Newell (Advisor); Ian Wilkinson (Committee Member); Ulla Connor (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; English As A Second Language; Higher Education; Language; Literacy; Reading Instruction

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2020, EDU Teaching and Learning

International teaching assistants (ITA's) perform a variety of instructional roles in undergraduate education within North American universities. ITA training programs often exist to prepare them for such roles. Empirical work has examined ITA training courses, but most often through the practitioner's lens of program evaluation, which obscures many of subtleties of ITA's development. Most of this work focuses only on In-Service ITA's, the enrolled ITA's who concurrently serve in an instructional role for an undergraduate classroom. This narrowed focus excludes from much of the literature the perspectives of Pre-Service ITA's. More problematic is that undergirding much of the empirical ITA literature is the assumption that ITA's are wholly motivated to develop their skills because of their immediate need for such skills as instructors. Based on this assumption, the ITA's experience of the ITA training class has been largely overlooked. Like all second language learners, ITA's have complex motivations, identities, and learning trajectories that can fluctuate during their learning. These aspects need to be better understood. Should such areas remain unexplored, our understanding would remain limited to the outcomes of an ITA Training class, rather than the processes involved in it. What would result would be a misunderstanding based upon inaccurate assumptions. Pedagogies developed using these assumptions could impact not only the ITA learners, but the undergraduate students who ultimately receive instruction from ITA's. To address these shortcomings in the literature, a descriptive, qualitative, multiple case study was conducted during a semester-long ITA training course at Paw Paw State University (PPSU, pseudonym), a large research university in the American Midwest. To examine ITA's experience in the class, the study examined the ITA's investment (Norton & Darvin, 2015), which accounts for learners' identity, capital, and the ideological (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Leslie Moore (Advisor); Alan Hirvela (Committee Member); Mollie Blackburn (Committee Member); Lixin Ye (Other) Subjects: Education; English As A Second Language; Language; Teacher Education; Teaching

PHD, Kent State University, 2019, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of English

Scholars writing in translingual studies view language boundaries as fluid, consider multilinguals to have options that include shuttling back and forth between languages in order to achieve their rhetorical goals, and argue that monolingual ideologies are harmful. Translingual studies is part of a movement away from structuralist conceptions of language, and within translingualism language is viewed as “flexible, unstable, dynamic, layered, and mobile” (Blommaert, 2016, p. 244). This dissertation focuses on the translingual literacy practices of multilingual members of the Japanese/English school community at this university. I analyze writing processes, speech, and media usage of members of this community (English L1/Japanese L2 and Japanese L1/English L2) through the lens of translingualism. I find that the ways the participants move across English and Japanese is a dynamic and negotiable process. This study aims to contribute to the movement in translingual studies that changes the focus from mixed-language products to mixed-language processes. The movement to process, I argue, takes into consideration the goals of many learners of a second language, which is to gain a strong, native-like command of dominant varieties of foreign languages. My dissertation demonstrates specific methods that writing studies researchers may use to document translingual literacy practices. In addition, this study discusses detailed ways in which the participants use both English and Japanese in their literacy practices through multiple case studies. I conclude with a turn that focuses on pedagogical applications of the translingual framework, which I argue benefits both monolingual and multilingual students in writing classrooms.

Committee: Derek Van Ittersum (Committee Chair); Pamela Takayoshi (Committee Member); Keith Lloyd (Committee Member); Judy Wakabayashi (Committee Member) Subjects: Composition; English As A Second Language; Literacy; Multilingual Education; Multimedia Communications

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2018, East Asian Languages and Literatures

This study focuses on the acquisition of Japanese null arguments by English and Chinese speakers. Japanese is a language that allows that arguments at the subject and object positions to be phonologically unpronounced or null. It is standardly observed that Japanese null arguments are ambiguous in that they allow both strict and sloppy readings. Three analyses have been proposed to explain the ambiguity in Japanese null arguments: the pro-analysis, the VP-ellipsis analysis and the argument ellipsis analysis. Recent research shows the argument ellipsis analysis can capture the nature of null arguments in Japanese, while the other two analyses fail to explain them. Much of the previous research on second language (L2) acquisition of null arguments examined learners whose first language (L1) or L2 is a Spanish or English type language, assuming null arguments are null pronouns (pro). Therefore, the L2 acquisition of Japanese null arguments has not been well examined in terms of argument ellipsis. Adopting the anti-agreement hypothesis, according to which argument ellipsis is allowed in languages without f-feature agreement, the current experiment investigated the acquisition of L2 Japanese null arguments by speakers of f-feature agreement languages (English speakers) and speakers of anti-agreement languages (Chinese speakers). Using truth-value judgment tasks, English speaking learners of Japanese (ELJ) and Chinese learners of Japanese (CLJ) were examined to determine whether they would accept sloppy interpretations with null subjects and objects, the existence of sloppy interpretations being one of the diagnoses for argument ellipsis. I assume that deleting a feature present in L1 is more difficult than adding a feature absent in L1 to L2 since the former requires negative evidence while the latter only requires positive evidence. The following summarizes the results of the experiment: (A) Regarding the acceptance of sloppy interpretations with null subjec (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Nakayama Mineharu (Advisor); Xie Zhiguo (Committee Member) Subjects: Language; Linguistics

PHD, Kent State University, 2017, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies

The purpose of this multicase study was to examine how English as a second language (ESL) teachers teach writing to English language learners in grades 5-8. A qualitative multicase study design was used to explore the participants' teaching by addressing the following questions: (a) How do ESL teachers teach writing to English language learners in grades 5-8? (b) How do ESL teachers explain their pedagogical decisions for second language (L2) writing instruction? This study used Lantolf's Sociocultural Theory of Second Language Acquisition to understand how the teachers used mediating tools toward the goal of teaching second language writing. Participants were two ESL teachers in Ohio. Multiple sources of data were collected: a qualitative survey, classroom observations, fieldnotes, three semi-structured interviews with each participant lasting between 45-75 minutes each, instructional artifacts, and analytic memos. Findings revealed that these two ESL teachers only spent 11-12.5% of their instructional time in ESL on writing. In addition to receiving nominal time, writing tasks were limited in length and scope; students did not write anything longer than a paragraph in length and often only wrote individual sentences. Participants cited several obstacles they cited as impeded their writing instruction. The implications of this research point to the need to include writing pedagogy in ESL endorsement programs, the need for districts to implement defined goals and writing curricula for English learners, and the need to expand writing instruction beyond basic skills in order to prepare English learners for education, vocation, and everyday life.

Committee: Denise Morgan Ph.D. (Committee Chair) Subjects: Composition; Education; English As A Second Language; Teaching