THE PERCEPTIONS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS ON THEIR LEVEL OF PREPAREDNESS TO COMPLETE COLLEGE COURSES TAUGHT IN ENGLISH: AN INTERPRETATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS DRAWING UPON CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGY

As the English language learner (ELL) population in the United States continues to grow and the number of non-native speakers entering institutes of higher education increases, there is a growing need to shift the paradigm on how universities serve ELLs. While there is a body of literature to support K-12 literacy, there is little to support college ELLs. As if the lack of research was not enough, ELLs are suffering on standardized tests, college placement tests are waning, and ELLs are not receiving proper advisement, thus suffering in standard English composition courses and failing out. Drawing upon the framework of culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP), this study explored ELLs’ perception on their level of preparedness to complete college courses taught in English. Secondary research questions explored the factors that ELLs perceive as the non-academic and academic influences on their academic performance. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) laid the methodological framework for the data collection and analysis of six participants, who were college level ELLs at a four-year public university and recruited through snowball sampling. Data analysis found the following themes which helped to answer the primary and secondary research questions: preparedness, belonging, perseverance, relationships, and resources. The study built upon the extant CRP research to help educators better understand ELLs and develop curriculum and classroom strategies that are inclusive and facilitate motivation and acquisition of literacy skills. In addition, institutes of higher education may draw upon the findings to develop student support services for ELLs

Narrative-Based Visual Theology for Oral Learning Pastor Training

In the realms of popular education, literates hold the day, yet they are not the majority. Even in our highly-advanced world, non-literates or oral communicators, still comprise the largest class of potential learners awaiting an education. The problems they face are complicated and challenging. Physical and financial access to education stop most oral communicators before they even start. If they had access to a local educational institution, more massive hurdles await, including literacy itself followed closely by lack of attention to the learning styles of oral learners. Yet there is hope. When educators determine to address the unique needs and challenges faced by the non-literate world majority, new schemas arise. This paper examines some of those efforts while focusing on one segment of oral societies, those individuals in spiritual leadership, pastors. Oral learning pastors bear the significant burden of providing spiritual guidance in a field where this knowledge is usually gained through literate means. I will offer a clear explanation of the problems faced by these leaders, what means and methods have been attempted to reach them in the past as well as more recent efforts to address more appropriate andragogic methods. This paper will explore learning style preferences for oral communicators while giving attention to field tested methods examined in the last thirty years. A review of ancient oral communications brought into modern practice will demonstrate effective models of verbal and visual teaching and learning. An emphasis on theological accuracy and reproducibility will present compelling evidence that oral learners represent the largest untapped resource of the global church

Learn Languages, Explore Cultures, Transform Lives

Selected Papers from the 2015 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Aleidine J. Moeller, Editor 1. Creating a Culture-driven Classroom One Activity at a Time — Sharon Wilkinson, Patricia Calkins, & Tracy Dinesen 2. The Flipped German Classroom — Theresa R. Bell 3. Engaging Learners in Culturally Authentic Virtual Interactions —Diane Ceo-Francesco 4. Jouney to Global Competence: Learning Languages, Exploring Cultures, Transforming Lives — J. S. Orozco-Domoe 5. Strangers in a Strange Land: Perceptions of Culture in a First-year French Class — Rebecca L. Chism 6. 21st Century World Language Classrooms: Technology to Support Cultural Competence — Leah McKeeman & Blanca Oviedo 7. Effective Cloud-based Technologies to Maximize Language Learning — Katya Koubek & John C. Bedward 8. An Alternative to the Language Laboratory: Online and Face-to-face Conversation Groups — Heidy Cuervo Carruthers 9. Free Online Machine Translation: Use and Perceptions by Spanish Students and Instructors —Jason R. Jolley & Luciane Maimone 10. A Corpus-based Pedagogy for German Vocabulary — Colleen Neary-Sundquist 11. Grammar Teaching Approaches for Heritage Learners of Spanish —Clara Burgo 12. Going Online: Research-based Course Design — Elizabeth Harsm

Toward an effective communication model for the evangelization of the Indian diaspora in Korea : an analysis of Indians\u27 perceptions of Christianity and the Korean church\u27s missional approach

https://place.asburyseminary.edu/ecommonsatsdissertations/1854/thumbnail.jp

Leadership and leadership development in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania, Africa : an investigation into practices and processes in the Meru Diocese

https://place.asburyseminary.edu/ecommonsatsdissertations/1733/thumbnail.jp

Translanguaging in World Language Higher Education

Increased global migration and a myriad of other social and political factors has made today’s universities more diverse than ever. As a result, teachers in higher education regularly find multilingual learners from a variety of different linguistic and cultural backgrounds in their classrooms and must consider this diversity in their teaching. One of the ways that teaching can better serve today’s multilingual and multicultural student population is through translanguaging. The objective of this dissertation is to investigate the intentional and unintentional use of translanguaging by multilingual language learners and world language instructors in higher education. Additionally, this qualitative case study aims to explore the perceptions of both teachers and students towards translanguaging, using transformative interviewing to prompt participants to reflect on their own language learning ideologies and the application of translanguaging pedagogies to their teaching and learning. Findings point to numerous ways in which both teachers and students in world language university classrooms use translanguaging to make meaning during their language teaching and learning experiences. In addition, class observations and transformative interviews showed how participants gained reflective self-awareness and began to reconsider more/different ways in which translanguaging could enrich their teaching and learning. The significance of the study lies in a greater understanding of what translanguaging could look like in world language higher education settings, particularly regarding the way in which more inclusive language pedagogies such as translanguaging can allow teachers to recognize and utilize the full linguistic repertoire of their multilingual students while at the same time navigating tensions related to target language use and time constraints. Advisor: Theresa Catalan

Navigating Reconciliation through Cultural Flows for Industrialized Free-Flowing Rivers

Cultural flows are an emergent water policy tool gaining recognition for their potential to overcome the continued marginalization of Indigenous peoples’ interests in Canadian freshwater governance, but quantified cultural flows are rarely adopted by state governments. Using community-based participatory research and leveraging an Ethical Space Framework, this research provides practical insight into the adoption of cultural flows in ways mutually acceptable to state governments and Indigenous peoples. The practical insight was gained by demonstrating the significance of a quantified cultural flows example termed Aboriginal Navigation Flows from Alberta and the institutional influences on its adoption by a state government. Data collected through documents and interviews revealed that ANF were significant because they translated an Indigenous conception of wellness connecting river navigability, boating, human relationships, human-waterscape relationships, Indigenous rights, and self-determined change adaptation. These insights into ANF significance showed how cultural flows could meaningfully shape freshwater governance in which environmental flow assessments for free-flowing rivers are undertaken. Data collected through documents and interviews and analyzed using the Implementing Innovation Framework revealed that structural institutions critically influenced ANF adoption. Joint communications by collaborating Indigenous peoples worked to overcome state government resistance grounded in vested economic interests. To reshape structural institutions, cultural drivers of ANF adoption could be better leveraged by overcoming individual barriers to ANF adoption. Collectively, these insights into ANF adoption show how freshwater governance arenas may become ethical spaces