The perspectives of female Emirati pre-service teachers on the use of English as a medium of instruction: An ethnographic investigation

This qualitative study examines an era in the history of English education in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by investigating the perspectives of English offered by 16 female Emirati pre-service teachers. As important stakeholders of education reform, these Emirati women are on the cusp of a linguistic transformation: They are learning in English while preparing to use English as a medium of instruction in classrooms of their own. Within an Arabian context characterised by dynamic change, conceptions of English and how it should be used in relation to Arabic have, undoubtedly, shifted in status and focus. This study explores the complex and diverse ways English is conceptualised and used by Emirati pre-service teachers during a particular phase of educational reforms shaped by expectations of bi-literacy in English and Arabic.This study has two main research questions. They are: 1) What are Emirati pre-service teachers’ conceptions of English in light of its use as a medium of instruction? 2) What are the social influences mediating their conceptions of English? This study, conceptualized as an unfolding, exploratory study, draws on ethnographic methods across three phases of data collection: focus group discussions, participant observations and ethnographic interviews. It also relies on theoretical assumptions about the role of language in the construction of knowledge across diffferent phases of learning, as set by Berger and Luckman (1971). The findings shared in this study shed light on the meanings Emirati pre-service teachers have of English in light of its use as a medium of instruction and the social influences mediating their conceptions. The study offers two main contributions to the field. The first includes a report on the range of ways that English and Arabic are used, modified and incorporated into the participants’ linguistic repertoires, showing that the use of EMI reflects several discrete types of conversational practices. The second contribition highlights awareness of a rich linguistic backdrop. In Abu Dhabi, English and Arabic constitute foregrounded roles in a diverse and multilingual capital city where other languages are experienced and ranked in social importance. The findings conclude that English is regarded as more than a resource serving pragmatic purposes and creative impulses, English is also seen as a feature of Abu Dhabi as a social space. The themes shared in this study are intended to promote clarity of the sociolinguistic dynamics of a particular sub-group of Emirati pre-service teachers and their understandings of the use of English as a medium of instruction in higher education and stimulate discussion about the ways in which English is integrated into daily life on this peninsula in the Arabian Gulf

Code switching, language mixing and fused lects : language alternation phenomena in multilingual Mauritius

Focusing on a series of multiparty recordings carried out between the months of October and March 2012 and drawing on a theoretical framework based on work of linguists such as Auer (1999), Backus (2005), Bakker (2000), Maschler (2000) and Matras (2000a and 2000b), this thesis traces the evolution of a continuum of language alternation phenomena, ranging from simple code-switching to more complex forms of 'language alloying' (Alvarez- Càccamo 1998) such as mixed codes and fused lects in multilingual Mauritius. Following Auer (2001), the different conversational loci of code-switching are identified. Particular emphasis has been placed upon, amongst others, the conversational locus of playfulness where, for instance, participants' spontaneous lapses into song and dance sequences as they inspire themselves from Bollywood pop songs and creatively embed segments in Hindustani within a predominantly Kreol matrix are noted. Furthermore, in line with Auer (1999), Backus (2005) and Muysken (2000), emerging forms of language mixing such as changes in the way possessive marking is carried in Kreol and instances of semantic shift in Bhojpuri/ Hindustani words like nasha and daan have been highlighted and their pragmatic significance explained with specific reference to the Mauritian context. Finally, in the fused lect stage, specific attention has been provided to one key feature namely phonological blending which has resulted in the coinage of the discourse marker ashe and its eventual use in the process of discourse marker switching. In the light of the above findings, this thesis firstly critiques the strengths and weaknesses of the notion of the code switching (CS) continuum (Auer 1999) itself by revealing the difficulties encountered, at the empirical level, in assigning the correct label to the different types of language alternation phenomena evidenced in this thesis. In the second instance, it considers the impact of such shifts along the language alternation continuum upon language policy and planning in contemporary Mauritius and advocates for a move away from colonial language policies such as the 1957 Education Act in favour of updated ones that are responsive to the language practices of speakers.Linguistics and Modern LanguagesD. Litt. et Phil. (Linguistics

Understanding Latina Undergraduate Engineering Student Persistence

In summary, this study focused on understanding the persistence of 20 Latina undergraduate engineering students enrolled at two public four-year Hispanic Serving Institutions. Key findings in this study showed that in order to contribute to their own persistence in engineering majors these Latina students activated their community cultural wealth: (a) not only to resist different forms of oppression, but also to thrive and excel in academic settings, (b) to take control of difficult and challenging experiences, (c) to take/receive knowledge from others, but also to give/share their knowledge (cyclical tendencies of CCW), (d) as well as revealing that helping others was the reason many chose to become engineers. Two major findings of this study regarding Latina undergraduate engineering student persistence included: (e) major finding #1: the influence of faith on Latina student persistence, and (f) major finding #2: overt and covert applications of capital

Soy El Primero: First-Generation Latino/a College Students' Experiences of Acculturative Stress and Coping Response in College

Title from PDF of title page viewed January 7, 2020Dissertation advisor: Michelle MaherVitaIncludes bibliographical references (page 152-173)Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Education, Social Science Consortium. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2019First-generation Latino/a student enrollment in U.S. Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) is increasing. However, first-generation Latino/a students' ability to persist and graduate from PWIs has been and continues to be a pressing concern. The climate of the PWI campus caters to the prevailing norms and practices of white students and likely contributes to first-generation Latino/a students’ experiences of acculturative stress on the college campus. This phenomenological research study explored the acculturative stress experienced by first-generation Latino/a students attending PWIs, as well as their subsequent coping responses to this stress. Study findings revealed several on- and off-campus causes of acculturative stress and several coping responses, some of which were more successful than others. Recommendation for PWI policy and practices are offered.Introduction -- Literature review -- Design and methods -- Study results -- Discussion, recommendations, and ideas for future research -- Appendix A. Interview protocol: student -- Appendix B. Interview protocol: University Student Affairs professional -- Appendix C. Informed consent: student -- Appendix D: Informed consent : University Student Affairs professiona

Shift in the heart of Texas : a quantitative and qualitative investigation of intergenerational language shift from Spanish to English in Austin, Texas

The current U.S. sociopolitical climate of the U.S. has caused many Hispanophone families to stop transmitting Spanish to the next generation as they assimilate to the dominant Anglo-American culture, a sociolinguistic process known as language shift. Numerous studies have concluded that after the initial generation of immigrants, proficiency in Spanish diminishes with each subsequent generation until complete language shift is realized, often by the third generation (Veltman 1988; Bills, Hernández-Chávez, and Hudson, 1995; Rivera-Mills 2000; Bills 2005; MacGregor-Mendoza 2005; Wolford and Carter 2010, 2018). The current study provides a more comprehensive overview of intergenerational language shift from Spanish to English than previous studies-by examining the problem through both quantitative and qualitative measures in Austin, Texas, an understudied speech community for this topic. Quantitative measures consisted of a) an online questionnaire examining proficiency and language usage patterns in Spanish and English; and b) semi-structured sociolinguistic interviews to investigate a series of grammatical and lexical variables. Applying Ethnolinguistic Vitality Theory (Giles, Bourhis, and Taylor 1977) and Fishman’s Language Reversal Theory (Fishman 1991, 2001), I also qualitatively examined interview transcriptions for personal accounts of language shift to humanize the data. Quantitative analysis revealed that generations farther removed from immigration showed statistically significant lower rates of Spanish usage and proficiency, higher rates of English usage and proficiency, as well as higher rates of grammatical substitution in gender concord, aspect, and mood, loanshifts, and lexical creations. There were very few statistically significant differences between consecutive generations, which challenges previous three-generation language shift models that claim language shift to be a predictable and deterministic process. Qualitative analysis revealed language shift to be a highly painful process replete with identity issues, linguistic insecurity, and isolation from more proficient Spanish-speaking family members. Likewise, exogamous marriages, assimilatory pressure starting in school, gentrification, internalized racism, machista norms in household language decisions, and fear of deportation all contribute to language shift by discouraging speakers to use Spanish and teach it to their children, thereby negatively impacting both the subjective and objective ethnolinguistic vitality of Spanish in Austin (Giles et al. 1977; Gao, Schmidt, and Gudykunst 1994; Yagmur and Ehala 2011).Spanish and Portugues

Audience and the writing development of young bilingual children

textThe purpose of this dissertation was to explore how young Latina/o bilingual children’s skill at codeswitching might be leveraged in service of their (bi)literacy learning. This study drew on a cultural modeling framework, guided by sociocultural and translingual theories of literacy. Using a design-based research methodology, I worked with a first grade teacher to implement a pedagogical innovation in her ESL classroom. This innovation involved a curricular focus on audience awareness, including interaction between writers and bilingual audiences. Students’ writing and writing-related talk was ethnographically documented and analyzed in order to see how such an emphasis on audience mediated children’s (bi)literacy development. Such analysis suggested that children’s language choices in speech and writing were influenced by their experiences with the curriculum, as they moved towards using more Spanish, codeswitching and codemeshing. Students articulated metapragmatic awareness that built on their interactions with readers. Students’ awareness of their audience also mediated their rhetorical astuteness, guiding them in choosing between a range of languages and modalities in response to their intended readers. Together, these suggest that writing instruction for young bilingual children should include opportunities to write for real purposes and readers.Curriculum and Instructio

More Than Just Dictionaries: Exploring the Incorporation and Use of Linguistically Inclusive Materials in a Middle School Library Media Center

The school library media center (SLMC) is a space in schools that can be overlooked when trying to reach students. The English language learner (ELL) population is a sector of the student population that is growing in the United States, and growing at faster rates in the state of South Carolina. With a growing population of ELL students, there are also misconceptions about the incorporation of native language materials in the academic setting. Being able to offer ELL students the opportunity to utilize their home languages can encourage the use of the SLMC. This study implemented an intervention to determine if the incorporation of native language materials for ELL students increased their participation in the SLMC. This study implemented a convergent parallel design with a mixed methods approach. The study included an observation of a middle school library media center to track movements through spaces created by the library media specialist (LMS). This study also relied on interviews with critical stakeholders in the school and circulation data for the SLMC\u27s literary collection, specifically the native language materials checked out during the observation. I also utilized a parental survey with ELL parents to include the perspective of this important population

Proceedings of the University of Cambridge Interdisciplinary Graduate Conference 2010

Second, revised edition of the Proceedings, originally published on CD-Rom as ISBN 978-0-9566139-0-5.Proceedings of the third annual Interdisciplinary Graduate Conference at the University of Cambridge