DE eng

Search in the Catalogues and Directories

Hits 1 – 14 of 14

1
Investigating First Year Undergraduate EAL Students' Academic Literacy Experiences.
Freeman, Keri. - : Griffith University, 2018
Abstract: Australian universities have become places where students from diverse backgrounds and cultures come together to pursue tertiary education. This study contributes to current understandings of how universities have responded to their now diverse student body, and adds insight into curricula and classroom practices which might better accommodate learners who have English as an Additional Language (EAL). While issues surrounding EAL students have been examined and discussed for two decades, Lea and Street (2006), Leask (2013), and Wingate (2015) contend that university pedagogies and practices are yet to adequately cater for students from diverse backgrounds. In particular, disciplinary pedagogies tend to be dominated by assumptions that EAL students’ linguistic, cultural, and educational backgrounds are deficits, which limit their capacity to adapt to Australian tertiary learning environments. Accordingly, research which focuses on first year EAL students’ academic expectations and experiences is critical so that Australian universities can enhance current pedagogies which guide curricula and classroom practices. This study employed Lea and Street’s (1998) academic literacies approach to examine how first year undergraduate EAL students from a range of educational and cultural backgrounds, and fields of study, mediated their first year at an English-speaking university. The study investigated participants’ academic expectations, academic socialisation, and academic literacies, including their experiences constructing new student identities, and engaging with teachers and peers. Such research is important to provide evidence of best practice strategies to support EAL students’ literacy and learning, and foster a sense of belonging. This study also examined participants’ academic reading, a fundamental aspect of academic literacy which has been under researched (Hill & Meo, 2015; Wingate, 2015). Three research questions guided the study: Research Question 1 investigated participants’ expectations of their new learning environment; Research Question 2 examined how the students mediated their academic socialisation; and Research Question 3 investigated what factors enabled and constrained participants’ academic literacies. The primary research method was a multiple case study approach in which eight units of analysis were embedded within the research setting, a university in South East Queensland. The study employed a three phase explanatory qualitative and quantitative research design. A self-administered questionnaire with a convenience sample size of 159 first year EAL students was implemented in Phase I. The questionnaire examined respondents’ expectations of academic conventions and skills, academic reading, and engagement with teachers and peers. The survey data were analysed using SPSS software to generate descriptive statistics. The findings informed the qualitative case study inquiry. Phase II was the first stage of the multiple case studies. Eight case study participants were recruited through purposive sampling. Phase II examined participants’ academic socialisation experiences. Data was collected through weekly structured interviews, and course document analysis. In Phase III, semi-structured interviews investigated participants’ classroom experiences, student identities, and academic relationships with teachers and peers. The case study data were analysed using thematic analysis, which involved an iterative process of reading, rereading, and coding the data into themes related to the issues under investigation. The multiple sources of data revealed that participants’ expectations and experiences were homogenous, despite their diverse backgrounds. This suggests that first year EAL students share similar literacy and learning needs. Participants demonstrated an understanding of disciplinary literacy practices and conventions. They expected to enhance their language, academic, and intercultural communication skills, with the help of course teachers. They believed it was important to feel a sense of belonging in their new academic community, and engage with domestic peers. However, these expectations were largely unfulfilled. The findings also showed that EAL students often underestimate the reality of course reading demands. Nevertheless, participants demonstrated positive student identities by adapting and extending their literacy practices to successfully mediate disciplinary requirements. They read strategically by engaging with academic texts they believed were relevant to their literacy and learning. Participants’ academic achievements indicated that their linguistic, cultural, and educational backgrounds did not hinder their capability to engage in their courses and complete assessment tasks. This suggests that the prevailing perception about EAL students’ cultural and educational backgrounds being barriers to learning is misguided. However, the participants’ academic literacies were hindered when they encountered classroom learning environments which did not incorporate language and literacy instruction, constructive feedback on assessments, or peer engagement. There was also little evidence that courses applied reading pedagogies. These challenges, in particular the lack of classroom engagement with domestic peers, negatively affected their sense of belonging in their new academic community. The study findings reveal a disparity between EAL students’ classroom experiences, and best practice first year and internationalisation strategies recommended in the literature (e.g., Lea & Street, 2006; Leask, 2013; Wingate, 2015). A noteworthy finding is that the teaching practices which help EAL students’ communicative confidence and learning require little effort. That is, when teachers show interest, and facilitate cross-cultural classroom interactions, there is a positive impact on students’ feelings of belonging. The implication is teachers are in the best position to provide supportive and inclusive classroom learning environments that fulfil ; Thesis (PhD Doctorate) ; Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) ; School Educ & Professional St ; Arts, Education and Law ; Full Text
Keyword: Academic expectations; Academic literacies; Cultural backgrounds; EAL students; Reading pedagogies
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10072/377655
BASE
Hide details
2
The Negotiation of Meaning: Examining Children's Linguistic Repertoires in a Francophone Preschool
Shoecraft, Kelly Ann. - : Griffith University, 2018
BASE
Show details
3
Children from bi/multilingual homes in Queensland secondary schools: an exploratory study of their experiences and learning environments
Gilmour, Lynette Ann. - : Griffith University, 2017
BASE
Show details
4
A Comparative Study on Learner's Dictionaries
Yu, Pingfang; Du, Jiali; Zhang, Kelei. - : The Commercial Press, 2016
BASE
Show details
5
Machine Learning from Garden Path Sentences: The Application of Computational Linguistics
Du, J.; Yu, P.; Li, Minglin. - : International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 2014
BASE
Show details
6
Shaping socialist ideology through language education policy for primary schools in the PRC
Li, Minglin. - : Routledge, 2011
BASE
Show details
7
Beyond the curriculum: A Chinese example of issues constraining effective English language teaching
Li, Minglin; Baldauf, Richard. - : Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, 2011
BASE
Show details
8
Language Acquisition Management Inside and Outside the School
BASE
Show details
9
Review of 'Language Policy' [by Bernard Spolsky]
Li, Minglin; Richard B. Baldauf, B.. - : Cambridge University Press, 2008
BASE
Show details
10
Successes and failures in language planning for European languages in Asian nations
Baldauf Jr., Richard B.; Yeo-Chua, Siew Kheng Catherine; Graf, Jocelyn. - : European Institute, Sophia University; Japan Esperanto Institute, 2008
BASE
Show details
11
Language acquisition management inside and outside the school
BASE
Show details
12
Language Education Policy and Management: Language Acquisition Management Inside and Outside the School
Baldauf, Richard B.; Li, Minglin; Zhao, Shouhui. - : John Wiley and Sons, 2008
BASE
Show details
13
On the Construction of English Teachers’ Knowledge Base — A Case Study on Curriculum Setup of Teacher Training in Colleges and Universities
Li, Minglin. - : People's Education Press, 2007
BASE
Show details
14
Foreign Language Education in Primary Schools in the People's Republic of China
Li, Minglin. - : Taylor and Francis, 2007
BASE
Show details

Catalogues
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Bibliographies
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Linked Open Data catalogues
0
Online resources
0
0
0
0
Open access documents
14
0
0
0
0
© 2013 - 2024 Lin|gu|is|tik | Imprint | Privacy Policy | Datenschutzeinstellungen ändern