Developing beginning language learners’ (meta-)cultural understanding via student-led Linguistic Landscape research

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Li ◽  
Hakyoon Lee ◽  
Bumyong Choi
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
First Year ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Cultural Authenticity ◽  
Student Work ◽  
Cultural Understanding ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
Beginning Learners

Abstract Practitioners of additional-language (AL) education have consistently argued for the pedagogical benefits of engaging students in Linguistic Landscape (LL) research. The potential of how LL study may contribute to students’ development in (meta-)cultural understanding is yet to be explored. Additionally, while a number of present studies target students at the intermediate or advanced level, student-led LL research projects designed for learners with beginning AL proficiency are under-explored. This paper seeks to fill these gaps by offering a study of undergraduate students learning Chinese and those learning Korean in their first year in the United States. Analysis of student work and pre- and post-project survey data demonstrates that engaging beginning learners of AL in LL research enables them to develop enriched and nuanced understanding of cultural authenticity as well as a deeper appreciation of their target culture. In other words, it is beneficial for promoting their meta-cultural as well as culture-specific learning.

scholarly journals Supporting Chinese Undergraduate Students in Transition at U.S. Colleges and Universities

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 963-989
Author(s):  
Kerrie A. Montgomery
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
International Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
The United States ◽  
First Year ◽  
Orientation Programs ◽  
Residential Life ◽  
And Coping ◽  
Students In Transition

The Chinese undergraduate student population currently represents 12.8% of all international students enrolled in the United States (Institute for International Education, 2015a).  In an effort to understand the experiences of this population in their first year of college in the United States, a phenomenological study was conducted using a conceptual framework comprising Schlossberg’s Transition Model (Schlossberg, Waters, & Goodman, 1995) and the Culturally Engaging Campus Environments (CECE) Model (Museus, 2014). Three transition types were identified – academic, social/personal, and linguistic – and participants’ preparation, sources of institutional support, and coping strategies for moving through these transitions were examined. Recommendations for practice include: multi-faceted, mandatory orientation programs; ongoing workshops and resources beyond orientation; and improvements to housing and residential life opportunities and experiences.

Reunification is Not Enough: Assessing the Needs of Unaccompanied Migrant Youth

2017 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayshree S. Jani
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Human Trafficking ◽  
Community Integration ◽  
The United States ◽  
Community Services ◽  
Family Reunification ◽  
First Year ◽  
Chronic Instability ◽  
Migrant Youth ◽  
Nuanced Understanding

Unaccompanied migrant youth enter the United States daily to escape violence, political oppression, extreme poverty, and chronic instability in their native countries, or as victims of human trafficking. While some research has investigated why they leave their home countries, very little is known about what happens to them after they begin the process of community integration. The research reported in this article sought to understand how sponsors of children with no postrelease services access and use community services during their first year of integration into a new U.S. community. Findings highlight the need for a nuanced understanding of family reunification and community integration as dynamic, ongoing processes rather than onetime events, and for services to support such integration.

scholarly journals Encountering American higher education: First-year academic transition of international undergraduate students in the United States

2022 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-165
Author(s):  
Masha Krsmanovic
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
First Year ◽  
Domestic Students ◽  
Academic Transition ◽  
Academic Challenges ◽  
American Higher Education ◽  
Academic System ◽  
Institutional Services

This study explored how international undergraduate students perceive their academic transition into American higher education. Schlossberg’s (1984) 4S Transition Theory served as the framework for exploring what academic challenges, if any, international students experience during their first year of undergraduate studies in a new cultural and educational setting. The findings revealed that students’ academic transition into the U.S. higher education was characterized by difficulties in understanding the academic system of their new environment; overcoming educational, instructional and pedagogical differences; building social relationships with domestic students; and receiving the support necessary from the appropriate institutional services.

scholarly journals A Crisis in Civic Conscience in the United States? Knowledge and Understanding of the U.S. Bill of Rights among a Group of Undergraduate Students Citizens of the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Porter E Coggins ◽  
Janet A. Heuer ◽  
Michael A. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Focus Group Discussion ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
The United States ◽  
Honors Students ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Bill Of Rights

Three groups of undergraduate student citizens of the United States at a regional public university were surveyed regarding their knowledge of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States. Additionally, the findings of a focus group discussion of Honors students regarding this same topic are presented and discussed. A fifteen-statement questionnaire was administered to 66 First Year Experience (FYE) undergraduate students, 50 senior students, and nine Honors students. Ten of the statements were quotes from the Bill of Rights amendments and five statements were foils which were not among the Bill of Rights amendments. A focus group discussion with the Honors students revealed several themes including those of rights and responsibility for educational curricula on the Bill of Rights. Analysis of the data indicated that these three groups did not present evidence of deep knowledge of the Bill of Rights by amendment number. We interpret the general lack of knowledge of the Bill of Rights as a warning regarding of the lack of value of the Bill of Rights and citizenship by state and federal governments and raise a concern of the possibility of a growing crisis in civic conscience of the citizenry of our country unless significant educational-policy countermeasures are taken. 

scholarly journals A Review of First-Year Student Stress and Social Support

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 472
Author(s):  
Rebecca Maymon ◽  
Nathan C. Hall
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Future Research ◽  
First Year ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Post Secondary

The present paper reviews empirical literature on stress and social support relative to first-year post-secondary students, published between 1996 and 2020. Empirical studies included in the literature search focused on stress, coping, and social support specifically among first-year undergraduate students while studying in countries adopting North American higher education models comparable to the United States and Canada. This review examines contextual and psychological antecedents and correlates of stress, as well as associated demographic and achievement variables. Furthermore, this review extends to studies on social support categorized by source (peers, family, faculty, institution, and multiple sources of support). A synthesis and critique of the literature explores the themes in the empirical research presented, as well as considerations for future research.

scholarly journals Effect of Pragmatic Instruction versus Educational Sojourn on Knowledge of Conventional Expressions

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vahid Rafieyan
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
English Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Exchange Program ◽  
Language Class ◽  
Academic Exchange ◽  
Class Instruction ◽  
Pragmatic Instruction

<p>Conventional expressions are crucial for social interactions. However, despite their communicative value, they are not acquired even by advanced language learners. Therefore, some sort of pragmatic intervention in the form of pragmatic instruction or educational sojourn should be provided to help language learners develop their knowledge of target language conventional expressions. To this end, the current study was conducted on two groups of participants including 15 Malaysian undergraduate students of English education at a university in Malaysia and 15 Malaysian undergraduate students of English education from the same Malaysian university on a one-semester academic exchange program at a university in the United States to compare the effect of pragmatic instruction and educational sojourn on the development of knowledge of target language conventional expressions. Knowledge of target language conventional expressions was assessed through a discourse completion task. The results of independent-samples t-test revealed the superiority of the effect of pragmatic instruction to educational sojourn in developing knowledge of target language conventional expressions. The pedagogical implications of the findings suggested incorporation of pragmatic features of the target language into foreign language class instruction.</p>

Fostering Cultural Understanding with Virtual Reality

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-59
Author(s):  
Margherita Berti ◽  
Stefano Maranzana ◽  
Jacob Monzingo
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Immersive Virtual Reality ◽  
Educational Setting ◽  
Cultural Understanding ◽  
Foreign Culture ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Cultural Layers ◽  
Contextualized Learning

In virtual reality, language learners can experience the foreign culture by exploring authentic and contextualized learning environments. To date, there is a lack of studies investigating the use of highly immersive virtual reality for cultural understanding as well as learners' attitudes toward its implementation in the language classroom. This study addresses this gap by exploring language learners' stereotypes and generalizations of the foreign culture experienced in highly immersive virtual reality, and their beliefs regarding its use in the educational setting. Undergraduate students enrolled in beginner Italian courses viewed three ordinary Italian environments with the use of their smartphones, headphones, and Google Cardboard. Through surveys, written reflections, and a focus group interview participants shared their cultural understandings and attitudes toward virtual reality. Results show that virtual reality was positively perceived and helped learners discover new cultural layers generally not encountered in traditional pedagogical materials.

scholarly journals ANTHROPOLOGY AND WRITING PEDAGOGY

Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Durba Chattaraj
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
The United States ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Writing ◽  
Written Text ◽  
The Core ◽  
Wide Range

In an increasingly interconnected world, learning how to think anthropologically — learning how to think with difference — should be an essential part of the process of higher education. Yet many students may never take an anthropology course during their undergraduate career. In such a milieu, it is important for anthropologists to both teach and actively participate in the curriculum design of the first-year writing seminars that are part of the core curriculum of many universities and colleges globally. While first-year writing programs predominate in the United States and the United Kingdom, they are growing internationally as well, particularly in liberal arts institutions. In this article I argue that anthropologists should teach first-year writing seminars at their educational institutions for three reasons: first, anthropology as a discipline is ecumenical about evidence; thus it introduces students to a wide range of evidentiary practices early on. This broad-based understanding of evidence facilitates transfer across disciplines. Second, encountering anthropology in a writing seminar attracts students towards pursuing majors, minors and elective classes in the discipline. Finally, through the discipline’s core methodology of participant observation, lived experience, rather than a synthesis of pre-existing texts, is the core source from which arguments and conclusions about the social world are derived. In an increasingly unequal world where representation in, and access to, written text is concomitantly unequal, it is important that students are introduced to multiple ways to understand and think about human experience. The methodology of participant observation destabilises slightly for undergraduate students the authority of written text as the main, and, often singular, source of knowledge.

scholarly journals Use of Library Services Can Be Associated with a Positive Effect on First-Year Students’ GPA and Retention

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eamon C Tewell
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Retention Rate ◽  
The United States ◽  
First Year ◽  
Library Service ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Library Use ◽  
Second Year

A Review of: Soria, K. M., Fransen, J., & Nackerud, S. (2014). Stacks, serials, search engines, and students’ success: First-year undergraduate students’ library use, academic achievement, and retention. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 40(1), 84-91.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2013.12.002 Abstract Objective – To investigate the degree of relation between first-year undergraduate students’ library use and their academic achievement (measured by cumulative GPA) and first- to second-year retention. Design – Quantitative data obtained from library systems combined with regression analyses. Setting – A large public university located in the United States of America. Subjects – The study included 5,368 non-transfer first-year students, with a total of 5,162 students retained for the final sample. Methods – Data on 10 library usage variables were collected using student logins to library databases and websites and analyzed using SPSS. These variables included logins to databases, use of electronic books and journals, chat reference questions, and workshops signed up for, among others. There were 2 separate regressions utilized to predict students’ cumulative GPA by these 10 types of library use. Two separate logistic regressions were utilized to predict first- to second-year retention by the same library usage variables. Main Results – 81.9% of first-year students used at least one library service. Overall, students who used their academic library’s services and/or resources once or more during an academic year had a higher average retention rate and GPA compared to their peers who had not used the library. It was found that four library use areas, including book loans, database logins, electronic journal logins, and library workstation logins, were positively associated with students’ GPA. Database logins and library workstation logins were positively associated with retention. Each of the models used to predict either student GPA or retention by library use were found to be statistically significant. Conclusions – The study suggests that there is a positive and significant relationship between a number of library activities and students’ GPA and retention. The effect size of these activities upon the primary outcome variables of GPA and retention is small, though this is logical considering the one-time use of a library service is unlikely to meaningfully influence one’s academic success. Other non-library factors in the student experience must be considered.

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