“Me gustaría que habláramos también de mi cultura”: A Yearlong Case Study of Two Maya English Learners

Author(s):  
Luis Javier Pentón Herrera
Keyword(s):  
2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 158-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie Sampson

States’ increasing involvement in educational policy making can play a significant role in how school districts provide equitable educational opportunities. Guided by critical policy analysis, the purpose of this article is to examine state-level policy pertaining to English learners (ELs) from district-level perspectives. Based on interview and archival data from a multiple case study of three metropolitan school districts in different states, district-level perspectives illustrate how these state-level policies were symbolic, restrictive, or exclusionary toward ELs. The results also demonstrate ways that districts advocated, engaged, resisted, and navigated state-level policies and politics. Based on these findings, I argue that state-level policies and related politics can compromise school districts’ ability to provide ELs with adequate educational opportunities.


Author(s):  
Yanty Wirza

Much research on identity (re)construction in periphery countries (e.g., Pakistan, Thailand) continues to shed light on how English learners negotiate and construct their identities. This narrative case study explores how two Indonesian learners of English who have been learning English for many years reflect on their journey of identity construction as English learners in their local contexts. Nested in a narrative inquiry methodology, this study examined the participants’ personal stories that were unique, rich and nuanced with the interplay of social, cultural and political dimensions (re)shaping their experiences. The initial phases of identity construction revealed from the participants’ early years indicated that the emergence of identity as English learners was largely marked by a false or negative association of the English language in relation to various aspects of being a school subject leading to a false sense of positive identity. Pedagogical implications of the study are also presented in this article.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2018 (1) ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
David Bowyer

Recursion, developed from sociocultural perspectives on language learning, has been described by Kindt (2004) as the “return to a similar experience—but with wider knowledge” (p. 15). By engaging in recursive conversations, learners can iterate on their L2 oral interactions through the use of interaction-focused feedback and conversations with multiple partners. This study builds on preliminary research by Murphey (2003) and Kindt and Bowyer (2018) that explored the effects of recursion on learners’ L2 competence and beliefs but were too broad in scope and worked with limited data. This present case study employed a mixed methods approach in which interviews and surveys were conducted with 48 first-year English learners at a Japanese university, with the aim of examining the effects of recursive conversations on language learning beliefs. Results indicated belief changes in the areas of (a) peer interaction, (b) L2 oral competence, and (c) self-efficacy. However, further research is required. 反復とは、言語学習における社会文化理論の観点において発展した、「より幅広い知識を持ち、類似した経験に戻ること」であると定義されている(Kindt, 2004, p. 15)。反復会話活動を通して、学習者は第二言語を用いて多様なパートナーとの活動とフィードバックを受ける機会を得ることができる。本研究は、反復活動の学習者の第二言語習得度及び学習者の言語学習における考えに対しての効果について焦点が置かれたMurphey(2003)とKindt & Bowyer(2018)の研究に基づいて行われた。本事例研究では、反復会話活動の学習者の言語学習に関する考えに対しての効果について調査するために、日本の大学に在籍する1年生48名を対象としてインタビューとアンケートを用いての混合研究法が実施された。結果として、学習者の考えは、(1)ピアインタラクション(仲間との対等の相互作用)、(2)L2口頭(言語)能力、(3)自己効力感の3つの分野において変化が示された。しかしながら、より明確な結論を導き出す前に、さらなる研究調査の実施が必要とされるだろう。


Author(s):  
Darmanto Darmanto

This current study focused on exploring the learners’ perceptions and experiences of native-English speakers’ roles in the learning process. This exploration was guided by the following questions: (1) What are the learners’ perceptions and experiences of native-English speakers’ roles in the learning process? (2) How do the learners perceive and experience native-English speakers’ roles in the learning process? A case study method was employed. The participants were all of the English learners who continuously joined Dila Samawa English Club in Sumbawa Besar. To collect the data, three techniques were employed: observation, interview, and documentation. The process of the interview was audio-recorded. Meanwhile, field note was used during the observation. Documentations were in the form of the learning activities document. The results of the study showed that the learners’ perceptions of native-English speakers’ roles in the learning process could be categorized into a number of terms, including the natural exposure, the place for practicing English conversation, competence in teaching, and teaching strategy. Meanwhile, the learners’ experiences fell into authentic learning, good creators in the teaching method, and good learning motivators. Essentially, those perceptions and experiences were considered very helpful to stimulate learners’ willingness and efforts to learn English, especially build up the learners’ confidence and enthusiasm in using English in real life situation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 2415-2449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara E. N. Kangas ◽  
Megan Cook

Despite increased attention to the academic progress of English learners (ELs) with disabilities as a result of the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, research has yet to investigate the educational opportunities of these students in secondary grades. This qualitative embedded case study examined the curricular access of 10 ELs with disabilities in middle school. Utilizing deficit thinking for its theoretical underpinnings, the analysis illuminated that ELs with disabilities were consistently placed in lower academic tracks through a number of mutually reinforcing institutional and perceptual factors. The findings have exigent implications for expanding opportunities to learn of ELs with disabilities through reform to placement criteria and provision of special education and linguistic support across a range of academic tracks.


RELC Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 168-178
Author(s):  
Junjie Gavin Wu ◽  
Lindsay Miller

In this article, we report on an action case study on the use of mobile-assisted peer feedback to improve second language (L2) speakers’ English performance. Drawing on the learning-oriented assessment (LOA) framework (Carless, 2007), the study made in-class use of a newly developed mobile app with the provision of peer feedback. The study was conducted with 25 Business School students in an English for Specific Purposes course at a Hong Kong university. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, including a questionnaire survey, a focus group discussion after the class and a teacher journal. In addition to the participants’ general attitudes, two broad themes were found in relation to the participants’ learning experience, namely the use of peer feedback and the affordances and constraints of technology. Results showed that students generally agreed on the positive effects of mobile-assisted peer feedback (e.g. real-time and anonymous feedback), while they recognized some limitations such as the small screen size of their phones and the limited number of given rubrics. Finally, we discuss the implications from different perspectives based on the reported themes.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document