Parental involvement in their children's education is a noteworthy predictor of students' academic promotion and success. School-family relationships are core elements of communication in educational systems. They have two main types; home-based or/and school-based parental involvement. Previous research studies have instead focused on home-based…

This dissertation explored whether unnecessary linguistic complexity (LC) in mathematics and biology assessment items changes the direction and significance of differential item functioning (DIF) between subgroups emergent bilinguals (EBs) and English proficient students (EPs). Due to inconsistencies in measuring LC in items, Study One adapted a…

The acquisition of a sound system is an integral component of second language (L2) communication, yet it is one of the most difficult skills to teach and is therefore largely ignored in L2 classrooms (Derwing, 2010). In laboratory settings, phonetic training studies have typically examined syllables, rather than words, with no referential meaning.…

A great deal of the research on cross-linguistic phonetic influence demonstrates that a speaker's knowledge of their first language (L1) significantly affects their ability to perceive and produce sounds in any other language. While current studies show that cross-linguistic transfer occurs at the L3 level, some research suggests that properties…

The purpose of this quantitative, predictive correlational study was to examine variables that arecorrelated with Tennessee K-12 English as a second language teachers' self-efficacy. With the changes stipulated by the "Every Student Succeeds Act" recently approved by the Tennessee Department of Education, there is a need to examine…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between personality types and second language acquisition. The study addressed a problem that is inadequately investigated in foreign language acquisition research; specifically, personality traits as predictors of language learning in college students studying Spanish as a foreign…

This study investigates the multicomponential nature of L2 Arabic writing by adapting a number of direct measures of linguistic "complexity," "accuracy," and "fluency" (CAF) to the measurement of written Arabic texts produced by L2 Arabic learners and Arabic Native Speakers (NSs). Previous studies of L2 writing have…

The purpose of this study was to examine science teachers' self-efficacy with teaching science and their self-efficacy level for teaching ELL students while also examining the types of vocabulary instructional strategies used in the classroom. The study consisted of an electronic on-line survey to measure self-efficacy levels of teaching science…

The development of speaking fluency is a major goal for many EFL language learners and several researchers have proposed frameworks for fluency instruction based on theories of cognitive science. It is unclear however, whether EFL students with restricted opportunities to use English outside of language classrooms can benefit from fluency…

The recent influx of immigration to the United States has naturally led to a population increase of U.S. born children with immigrant parents. These bicultural individuals undertake the complex task of constructing identities drawn from dual, and sometimes multiple, cultural foundations. This study examined sense of belonging and perceived…

Research has documented that teacher self-efficacy has positive impacts on different aspects of teaching and learning. Yet, research on teacher self-efficacy in the field of teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) is relatively limited. Considering the powerful impacts of teacher self-efficacy on teaching and learning, it is crucial to pursue…

Second language (L2) learners of tone languages do not perceive and produce the different tones of the target language with equal ease. The most common explanation for these asymmetries is that acoustically salient tones are the easiest to learn. An alternative explanation is that tones are easiest to learn when they are highly frequent in the…

This study compared the levels of anxiety that students experienced when taking a foreign language in the classroom with those taking a foreign language at a distance. It also aimed to determine if the student's academic performance in the course could be predicted by his or her foreign language anxiety level. The sample consisted of 107…

Student retention rates in higher education have been a focus of study for decades, yet the problem of low student retention still exists, particularly among community college students. While student retention has not been empirically investigated among community college students in language courses, the specific problem of low course-level…

The purpose of this study was to investigate Internet usage and its relationship with the acculturation of the Horn of Africa immigrants residing in urban Minnesota. Technology has and continues to be a cultural amplifier; in just two decades from its initial availability to the general public, the Internet has made geographical differences…