This dissertation investigates the intricate relationships among global competence, cultural identity, and English learning motivation within the context of undergraduates in Southern China through a mixed-methods research design. Given the backdrop of accelerating globalization, this study underscores students' need to develop robust global…

Language learning is an important necessity of today's globalized society. Therefore, it is vital to provide the most effective methods for learning a foreign language. Through understanding how foreign language learning, cognitive load theory, learning modalities, and participants' physiological sex relate to one another, more effective…

The present dissertation is a synthesis and meta-analysis of the 15-year-old research domain of the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) model initiated by Dornyei (2005). The study is based on data from 100 studies involving 144 unique samples and 51,905 participants, and it addresses the inter-relationships of L2MSS elements (i.e., the Ideal L2…

The number of multilingual international students in post-secondary mathematics classrooms in the United States is increasing. As language is related to students' access to mathematics learning and their (mathematics) identities, it shapes their experiences as a doer of mathematics. However, as multilingual international students move to the…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of test anxiety that high school male and female students experience in English and mathematics classes in Saudi high schools. The study examined test anxiety in both subjects from motivational antecedents and cultural factors that cause test anxiety among students. A mixed-methods study was…

Nonnative English speakers are often judged based on their accent, but accent is perceived as well as produced. Race, gender, and religion interact to create complex and nuanced figures of personhood (Agha, 2005) impacting teachers' perceptions of students. Teachers' individual differences, including language proficiency, exposure to language, and…

This qualitative study implemented a Critical Discourse Analysis using the "PRDE English Program Gender Equity Manual" (2015). In addition, this study compared the narrative literature from PRDE's English 9th textbook--"Inside: Language, Literacy and Content by National Geographic and Cengage Learning" (2014) (NG Texts) , and…

This dissertation study examines the acculturation experiences of Saudi Arabian students pursuing higher education in the United States. It investigates the relationships among students' acculturation strategies, self-assertion, and academic self-efficacy, while exploring the moderating effects of English proficiency and length of stay. The study…

In the United States, traditional lecture-based teaching methods have not effectively met the needs of diverse learners in higher education (HE). This is particularly problematic as diversity is increasing amongst learners, including those with diverse racial, ethnic, gender, academic, and emotional backgrounds. The predominance of the two-tiered…

Discourse markers (DMs) are linguistic forms characterized by their use as conversation organizers or pause fillers (Fox Tree, 2010). Although used frequently in both speech and writing, DMs are not often taught in L2 classrooms, despite incorrect usage causing potential misunderstandings (Polat, 2011). Additionally, L2 learners have been observed…

The current study examines gender representations in Dummett et al. (2016) EFL textbook, Keynote, at Middle Eastern University in the Middle East. Keynote is an EFL textbook that is used to teach students in English for Business I and English for Business II courses. The study followed Fairclough's (1989, 1995, 2001, 2015) three-dimensional models…

As critical approaches to Heritage Language (HL) instruction are increasingly more widespread, it is now more pertinent than ever to conduct research on Spanish linguistic variation that reveals systematicity and refutes hegemonic notions of 'incorrectness'. This variationist study examines the use and distribution of the Preterite and Imperfect…

Purpose: The purpose of this quantitative, causal-comparative study was to determine whether English learners who participated in transitional kindergarten perform equally or better than English learners who did not participate in transitional kindergarten in the areas of oral language, written language, and overall language as measured by the…

This dissertation explores Spanish copular verbs, "ser" and "estar" (both 'to be' in English), in pre-adjectival contexts within two Spanish varieties: first-language (L1) Chilean speakers from Santiago (N = 29) and second-language (L2) English-speaking learners studying in Chile (N = 31). Bridging sociolinguistics and second…

The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a difference in the English language acquisition of first grade students in transitional bilingual programs as compared to students in dual language programs during the 2017-2018 academic year. The Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State (ACCESS) standardized…