Browsing by Subject "Immersion"
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Item A design study exploring the use of Osage orthography stencils in the Osage language classroom(2021-08) Harjo, JessicaLanguage loss is accelerating among Native American groups in the United States. This is predominantly due to the result of the assimilation process that occurred when Native Americans were forced to learn and speak only English in boarding schools (early 1900s), along with the current evolution of language shifts and too many first and second speakers dying. However, there is also a lack of teaching resources that tribal language departments can access—especially languages with unique orthographies like the tribal language of the Osage Nation of Oklahoma, the endangered language of focus in this study. This can negatively impact the retention of language students, the ways students learn, and the abilities teachers must have to teach a language. This research takes a qualitative approach through a design lens to explore the need for teaching resources in the Osage Nation language department. Through observation and interviews, a focus was centered on the use of stencils in the Osage Nation language classroom. Dual code theory and visuo-haptics were used with Jean Piaget’s Stage Theory and Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory as a theoretical foundation to support the use of the Osage orthography stencils as learning aids. The results discover the role stencils have in enhancing the language learning experience as a visual resource, addresses the power that orthographies have in terms of identity, self-esteem, confidence, and empowerment, and provides recommendations for the use of Osage orthography stencils and new teaching resources.Item Instructional Strategies for Supporting Oral Language Development in a Navajo Immersion Classroom: A Case Study.(2020-10) McKenzie, JamesThis descriptive case study identifies instructional strategies for supporting oral language development in a Grade 1 Indigenous (Navajo) immersion classroom. While immersion education is seen as one way to help reverse language shift, immersion students sometimes exhibit lower-than-expected speaking abilities (Cummins, 2014, Tedick & Lyster, 2020). To contribute to understating what instructional strategies may affect language development in Indigenous immersion contexts, this study uses classroom observation, video and audio recordings, field notes, pictures and interviews to examine pedagogical strategies used by a teacher. Findings reveal that an Indigenous (Navajo) teacher uses strategies common to world language and immersion education, as well as strategies related to distinctly Indigenous ways of being, to support oral language development. The study addresses implications for Indigenous immersion education, teacher education, and future research, and calls for more attention to strategies that promote oral language development in ways that align with Indigenous concepts of language.Item The language learning motivation of early adolescent French and Spanish elementary immersion program graduates.(2009-06) Wesely, Pamela MaryThis mixed methods study focuses on the transition between elementary and middle/junior high school in one-way immersion programs in the United States. Understanding more about this transition is important to creating immersion programs that provide the maximum benefits to students, schools, and the community. An exploration of students' language learning motivation at this point of their education can help with this understanding. The primary goal of this study is thus to investigate the L2 learning motivation of elementary immersion school graduates, with a particular focus on issues vital to the unique context of immersion education. Three hundred fifty-eight (358) students who had graduated from five public elementary immersion schools in one metropolitan area were the target population. The secondary target population was their parents. One hundred thirty-one (131) students and their parents responded to surveys, and 33 students were interviewed. Data analysis procedures included a theme analysis of the interview data, a statistical analysis of the survey data, and an integrated consideration of the qualitative and quantitative findings. Findings were organized around two topical frameworks in immersion education: persistence and attrition in immersion programs, and developing cross-cultural understanding in immersion students. This study found that the participating immersion graduates' decisions to persist in the immersion program were more based on peer influence and their assessments of the school environment of the immersion continuation program than any other factor. Additionally, students who demonstrated the most cross-cultural understanding had experienced increased exposure to other cultures, languages, and individuals outside of the immersion classroom. Other findings reflected the respondents' understandings of the nature of language and culture, their relationships with their parents and teachers, and their many reasons and uses for learning a language. The conclusion includes suggestions and implications for district-level administrators, school administrators, and teachers in immersion programs.Item Language warriors: leaders in the Ojibwe language revitalization movement.(2011-04) Gresczyk, Richard A. Sr.This dissertation sought to find out about the Ojibwe language revitalization movement and its leaders. Twenty-one language warriors were asked to participate in this dissertation study and were interviewed twice more for an hour each. I gave them tobacco according to Ojibwe tradition, explained the purpose of my study and asked them to help me. Qualitative methods were followed. The Ojibwe language warriors described perspectives that are held by Ojibwes and non-Ojibwes regarding the Ojibwe language. They identified what conditions have inspired the Ojibwe language revitalization movement and the impact that it has had and is having on reservation communities and urban areas. The Ojibwe language warriors described their backgrounds and educational paths and identified what has been relevant in their education to the work they do now. They identified sources of inspiration, why they care about the Ojibwe language, and helpful resources and strategies. They described their experiences, their opportunities, barriers, and sacrifices, and their hopes and plans. The Ojibwe language warriors described ways that they develop other language warriors, what advice they have for them, where they will come from, and how they motivate others to speak Ojibwe. They described which leadership styles they preferred. They spoke about what knowledge, success, and power meant to them and what differences they perceive there are in Ojibwe and non-Native leadership. They identified leadership strategies, challenges, and their future tasks. Hopefully, this dissertation will be helpful to educational settings, tribal and state governments, funding agencies, and to other language warriors.