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A case study examination of ESL students in freshman English composition Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Sadler, Randall William Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 07/10/2021 14:54:30 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/290049 A Case Study Examination of ESL Students in Freshman English Composition by Randall William Sadler Copyright© Randall W. Sadler 2004 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the GRADUATE INTERDISCIPLINARY PROGRAM IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND TEACHING In partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2004 UMI Number: 3131639 Copyright 2004 by Sadler, Randall William All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform 3131639 Copyright 2004 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 2 The University of Arizona ® Graduate College As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Randall William Sadler entitled A Case Study Examination of ESL Students in Freshman English —Gomposition and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree"f Doctor of Philosophy / vi J(!) Dr. Muriel Saville-Troike date Dr. Jun Liu 'i^te -•---""2^- ^ O A 5.-0Y ^-Bi^1>lorma M^oza-Denton a f) , Dr. Roxanne Mountford 7/ date date Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate's submission of the final copies of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. k, ' , vJ /<0 "V Dissertation Director: Qp, Muriel Saville-Troike 3 STATEMENT BY THE AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgement of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the help of a number of individuals. First, I must thank all the students and instructors who participated in the study. In particular, I owe a great debt to the 16 students who agreed to let me tag along with them for a year during their freshman composition experience. There are also a number of scholars at the University of Arizona who helped make this work possible, including the members of my committee: Dr. Saville-Troike, Dr. Jun Liu, Dr. Mendoza- Denton, and Dr. Mountford. Finally, I thank my wife, who helped me keep my sanity throughout this gloriously insane process. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES 11 LIST OF TABLES 12 ABSTRACT 14 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 16 Statement of the problem 16 Objective of the research 22 Research questions 23 Significance of the study 23 Limitations of the study 24 Definitions of terms 25 Structure of the dissertation 27 CHAPTER 2: THE STATE OF TEACHING ESL WRITING IN THE U.S. 29 History of ESL writing 29 The infancy of second language writing: The Grammar- Translation Approach 29 The influence of behaviorism 30 Cognitive approaches to second language writing 32 Sociocognitive approaches 33 The process approach 34 English for academic purposes 36 State of the field today and in the future 38 Characteristics of the writing of international and residential ESL students 39 Backgrounds 42 Planning 46 Drafting 47 Error types 47 Feedback and revision 49 Final texts 51 Future goals 52 Placement 54 International nonnative speakers 55 Mainstream composition 55 Basic composition 58 ESL composition 61 Cross-cultural composition 64 Resident nonnative speakers 65 6 ESL composition 66 Cross-cultural composition 68 Basic composition 70 Mainstream composition 71 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY 73 Introduction 73 The research site 79 Data collection 83 Stage I: Comprehensive 84 Recruiting participants 84 Data collection 85 Classroom observation 86 Interviews 88 Student interviews 89 Instructor interviews 91 Administrator interviews 92 Participants' written materials 92 Stage I data analysis 93 Question 1: The nature of the NNS population in freshman composition 93 Question 2: How the International and Resident NNS student in freshman composition are similar and/or different 94 Question 3: What the needs of these groups are in relation to their success in the freshman writing program and in the university as a whole 95 Question 4: Whether the needs of the students in those sections are being met 95 Question 5: What instructional resources are available to meet these students' needs and the level of their appropriateness 96 Stage II: Topic/Hypothesis oriented 97 Recruiting participants 97 Data collection 98 Classroom observation 98 Interviews 99 Participants'written materials 100 Stage II data analysis 100 Question 2 101 Question 3 102 Question 4 103 Questions 103 7 CHAPTER FOUR: STAGE ONE RESULTS 105 Introduction 105 Question 1: What is the nature of the NNS population in freshman composition? 108 Question 2: How are the international and resident NNS students in freshman composition similar and/or different? 112 Freshman composition for nonnative speakers of English 112 First languages represented 113 Age of arrival 115 Gender and language 117 Language strength 119 Summary 124 Freshman composition for native speakers of English 125 First languages represented 128 Age of arrival 131 Gender and language 135 Language strength 137 Summary of stage I results 140 CHAPTER FIVE: STAGE TWO RESULTS: THEMES FROM BEFORE UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE 145 Introduction 145 The Students 147 Portraits of the participants 150 Katie 150 Melinda 151 Marco 152 Yomaris 154 Maria 155 Alejandro 156 Catalina 158 Alberto 160 Manuel 162 Consuela 163 Francisco 165 Osmar 167 Dominga 168 Nelly 169 Columba 170 Edmundo 172 Emergent themes 175 Themes from before university entrance 176 National/cultural orientation 176 A blurring of the border 178 8 U.S. orientation 178 Cross-border orientation 180 Mexico orientation 182 Summary of a blurring of the border 183 Language learning experiences at home 184 U.S. orientation 184 Cross-border orientation 188 Mexico orientation 190 Summary of language learning experiences at home 191 Language learning experiences in school 192 U.S. orientation 192 Cross-border orientation 195 Schooling in Mexico 196 Schooling in the United States 199 Mexico orientation 204 Summary of language learning experiences in school 208 Writing experiences before the university 210 U.S. orientation 210 Cross-border orientation 212 Mexico orientation 214 Summary of writing experiences before the university 216 Summary of stage II results: Before university entrance 217 CHAPTER SIX: STAGE TWO RESULTS: THEMES FROM THE UNIVERSITY 221 Introduction 221 Placement 222 U.S. orientation 225 Cross-border orientation 227 Mexico orientation 231 Summary of placement 233 Culture shock 236 U.S. orientation 236 Cross-border orientation 238 Mexico orientation 241 Summary of placement 244 Behavior in the classroom 245 Speaking and silence 246 U.S. orientation 247 Cross-border orientation 249 Mexico orientation 252 Workshops: In and out of class 254 U.S. orientation 255 Cross-border orientation 257 9 Mexico orientation 258 Computer labs 260 Summary of behavior in the classroom 262 Writing in the composition classroom 264 U.S. orientation 265 Cross-border orientation 268 Mexico orientation 273 Summary of writing in the composition classroom 276 Writing in other classes 279 U.S. orientation 280 Cross-border orientation 283 Mexico orientation 285 Summary of writing in other classes 288 Writing outside of the classroom 290 U.S. orientation 290 Cross-border orientation 291 Mexico orientation 292 Summary of writing outside of the classroom 293 Resources available to students 295 U.S. orientation 299 Cross-border orientation 301 Mexico orientation 205 Summary of resources available to students 307 Analysis of grades/success 310 Summary of stage II results: Themes from the university 313 CHAPTER