Faculty of Education - Theses

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End date: 2019 × Start date: 2000 × Type: Masters Research thesis × Subject: Education × Subject: English language × Subject: Study and teaching ×

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    Face-to-face : cross-cultural communication with Somali-speaking parents
    Spencer, Julie ( 2008)
    This research thesis reports on an investigation of cross-cultural communication at one Victorian primary school, at which the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of the staff and a sizeable proportion of the parents differ markedly. This qualitative, case study investigated the perspectives of one group of parents, all from a Somali speaking background, and school staff about the current levels of cross-cultural communication and how these key stakeholders believed home/school links could be improved. Data for this investigation were gathered from parent participants through group and individual interviews, some of which were conducted in Somali with the assistance of a bilingual research assistant. Consideration of these participants' vulnerable social status (Liamputtong, 2007), was an important aspect of this research process thus ensuring these parents, seldom heard within the school environment, had the opportunity to express their opinions and relate their experiences of cross-cultural communication with school staff. The data collection process, therefore, provides a model for excellent cross-cultural communication between an institution, such as a school, and a marginalised parent community. Written questionnaires, comprising open-ended and some ranked questions were used to investigate staff perspectives of cross-cultural communication. This was followed by a group interview with some staff members in which issues were discussed with greater depth. This research project revealed that the low-levels of cross-cultural communication noted at this school are not an indication of the level of goodwill held by Somali-speaking parents and school staff. On the contrary, all participants expressed a strong desire to learn more about the other and for communication levels to improve, recognising the importance of strong home/school links in improving educational outcomes for students. Through the suggestions, opinions and experiences of participants, a series of recommendations are made in this report, so that the momentum of improved communication, initiated by the research project, might be continued at the school, or within similar educational contexts.
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    Specific strategies that can be applied to teach reading in English as a second language to children from different home language backgrounds in Uganda
    Kaggwa, Deborah N. ( 2005)
    The study examined the literature review about strategies that can be applied to teach reading in English to second language learners. Three `training' videos, containing model lessons for teaching English to students in Australia whose first language is not English, were also analyzed to provide an in-depth picture of how some strategies are executed in the classroom context. The aim of the study was to explore and identify particular strategies that can be applied to teach reading in English to children who acquire English as a second language in Uganda. Qualitative exploratory research was conducted to explore the strategies that can be applied to teach reading in English to children from different home language backgrounds in Uganda. Content analysis technique was established to collect data from videotaped model lessons for teaching English to students in Australia whose first language is not English. Using an observation framework, the data was collected and analysed in reference to: strategies carried out in the classroom contexts, teacher's role in language instruction and literacy activities in which learners were involved. The findings suggested particular strategies for teaching reading in English to second language learners with more emphasis on getting meaning out of text. Further, the teacher's role in language instruction was recognised to be vital in teaching reading in English to bilingual students. The results also showed that second language learners effectively learnt to read in English in language contexts that encourage peer-peer and teacher-learner interactions. The study concluded with a discussion of the results and their implications to the teaching of English as a second language to bilingual children in Uganda.