Challenges Faced by English Language Learners on the Alberta English Language Arts 30-1 Reading Diploma Examination

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atmire.migration.oldid3896
dc.contributor.advisorRicento, Thomas Kenneth
dc.contributor.authorPavlov, Vladimir
dc.contributor.committeememberO'Brien, Mary Grantham
dc.contributor.committeememberRoessingh, Hetty
dc.contributor.committeememberHalpern, Faye
dc.contributor.committeememberBarkaoui, Khaled
dc.date.accessioned2015-12-04T20:10:51Z
dc.date.available2015-12-04T20:10:51Z
dc.date.issued2015-12-04
dc.date.submitted2015en
dc.description.abstractEnglish language learners (ELLs) in Canadian high schools face numerous challenges when studying literature written in English. In Alberta, ELL high school graduates face difficulty when taking a reading diploma exam at the end of the English Language Arts (ELA) 30-1 course in grade 12. Students have to grapple with subtleties of meaning, low frequency vocabulary, metaphor, and the abundance of reading they have to do in the limited time of the exam. The aim of this study is to evaluate ELLs’ performance on the ELA 30-1 Reading exam and the factors that affect this performance. Through the lenses of sociocultural theory (Lantolf & Thorne, 2006), the study assesses the role of socio-economic characteristics, student background and individual qualities. Test characteristics are also reviewed as possible factors that challenge ELLs. Hierarchical regression analysis demonstrates that ELL status by itself explains less than 1% of the reading score variance. Time spent in an English-speaking environment explains another 4-5%, and other social factors have very low or no predictive power. Individual student characteristics (represented by high school grade point average) have the strongest effect, explaining about 25% of the variance. Shared variance in the regression models suggests the interrelatedness of all the factors. Students do recognize the effect of their first language (L1) and culture on their reading performance in English, and a significant difference is found between mean reading scores of the seven largest L1 groups in the study, even after years spent in Canada, school characteristics, and parents’ educational attainment were entered as covariates. Although differential item functioning analysis (NSs vs. ELLs) does not reveal major test bias against ELLs, most items are found to be of high linguistic complexity, which may challenge ELLs and compromise the test validity in the ELL group. Taking these findings into account, the dissertation proposes recommendations for policy, pedagogy, and curriculum and test design.en_US
dc.identifier.citationPavlov, V. (2015). Challenges Faced by English Language Learners on the Alberta English Language Arts 30-1 Reading Diploma Examination (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/25246en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/25246
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11023/2660
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.facultyGraduate Studies
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.publisher.placeCalgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subjectEducation--Bilingual and Multicultural
dc.subjectEducation--Language and Literature
dc.subjectEducation--Reading
dc.subjectEducation--Secondary
dc.subjectEducation--Tests and Measurements
dc.subject.classificationEnglish language learneren_US
dc.subject.classificationELLen_US
dc.subject.classificationEnglish as a Second Languageen_US
dc.subject.classificationESLen_US
dc.subject.classificationEnglish language artsen_US
dc.subject.classificationReadingen_US
dc.subject.classificationSecond language readingen_US
dc.subject.classificationReading assessmenten_US
dc.subject.classificationHigh schoolen_US
dc.titleChallenges Faced by English Language Learners on the Alberta English Language Arts 30-1 Reading Diploma Examination
dc.typedoctoral thesis
thesis.degree.disciplineEducational Research
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgary
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrue
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