Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Language and learning : a case study of a Vietnamese unaccompanied minor in a post secondary setting

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  • This study was an ethnographic case study of a Vietnamese unaccompanied minor in a post secondary setting. There were two guiding questions for the study: (1) How does the subject perceive language as it relates to educational experience? (2) What kinds of observable personality, cognitive, or affective factors have contributed to his language and educational experience, and in what way have they contributed? The subject for this study was selected because he had declared himself an unaccompanied minor and immigrated to the United States as a young adult. He was an ESL student who graduated from an American high school within two years of arrival. He was deemed successful by the academic community based on hours of completed course work and grade point average. The subject was extremely motivated to receive a four year degree, but was hampered by college requirements in classes which required high levels of English proficiency and competence. The theoretical base for this research was phenomenology. The subject, purposefully selected, was observed for six months in three different classroom settings: philosophy, physics, and English composition. Validity/replicability was obtained through triangulation of personal interviews and written questionnaires, interviews with faculty and other college personnel, and examination of artifacts such as school records, diaries, and journals. With the exception of school records, portions of artifacts are included in this thesis. The subject exhibited unusual abilities to comprehend complex written and oral material, relate information across disciplines, and adapt to instructional requirements and methodologies. Based on the results of this case study, three hypotheses were generated: 1) Listening skills and memory/recall, or auditory memory, appear to be essential to the subject's academic success. 2) General information about learning styles and strategies may be less useful than specific strategy application in academic situations for this subject. 3) Explicit, structured writing instruction may be more useful than process writing for this subject.
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