Summary: | In light of research on bilingual education, this thesis examines English as a
second language instructional methodologies that prevail in private, international ESL
schools with an adult clientele. Notably, the current state of the international ESL
industry does not reflect key advances in thinking about ESL teaching and learning. For
example, the present emphasis on standardized testing as a gatekeeper of social,
academic, and economic advancement has persuaded many private international ESL
schools to adopt a grammar-based, communicative model of instruction in the
understanding that such an approach is most efficacious in preparing students for success
on exams. This study, however, suggests that a variety of factors contribute to student
success in these settings, not the least of which is cultural immersion, which enhances
reciprocal learning processes and contextualizes learner input. Literature is posited as
furthering this process through textual immersion. Employing methods that promote
textual immersion and creative response to literature encourages instructors and students
to set aside the biased notion that there is a correct standard of English usage, and to
explore, instead, the interactive possibilities inherent in meaning-making and cultural
expression. In this study, it is hypothesized that integration of literature into ESL
pedagogy increases basic grammatical knowledge and enhances cultural sensitivities. An
experimental design was used to compare the results of a literature-enhanced, contentrich
curriculum with a standardized, grammar-focused curriculum (Soars and Soars,
2003). With an alpha level of .05, findings suggest the null hypothesis for significant
variation in acquisition rates dependent on curriculum, according to standardized test
scores (Harrison and Kerr, 1996).
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