Early Study Abroad Experiences and Meaningful Literacy of International Female High School

134 Pages·2017·1.78 MB·English

by  Rossella Chiara Williams

Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Knowledge Repository @ IUP
Theses and Dissertations (All)
5-2014
Early Study Abroad Experiences and Meaningful
Literacy of International Female High School
Students Studying in the United States
Rossella Chiara Williams
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Follow this and additional works at:http://knowledge.library.iup.edu/etd
Recommended Citation
Williams, Rossella Chiara, "Early Study Abroad Experiences and Meaningful Literacy of International Female High School Students
Studying in the United States" (2014).Theses and Dissertations (All). 1234.
http://knowledge.library.iup.edu/etd/1234
This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Knowledge Repository @ IUP. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations
(All) by an authorized administrator of Knowledge Repository @ IUP. For more information, please [email protected], [email protected].
EARLY STUDY ABROAD EXPERIENCES AND MEANINGFUL LITERACY OF

INTERNATIONAL FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS STUDYING IN THE

UNITED STATES

A Thesis

Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies and Research

in Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Degree

Master of Arts

Rossella Chiara Williams

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

May 2014
© 2014 Rossella Chiara Williams

All Rights Reserved

ii
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
School of Graduate Studies and Research
Department of English

We hereby approve the thesis of

Rossella Chiara Williams

Candidate for the degree of Master of Arts

March 26, 2014 Signature on File
David I. Hanauer Ph.D.
Professor of English, Advisor

March 26, 2014 Signature on File______________________
Gloria Park, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of English

March 26, 2014 Signature on File______________________
Curtis Porter, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of English

ACCEPTED

Signature on File _____________ ________
Timothy P. Mack, Ph.D.
Dean
School of Graduate Studies and Research

iii
Title: Early Study Abroad Experiences and Meaningful Literacy of International Female High
School Students Studying in the United States
Author: Rossella Chiara Williams
Thesis Chair: Dr. David I. Hanauer
Thesis Committee Members: Dr. Gloria Park
Dr. Curtis Porter

Through a qualitative narrative based design, this study aims to explore early study
abroad experiences described by 14 to 18 year old, international, female, high school students
studying in the United States. Findings indicate an overall positive perception of early study
abroad experiences as all participants reported confidence, a sense of accomplishment through
lessons learned, personal insight with a sense of inner transformation, and independence.
Reported challenges included learning and speaking in L2, homesickness, and being dependent
on others. While exploring the use of meaningful literacy instruction in second and foreign
language classrooms, promoting student agency, self-exploration, and a contextualized learning
experience, this study benefits a wider community of scholars, educators, parents, and students
interested in early study abroad programs by focusing on participants’ experiences at an earlier
age.

iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you God, I couldn’t have done it without You.
Grazie/Thank you Mamma and Dad, Tommy and Maria, Nonna Erminia and Nonno Tony,
Grandma Louise, Zia Aurora, Mary Alice, Chiara, Marta, Peony, Tseegy , Dr. Goldstein,
Ferruccio, Don Giuseppe, and Dr. Roush for your inspiration and encouragement
I would like to thank Dr. Hanauer for his guidance and advice throughout this process, for
making research seem like fun and allowing occasional humor to brighten the day
Thank you Dr. Park and Dr. Porter for your insightful comments and for being my committee
members, your advice was greatly appreciated
Thank you Tati, Muna, and Catherine for being the voice of support and for your sound advice
during our group meetings, for making me smile, laughing together as we were told “no
sleeping…”
I thank all of my cohorts for being a source of profound intellectual conversation as well as
laughter during the past two years and I wish you peace, joy, and success

v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page
ONE INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1
Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................... 1
Why Study Abroad ................................................................................................ 3
A Personal Perspective ........................................................................................... 3
A Theoretical Perspective ...................................................................................... 4
Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................. 5
Research Questions ................................................................................................ 5
Significance of the Study ....................................................................................... 6
Overview of the Chapters ....................................................................................... 6

TWO LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................ 8
Study Abroad Literature and Critical Literacy ........................................................ 8
Meaningful Literacy and Personal Narrative ......................................................... 13
Multicultural Feminism and Adolescent Transformation ...................................... 18
Contextualized Learning Without Limitations ....................................................... 22

THREE METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................. 26
Overview ................................................................................................................ 26
Research Design ..................................................................................................... 27
Participants and School .......................................................................................... 28
Data Collection ....................................................................................................... 30
Data Analysis ......................................................................................................... 31
Stage 1: Data Preparation. .................................................................................. 32
Stage 2: Developing Two Coding Categories. .................................................... 32
Stage 3: Coding All the Data. .............................................................................. 32
Stage 4: Conclusion from the Coded Data. ......................................................... 33
Stage 5: Trustworthiness. .................................................................................... 33
Final Remarks ........................................................................................................ 34

FOUR RESULTS .............................................................................................................. 35
Challenges .............................................................................................................. 36
Academic Challenges .......................................................................................... 37
Social Challenges ................................................................................................ 40
Personal Challenges............................................................................................. 42
Differences in Table 1 ......................................................................................... 44
Expectations of Women in Home Country ............................................................ 44

vi
Chapter Page

Abilities ............................................................................................................... 46
Social Expectations ............................................................................................. 49
Character.............................................................................................................. 53
Differences in Table 2 ......................................................................................... 57
Successes ................................................................................................................ 57
Academic Successes ............................................................................................ 59
Social Successes .................................................................................................. 62
Personal Successes .............................................................................................. 64
Differences in Table 3 ......................................................................................... 69
Meaningful Literacy ............................................................................................... 70
Shared Transformations among the Meaningful Literacy of
Female Students................................................................................................... 72
Students’ Individual Experiences with Narrative Graph ..................................... 72
Amanda’s Individual Experience .................................................................. 72
Amy’s Individual Experience ........................................................................ 74
Ashley’s Individual Experience .................................................................... 75
Beth’s Individual Experience ........................................................................ 76
Danielle’s Individual Experience .................................................................. 78
Janet’s Individual Experience ........................................................................ 79
Katie’s Individual Experience ....................................................................... 81
Mary’s Individual Experience ....................................................................... 82
Meagan’s Individual Experience ................................................................... 83
Michelle’s Individual Experience.................................................................. 85
Rose’s Individual Experience ........................................................................ 86
Samantha’s Individual Experience ................................................................ 87
Summary ................................................................................................................ 89

FIVE DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS ............................................................... 90
The Impact of Facing Challenges and Achieving Successes as Young
Women Studying Abroad ....................................................................................... 90
Challenges ............................................................................................................90
Expectations of Women in Home Country ......................................................... 92
Successes ............................................................................................................. 93
The Impact of Meaningful Literacy and Narratives in ESL Class to Capture
Personal Insight and Transformation ..................................................................... 95
Implications ............................................................................................................ 98
Limitations of the Study ........................................................................................ 100
Future Studies ........................................................................................................ 100
Conclusions ........................................................................................................... 101

REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................ 102
vii
Chapter Page
APPENDICES ...............................................................................................................................110

Appendix A- Parents/Guardian Informed Consent Form ...................................110
附件B- 家长／监护人知情同意书 .....................................................................113
Appendix C- Child’s Assent Form .......................................................................116
附件 D- 学生知情同意书 ....................................................................................119
Appendix E- Writing Prompts ...........................................................................121
Appendix F- RTAF Approval Form ....................................................................123

viii
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1 Frequency of Participants’ Narrative Essays Variables About Their Study
Abroad Experience in the Aspect of Challenges .......................................................... 36

2 Frequency of Participants’ Narrative Essays Variables About Their Study
Abroad Experience in the Aspect of Expectations of Women in Home Country ........ 45

3 Frequency of Participants’ Narrative Essays Variables About Their Study
Abroad Experience in the Aspect of Successes ............................................................ 58

4 Frequency of Hanauer’s Meaningful Literacy Principles Across Participants’
Early Study Abroad Experiences .................................................................................. 71

ix