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Werklund School of Education

Understanding the Linguistically Vulnerable: Exploration of Early Literacy Skills of ELL Students in Calgary

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

English Language Learners (ELLs) are an increasing presence in Canadian schools. However, little research has been done to examine certain skills of ELL students, such as written expression. The purpose of this study was to explore contributing factors to ELL students’ writing quality. The present study gathered written samples from ELL students from Western Canadian elementary charter schools. Students’ expressive vocabulary was also assessed using a norm-referenced measure. Writing samples were Factors such as vocabulary, printing quality, and spelling skills will were considered in this study. It was determined that vocabulary was a significant contributor to overall writing quality of ELL students. More specifically, lexical reach and vocabulary diversity were the greatest contributors. These findings have important implications for educators and school districts to consider when teaching written expression to ELL students, ensuring they receive equitable education.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Science (MSc)
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Education Graduate Program – Educational Psychology
Grantor dc:publisher.institution
Werklund School of Education
Year dc:date.issued
2022

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Thomson, Samantha
Advisor dc:contributor.advisor
  • Nordstokke, David
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Roessingh, Hetty
  • Burns, Amy

Subjects

dc:subject × 3

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • University 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.
Language dc:language.iso
eng

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:ucalgary.scholaris.ca:1880/115616

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of Calgary
Base URL
ucalgary.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Thomson, Samantha. Understanding the Linguistically Vulnerable: Exploration of Early Literacy Skills of ELL Students in Calgary. Werklund School of Education, 2022. http://hdl.handle.net/1880/115616