Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Committee Chair

Stephen Laws

Abstract

This study examined French and Spanish teacher experiences teaching middle and high school students in one North Carolina school district. The themes derived from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Educator Questionnaire show several areas of concerns world language teachers face in the nation: large class sizes, lack of opportunities to enhance best practices and technology integration, teacher isolation, inadequate instructional material, limited resources, and limited funding.

This dissertation was designed to analyze the experiences of middle and high school teachers of French, Spanish, and Spanish for Native Speakers.

The researcher conducted a digital survey using the ACTFL instrument and personal interviews among middle and high school world language teachers.

The appropriate research method to study the topic of world language teacher experiences was the explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. The collection of both quantitative and qualitative data provided a more comprehensive study of world language teacher experiences in teaching middle and high school students.

Through the course of the study, the researcher found key findings in regard to French and Spanish teachers’ experiences. An analysis of the data revealed six salient themes: student motivation, technology tools for teaching and motivating students, world language standards, professional learning communities, resources, and support. Recommendations for world language teachers, school and district leaders were also discussed to help with the areas of concern that world language teachers have experienced.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Download

Share

COinS