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Holly Griskell
Training Track: Developmental
Lab: Bilingual Language Development Lab
Advisor: Perla Gámez, Ph.D.
Office: Coffey Hall 117
Email: hgriskell@luc.edu
Webpage: LinkedIn
Interests
Bilingualism; language development; education; classroom discussion; motivation
Masters Thesis Title
Assessing English Language Learners' Motivation to Participate in Classroom Discussion
Masters Thesis Abstract
This study assesses sixth-grade Spanish-speaking English Language Learners’ (ELLs’; m age = 12.15 years old) participation and motivation to participate in classroom discussion through developing a 20-item measure, the Motivation for Classroom Discussion Questionnaire (MCD-Q) (Study 1 n = 258). I examined the relation between ELLs’ bi-literacy and MCD-Q scores as well as amount of talk during discussion, measured by audio-recordings of their English Language Arts class (Study 2 n = 149). Study 1 findings indicated that the MCD-Q items cohered into five motivational constructs (value, language-efficacy, extrinsic motivation, social motivation, and interest). Study 2 findings showed the MCD-Q’s predictive validity. Specifically, bi-literate ELLs who reported high levels of motivation to participate in classroom discussion were more likely to engage in classroom discussion than were their less bi-literate and less motivated counterparts.
