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Language Learning in the Library: An Exploratory Study of ESL Students by Karen Bordonaro Available online 4 August 2006 This qualitative research study investigates the uses of an American college library by ESL students in improving their language skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Language learning activities in the library are identified, described, and placed in a framework of self-directed language learning and language learner autonomy. T his research study investigates how ESL (English-as-a- second language) students use an American college library in a self-directed manner in order to improve their language skills. ‘‘Self-directed’’ in this study refers to making use of the library when not directed to do so by faculty members who may require its use for specific assignments or other mandated academic classroom tasks. This study seeks to answer the following questions: Do ESL students use academic libraries to support their language learning? If so, how? And finally, is the library a useful venue for studying language learning issues? The significance of this study lies in its exploratory nature: It investigates the use of the library as a place in which language learning may occur in a self-directed manner. Findings arise from the voices of the students themselves. This study offers the library as a potentially fruitful setting for the further exploration of language learning issues. ‘‘...this study investigates the use of the library as a place in which language learning may occur in a self-directed manner.’’ LITERATURE REVIEW The specific study of ESL students in American college libraries is mostly grounded in the practicalities of how best to serve these students, and it often reflects concerns of an instructional nature. An appendix compiled by Baron and Strout-Dapaz 1 lists a number of different studies concerning ESL students and libraries. The Baron and Strout-Dapaz appendix divides the service categories that were either promoted or reported on in these articles. They identify ‘‘pedagogy’’ as the service receiving the most notice in the written literature connecting libraries to ESL students, followed by ‘‘staff issues including training,’’ ‘‘interdepartmental collab- oration,’’ ‘‘diversity in the library,’’ ‘‘orientation,’’ ‘‘collection development,’’ and ‘‘outreach’’ as further topics of discussion. The appendix has been compiled as a list to highlight ‘‘recommendations for services to international students in the library literature.’’ 2 Karen Bordonaro is Information Literacy Services/Instruction Coordinator, James A. Gibson Library, Academic Writing Mentor, Department of Applied Linguistics, Brock University, Ontario, Canada b[email protected]N. 518 The Journal of Academic Librarianship, Volume 32, Number 5, pages 518–526

Language Learning in the Library: An Exploratory Study of ESL Students

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  • Language Learning in thStudy of ESL Students

    by Karen Bordonaro

    Available online 4 August 2006

    This qualitative research study investigates theuses of an American college library by ESL

    students in improving their language skills inspeaking, listening, reading, and writing.

    Language learning activities in the library areidentified, described, and placed in a frameworkof self-directed language learning and language

    learner autonomy.

    The significance of this study lies in its exploratory nature:

    library literature.2

    Karen BordCoordi

    Mentor, DeOntario, Canada [email protected] The Jouwritten literature connecting libraries to ESL students, followedby staff issues including training, interdepartmental collab-oration, diversity in the library, orientation, collectiondevelopment, and outreach as further topics of discussion.The appendix has been compiled as a list to highlightrecommendations for services to international students in the

    onaro is Information Literacy Services/Instructionnator, James A. Gibson Library, Academic Writingpartment of Applied Linguistics, Brock University,Strout-Dapaz1 lists a number of different studies concerningESL students and libraries. The Baron and Strout-Dapazappendix divides the service categories that were eitherpromoted or reported on in these articles. They identifypedagogy as the service receiving the most notice in theto serve these students, and it often reflects concerns of aninstructional nature. An appendix compiled by Baron andrnal of Academic Librarianship, Volume 32, Number 5, pages 51852It investigates the use of the library as a place in whichlanguage learning may occur in a self-directed manner.Findings arise from the voices of the students themselves.This study offers the library as a potentially fruitful setting forthe further exploration of language learning issues.

    . . .this study investigates the use of the libraryas a place in which language learning may occur

    in a self-directed manner.

    LITERATURE REVIEW

    The specific study of ESL students in American collegelibraries is mostly grounded in the practicalities of how beste Library: An Exploratory

    This research study investigates how ESL (English-as-a-second language) students use an American collegelibrary in a self-directed manner in order to improve

    their language skills. Self-directed in this study refers tomaking use of the library when not directed to do so by facultymembers who may require its use for specific assignments orother mandated academic classroom tasks. This study seeks toanswer the following questions: Do ESL students use academiclibraries to support their language learning? If so, how? Andfinally, is the library a useful venue for studying languagelearning issues?6

  • In a more extensive bibliography compiled by Moeckeland Presnell,3 seventy articles from about twenty-five yearsare identified in the library literature that deals with ESL

    for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). As aresult of implementing this model, the authors found thatstudents showed an increased ability to identify appropriatestudents and college libraries. The majority of articles inthis bibliography offer opinions about raising awareness ofESL student/library issues,46 propose instructional programsor models,7,8 or offer language advice to librarians intendedto smooth transactions with ESL students in collegelibraries.9,10

    Raising awareness of ESL student needs in the libraryliterature, for example, appears as a strong concern:

    . . .academic librarians, especially those involved in bibliographic

    instruction, are finally waking to the unique problems faced by foreign

    students and beginning to join international student advisers and ESL

    teachers in responding to the special needs of this growing group. It is

    the purpose of this article to encourage that awakening. . .11

    Offering potential instructional models designed specificallyfor ESL students appears as another goal in the libraryliterature. Conteh-Morgan,12 for example, proposes a collabo-rative model for improving library use by ESL students inwhich the ESL instructor remains the main deliverer of libraryinformation to the students. Her rationale is that the ESLinstructors are in the best position to teach both languagecontent and library skills:

    Using the language specialists to teach both language and information

    skills, both of which are necessary for this specialized group of

    students academic success, can only mean the enhanced language and

    library skills, and ultimately, empowerment of students. This is the goal

    for which both ESL instructors and librarians strive.13

    In terms of interacting positively with ESL students, advicehas been offered to librarians on how best to improve theseinteractions:

    Being aware of speech patterns of our international students, listening to

    their words rather than intonation, being tactful in what we ask of and

    say to them, understanding the real and sometimes exaggerated

    backgrounds of some foreign nationals, and taking classes in foreign

    language and culture will go a long way in helping us deal better with

    international students.14

    Further advice to librarians suggests that Analogy,universal humor, hands-on experience, and an integratedprogram involving ESL and library personnel can effectivelycope with the difficulties and differences, making library useeasier and more pleasant.15

    In addition to articles that offer opinions on how best towork with ESL students in libraries, there also exist someempirical studies that investigate these issues more deeply. Thearticles that are research-based tend to study either theeffectiveness of particular instructional models for ESLstudents, or they survey how ESL students use libraries ingeneral or library technology in particular.

    In an instructional model research study, Kamhi-Stein andStein,16 for example, describe a model for library instructionthat promotes the use of facultylibrarian teams workingtogether collaboratively for the benefit of ESL students. Thismodel was implemented and studied at California StateUniversity, Los Angeles, through a grant funded by the Fundcontent-related references and do independent library work.17

    In a general library research study, Allen18 investigated twocollege libraries in Louisiana in order to ascertain how ESLstudents use American libraries, what their perceptions ofAmerican libraries are, and what difficulties they encounter intheir use. Her findings suggest that not all internationalstudents arrive in the United States with appropriate informa-tion retrieval skills to take advantage of automated biblio-graphic access systems and that libraries may need to makespecial efforts to extend instructional activities to thesestudents.19 Another library research survey that investigatedthe level of computer literacy skills among incoming interna-tional students reached a different conclusion. Jackson20

    surveyed new international students at San Jose StateUniversity and discovered that these students are now ashighly skilled as other students in terms of technologicalreadiness for computer library applications.

    In a research study on particular technological use,DiMartino, Ferns, and Swacker21 looked at the controlled useof database searching techniques used by ESL students. Theauthors compared the CD-ROM searching techniques of ESLstudents to native speakers and found that:

    The main difficulties of ESL students that differed significantly from

    those of native English speakers were concentrated in vocabulary

    issuesutilization of plural forms, and the use of synonyms and

    expanded concepts for more robust searching.22

    While adding interesting and useful perspectives to theliterature on ESL students and libraries, none of these researchstudies to date have explicitly explored the use of the librarythat arises from the self-directed efforts of the ESL usersthemselves in terms of improving their English language skills.There appears to still be much to learn, therefore, about howESL students potentially engage in language learning in thelibrary on their own and then make sense of it.

    METHODOLOGY

    The specific research design used in this study is that of theinterpretivist tradition of Bogdan and Biklen23 who emphasizethe appropriateness of a qualitative research approach when anunderstanding of human behavior is sought in a naturalisticmanner. The data in this study are the words spoken by theparticipants themselves. Interpretation of the data was accom-plished through the constant-comparative method of analysis asarticulated by Glaser.24 This technique requires that a series ofsteps take place when looking for patterns from the interviewdata and then arranging those patterns into emerging themes.

    The procedure used for collecting the data consisted ofinterviewing multiple participants over the course of anacademic year. Individual interviews were semi-structuredand consisted of both a written and oral section. Both sectionsincluded open-ended questions that sought to discover how thestudents used the library (Appendices A and B). Follow-upinterviews were then conducted either in person or by e-mailseveral months after the initial interviews.

    The participants were non-native speakers of English whowere college students at a medium-sized private institution ofhigher learning in the northeastern United States in the 2003

    November 2006 519

  • 2004 academic school year. The number of students enrolled atthis college was approximately 5000. Out of the approximately5000 students who attended the college as either under-

    study. Included in the interviews were students who came fromJapan, Sweden, Hungary, Haiti, Jordan, Bulgaria, China,Mexico, France, Spain, and the Dominican Republic.graduates or graduates, only 80 come from countries outsidethe United States and Canada.

    The participants were solicited on a volunteer basis. A callfor volunteers went out at a Global Horizons meeting oncampus by invitation of the moderator of the group who is thedirector of the Office of International Student Programs at thecollege. Global Horizons is a student organization that isdescribed as promoting awareness of the different culturesrepresented on the campus. After the call for volunteers wentout, a follow-up e-mail message was sent to members of acampus listserv of international students, also under theauspices of the Director of the Office of International StudentPrograms. Beyond these initial methods, volunteers were alsosolicited for the study through word-of-mouth, both in personand by e-mail, from contacts with faculty, administrators, andother students at the college. A final method used to solicitvolunteers was the physical encountering of ESL studentsalready in the library. None of the students were placed in aseparate ESL classroom program; all were students eitheraccepted into the college itself or were students who wereauditing courses for other programs.

    The library in which this study was conducted containedmore than a quarter of a million books and over 1000 printjournals. In terms of its electronic collection, the librarymaintained an online catalog and provided access to over12,000 journals through about one hundred different librarydatabases. For the most part, books in this library were in printformat, and journal articles were in electronic format. News-papers were available in both print and electronic format, withthe print collection consisting mainly of the local city news-paper and several national newspapers. The vast majority of thematerial in this library was in English.

    The library provided most of the same services encounteredat American college libraries: personal assistance using thecollection, library instruction classes, suggestions for librarypurchases, interlibrary loan, and notification services for thearrival of new material. The library was open for use almostone hundred hours per week, which included all seven days ofthe week. The library offered very current computingcapabilities and was the first place on this campus to offer awireless computing environment to students. Further access toelectronic services was made available through remote full textdatabases. Over fifty laptops could be borrowed at thecirculation desk.

    DESCRIPTION OF ESL STUDENTS

    There were twenty participants in this study (Appendix C). Theeducational level of the participants varied from undergraduateto graduate students, from self-described lower-level profi-ciency to high-level proficiency speakers, and from exchangestudents who were in the United States on a study abroadprogram to students enrolled in degree programs that wouldlast anywhere from one to four years. The academic majors ofthe participants in this study included such diverse areas ofstudy as psychology, business, religious studies, music,criminal justice, education, computer science, and chemistry.The ages of the participants ranged from twenty to thirty-five.Both male and female students served as volunteers for thestudy. Ten women and ten men served as participants in this

    520 The Journal of Academic LibrarianshipUSES OF THE LIBRARY

    Four main uses of the library emerged from the interviews. TheESL students described how they used the library as a studyhall for both individual and group work, as a repository forboth academic and recreational material, as a place to receiveinstructional assistance from librarians and other students, andas a social center for both planned and unplanned socializing.

    Participants viewed the library as a place thataffords them an opportunity to improve their

    English in the four language skills areas:speaking, listening, reading, and writing.

    Connecting all of their self-described uses of the library wasthe desire on the part of the participants to improve theirEnglish language skills. Participants viewed the library as aplace that affords them an opportunity to improve their Englishin the four language skills areas: speaking, listening, reading,and writing.

    SPEAKING

    Participants saw the library as a place for improving theirspeaking skills because of the necessity of speaking English inthis setting and because it also offers them opportunities forinteraction with native speakers in an academic environment.Elizabeth, for example, feels very strongly that the libraryoffers a good opportunity in which she can improve her spokenEnglish through interaction:

    Thats the point to talk to other people in the library, to try to socialize

    with other people to learn English. I always try to speak to people in

    here. Take advantage of talking to people in the library. Before, I was

    already confident talking to international students because they already

    know how hard it is to learn English, because they are used to our

    accent. And we are more tolerable, because we are all learning English.

    But when you talk to Americans, I am sometimes afraid that maybe the

    Americans didnt understand what I am saying. So for me it was a big

    challenge. I try to speak to native speakers here.

    Participants cited the need to speak in the library whenworking with other students on group projects, when request-ing assistance in locating and using materials, and whensocializing with other students.

    LISTENING

    Participants also cited the library as a place in which toimprove listening skills. Sarah, for example, sees listening inthis naturalistic academic setting as one of the best ways toimprove her English:

    You have to hear the language. You get the sounds. You hear if

    something sounds right or wrong automatically. You dont have to think

    about the grammar. I think thats the second level. At first, you think,

    Im supposed to put the verb here or there. But if you hear the language

  • and hear the language, after a while, you dont have to think about that,

    you are going to hear if the language sounds right or wrong. And

    advice, to learn more actively, to practice and practice in the library, and

    He thinks this helps him learn English because he is workingwith the language in a freer way than he is when he writingacademic papers.dont be afraid to speak.

    Participants cited the need to listen in the library wheninteracting with other students and librarians when requestingassistance and when socializing with others in this setting.

    READING

    Participants saw the library as a place in which to improve theirreading skills through increasing their reading speed andlearning new vocabulary. Stephanie, for example, engages inreading in the library and also feels her reading speedincreasing in English:

    Im a bit slow. But I read 500 pages a week here. Usually I dont use the

    dictionary. I try to get the whole idea, the main idea. But this semester, I

    think I am progressing. Because at first, after two pages, I am lost in my

    thoughts. It took me one hour to read five pages. Last semester, I had to

    read about fifteen books. But this semester, I go faster.

    Lucas ask other students in the library for help: Any time Ihave an English guy next to me, when Im reading somethinghere, I say, what do you think this word means. . .. It improvedso much my English. Participants use library materials as wellas from their own textbooks to learn new vocabulary words inEnglish in the library. Raymond, for example, says Readingthe newspaper here helps me with vocabulary.

    Participants mentioned particular library sources they use tohelp them with improving their reading ability in English.Elizabeth, for example, comes in every day to read the WallStreet Journal to learn new business words. And Nathanreads Sports Illustrated in the library to improve his informalvocabulary for speaking with native speakers: Its veryhelpful to learn English. First time I couldnt read because ofexpressions, not like textbook. More informal, more similar tonatural expression in English. I became to know, to understand.It was adjustment, getting informal words for conversation.

    Participants cited the need to read in the library whenworking on individual homework assignments, when readingcourse-related academic material, and when browsing andreading recreational material.

    WRITING

    Participants viewed the library as a setting in which to practicetheir writing as well. The writing that appears to occur in thelibrary takes the form of writing academic papers, writing e-mail, writing vocabulary notebooks, and recreational writing.Raymond, for example, writes vocabulary notebooks in thelibrary quite extensively as a way to learn new words to use inhis papers:

    I use the vocabulary notebook here, the words we started doing in class.

    I put the word in both English and French. When I write the word, its

    beginning to notice, to remember it. I check the word, I try to remember

    it. Like the chemistry word, stem. We use it a lot in chemistry and I need

    it in my paper, so I write it down. At first, I didnt know it, so I put it in

    the book.

    Jack writes recreationally in the library: I like to writepoetry sometimes, here in the library as well as in my room.Participants cited the need to write in the library whenworking on homework assignments either by themselves orwith others, when compiling vocabulary notebooks for theirown use, and when engaged in recreational writing for theirown enjoyment.

    All twenty participants identified their use of the library as away for them to improve their English language skills inspeaking, listening, reading, and writing. Louisa says: Engag-ing in all these activities in the library helps improve myEnglish. Lucas states: I cant separate the two-learningEnglish and using the library.

    LANGUAGE LEARNING IN THE LIBRARY

    All of the language learning activities that participants say thatthey engage in at the library are self-initiated on their part inthis setting. None of them engages in these activities in thelibrary because a professor told them to do so. Self-directedlanguage learning, then, has taken place in the library.

    All of the language-learning activities thatparticipants say that they engage in at thelibrary are self-initiated on their part in this

    setting.

    But what may further inform the use of the library as a placein which to engage in language learning is a consideration ofthe role of language learner autonomy in this setting as well.Self-directed language learning and language learner autonomyare not synonymous. Self-directed language learning generallydescribes an approach to language learning: that of a learnertrying to progress independently of a language classroom inwhich the teacher directs the learning. Benson states that Self-directed learning tends to refer simply to learning that is carriedout under the learners own direction, rather than under thedirection of others.25

    Language learner autonomy, however, looks more deeply athow learning is accomplished. The classic definition oflanguage learner autonomy derives from Holec who calls itthe ability to take charge of ones own learning.26

    The difference in their use here concerns the presence ofconscious awareness of language learner status on the part ofthose involved in the efforts of learning a second language.

    There are some instances of conscious reflection uponlanguage learning present in this study. Luca, Anna, andStephanie offered the strongest instances of reflection tied tolanguage learning in the library. It may be interesting to notethat Lucas and Stephanie rated their English languageproficiency as high, but Anna rated herself as intermediate.Because this is not a quantitative study, no conclusion mayoffered here in terms of correlating proficiency and languagelearning, but this may offer an intriguing avenue of inves-tigation for future studies.

    In terms of reflection tied to language learning, however,Lucas indicates that his self-directed language learningactivities served as a source for his general improvement. He

    November 2006 521

  • says it is because he focuses his attention on the improvementof his English every day: I focus on it. I improve every singleday. I write up new words and expressions. I read every day.. . .

    IMPLICATIONS

    By identifying the library as a place in which to study quietlyI love books. And I always use libraries for learning.Anna likewise reflects on language learning strategies in

    the library. She engages in a strategy of writing down manywords she encounters as she is reading in this setting. But shereflects that this process does not always help her commit thewords to memory: I wrote tons of words (I got the paperfrom the recycle bin next to the printer in the library), but Inever really remembered. However, it was still meaningfulprocess for me. I looked up words at least once. It helped meread the articles, but I dont know if it helped me know thevocabulary.

    And Stephanie offers another reflection about a languagelearning strategy for learning English vocabulary. Shereflects on this attempt to improve her vocabulary throughthe use of library material: When I went back to France atChristmas, I took a vocabulary book for words aboutdifferent things like housing and business. But I onlyopened it once. But I wish I knew more words, but that wasnot a good way for me. Although the attempt appearedunsuccessful, Stephanies reflection seems to show that shehas thought about this being not the best way for her tolearn vocabulary.

    Lucas, Anna, and Stephanie may then be showing evidenceof language learner autonomy in the library. It should be noted,however, that the majority of the participants did not offer suchinstances of conscious language learning status. Therefore,although all of the participants exhibited self-directed languagelearning, only a small minority of them exhibited languagelearner autonomy. At the very least, however, the library hasproven itself to be a potentially worthwhile setting in which tofurther investigate the phenomenon of language learnerautonomy.

    Using the library as a setting for the investigation oflanguage learning issues may also help to extend conceptualmodels of language learner autonomy. Benson and Oxford, forexample, both offer models of language learner autonomy thatcould be enhanced by the consideration of a library as apotential setting for language learning.

    The model offered by Benson, for example, advocates anumber of different approaches to studying language learnerautonomy.27 His model includes the following approaches:resource based, technology based, learner based, classroombased, curriculum based, and teacher based. This current studyextends his model because it supports both a resource-basedand a learner-based perspective: resource-based through the useof library materials for learning, and learner-based through theself-initiated uses of the library for the improvement oflanguage skills.

    Oxford also offers a model of language learner autonomy,which the findings of this study support and enhance.28 Sheoffers four different perspectives for studying language learnerautonomy: technical, psychological, sociocultural, and politi-calcritical. This study supports her technical approach, whichfocuses on the physical situation where learning takes place,and it also supports her sociocultural approach, which puts theemphasis on mediated learning that takes place between peoplein a particular context. It enhances her model by offering thelibrary as a place in which multiple language learner autonomyperspectives can be meaningfully considered.

    522 The Journal of Academic Librarianshipby themselves and also as a place to work collaboratively withother students for the purposes of improving their English, theparticipants in this study point out the importance of librariessupporting different learning needs at different times for thesame students. Much recent library literature on the emergenceof the learning commons phenomenon points to this need forlibraries to serve multiple purposes under one roof.29 Theparticipants in this study extend this mandate to show thatsupporting multiple learning needs may not only help ESLstudents become better library users, it may also benefit theirlanguage learning as well.

    By identifying the library as a place in which tostudy quietly by themselves and also as a placeto work collaboratively with other students forthe purposes of improving their English, the

    participants in this study point out theimportance of libraries supporting different

    learning needs at different times for the samestudents.

    Another implication suggests that self-directed ESL stu-dents like to browse and make use of recreational readingmaterials in college libraries in order to support their languagelearning. College libraries might address the issue ofbrowsing by acknowledging it as serious use of the academiclibrary collection. This might mean accommodating the use ofbrowsing in more substantial ways. For example, new bookareas could be placed front and center in the building,obvious signs could point to it, and its location could benoted in catalogs and Web pages. Comfortable furniture andample desk areas could be situated nearby to encourage itsuse. Browsing of new books could be promoted throughflyers, talks, and word-of-mouth. More types of recreationalreading material could also perhaps be purchased and madeavailable.

    The major limitation of this study is that any resultsobtained or observations made will be limited to the particularcontext of this specific study. Transferability of findingswould depend upon the context of the readers. The character-istics of the participants in this study might also be unique.These students were mostly at a higher level of Englishlanguage proficiency. The cultural backgrounds of theparticipants may also not correspond to those of ESL studentsat other colleges.

    CONCLUSION

    This research study investigated the uses of an Americancollege library by self-directed ESL students. The ESL studentsidentified a number of ways in which they used the library inways guided by their own self-initiative: as a study hall forboth individual and group work, as a material repository forboth academic and leisure material, as a place to receiveinstructional assistance, and as a place to engage in both

  • planned and unplanned socializing. Connecting all of theseuses of the library was the participants desire to improve theirEnglish language skills. Engaging in these various uses of thelibrary allowed the participants to concretely work on improv-ing their language skills in speaking, listening, reading, and

    writing in this setting. All of the participants exhibited self-directed language learning in the library, and several exhibitedlanguage learner autonomy as well. The findings of this studytherefore underscore the importance of the library as a valuablesetting in which to study issues of language learning.

    APPENDIX A

    How do you use this library?

    Study hall for doing homework

    Recreational reading

    Meeting friends and socializing

    Doing research for papers

    Improving your English

    What kinds of things do you do in the library?

    Have you ever not understood something in the library? (signs in the building, directions on the web page, oral directions in a library instruction class?) If that has

    happened to you, then what did you do next? Did you use a dictionary? Did you ask someone for help?

    APPENDIX B

    Oral Interview QuestionnaireNovember 2006 523

  • Have you used any other American college libraries besides this one? How does an American college library differ from a college library in your native country?

    How much time do you spend in this library during a typical week? When do you use it? Do you use library resources such as online databases in your dorm room or

    other places besides the library? When? Where?

    How do you find out about resources available either in or through the library? Do you ask other people? Who?

    [From the chart below]

    Do you do any of these activities in or through the library?

    Speaking and Listening Reading Writing

    -asking questions at the circulation desk, information desk,

    periodicals desk

    -reading Web pages -writing e-mail or chat messages to family

    or friends

    -talking with a librarian or student worker -reading books -writing e-mail or chat messages to the

    librarians

    -attending or participating in a library instruction class -reading magazines or newspapers -writing papers on library computers

    -taking a tour -reading homework assignments in

    the library

    -filling out request forms

    -asking other students for help in finding materials -recreational or leisure reading in

    the library

    -writing homework assignments in the

    library

    -requesting or listening to videos -others? -others?

    -borrowing a laptop

    -working in groups with other students on class projects in the library

    -meeting and talking with friends in the library

    -others?

    APPENDIX B (continued)

    Pseudonym Gender

    Prioryears ofEnglish

    Exchange ordegreestudent

    Nativecountry

    Nativelanguage

    Yearsin theU.S. Major and level Age

    Self-ratedproficiency

    level

    Anna Female 8 Degree Japan Japanese 2 Psychology,

    undergraduate

    21 Intermediate

    Cynthia Female 5 Degree Mexico Spanish 1/2 Psychology,

    undergraduate

    22 High

    David Male 7 Degree Japan Japanese 1 Economics,

    graduate

    23 Low

    Elizabeth Female 12 Degree Japan Japanese 2 1/2 Management,

    graduate

    29 Intermediate

    Ellen Female 9 Exchange Spain Spanish 1/2 Computer

    science,

    undergraduate

    27 Intermediate

    Henry Male 7 Exchange Japan Japanese 1/2 Music,

    undergraduate

    21 Intermediate

    APPENDIX C

    Participants in the Study

    524 The Journal of Academic Librarianship

  • nAPPENDIX C (continued)Raymond Male 10 Exchange France

    Sarah Female 13 Exchange SwedenPseudonym Gender

    Prioryears ofEnglish

    Exchange ordegreestudent

    Nativecountry

    Irene Female 10 Degree Bulgaria

    Jack Male 8 Degree Dominica

    Republic

    Kevin Male 8 Degree Japan

    Lawrence Male 7 Degree Japan

    Louisa Female 17 Degree Jordan

    Lucas Male 12 Degree Hungary

    Nathan Male 8 Degree JapanNOTES AND REFERENCES

    1. Sara Baron & Alexia Strout-Dapaz, Communicating with andEmpowering International Students with a Library Skills Set,Reference Services Review 29 (December 2001): 314326.

    2. Ibid., p 323.3. Nancy Moeckel & Jenny Presnell, A Companion Bibliog-raphy to: Recognizing, Understanding, and Responding: AProgram Model of Library Instruction Services for Interna-tional Students, The Reference Librarian 51/52 (1995):327353.

    4. William Z. Nasri, International Students: What Do We Do WithThem? An Educators Reflections, Journal of Education forLibrary and Information Science 34 (Winter 1993): 7578.

    5. John N. Cable, Foreign Students in the United States, ImprovingCollege and University Teaching 33 (Fall 1985): 159162.

    6. Irene Khin Jensen, Cross Cultural Encounters: The NewlyArrived Asian Student, College Student Journal 17 (Winter1983): 371377.

    7. Gina Macdonald & Elisabeth Sarkodie-Mensah, ESL Studentsand American Libraries, College and Research Libraries 49(September 1988): 425431.

    8. Miriam E. Conteh-Morgan, Empowering ESL Students: A New

    Stephanie Female 12 Exchange France

    Tanya Female 10 Degree Japan

    Tom Male 9 Exchange Japan

    William Male 1 Seminarian Haiti

    Yvonne Female 4 Degree ChinaNativelanguage

    Yearsin theU.S. Major and level Age

    Self-ratedproficiency

    level

    Bulgarian 2 Biology,

    undergraduate

    21 High

    Spanish 8 Criminal justice,

    undergraduate

    20 High

    Japanese 1/2 Management,

    undergraduate

    28 Low

    Korean 1 Business,

    undergraduate

    20 Intermediate

    Arabic 4 Accounting,

    undergraduate

    21 High

    Hungarian 2 Management,

    graduate

    26 High

    Japanese 1 Management,

    graduate

    26 Low

    French 1/2 Chemistry,

    undergraduate

    20 High

    Swedish 1/2 Marketing,

    undergraduate

    23 HighModel for Information Literacy Instruction, Research Strategies18 (2001): 2938.

    9. Kwasi Sarkodie-Mensah, Dealing With International Students ina Multicultural Era, The Journal of Academic Librarianship 18(September 1992): 214216.

    10. Miriam Conteh-Morgan, Connecting the Dots: Limited EnglishProficiency, Second Language Learning Theories, and InformationLiteracy Instruction, The Journal of Academic Librarianship 28(July 2002): 191196.

    11. Macdonald & Sarkodie-Mensah, ESL Students and AmericanLibraries, p. 426.

    12. Conteh-Morgan, Empowering ESL Students.13. Ibid., p. 36.14. Sarkodie-Mensah, Dealing with International Students in a

    Multicultural Era, p. 216.15. Macdonald & Sarkodie-Mensah, ESL Students and American

    Libraries, p. 425.16. Lia Kamhi-Stein & Alan Paul Stein, Teaching Information

    Competency as a Third Language: A New Model for LibraryInstruction, Reference and User Services Quarterly 38 (1998):173179.

    17. Ibid., p. 177.18. Mary Beth Allen, International Students in Academic Libraries:

    French 1 English and

    history,

    undergraduate

    21 High

    Japanese 1 1/2 Counseling,

    graduate

    35 Intermediate

    Japanese 1 Economics,

    undergraduate

    22 High

    Creole 1/2 Religious

    studies, graduate

    34 Low

    Chinese 4 International

    business,

    undergraduate

    20 Intermediate

    November 2006 525

  • A User Survey, College & Research Libraries News 54(July 1993): 323331.

    19. Ibid., p. 323.20. Pamela A. Jackson, Incoming International Students and the Lib-

    rary: A Survey, Reference Services Review 33 (2005): 197209.21. Diane DiMartino, William J. Ferns, & Sharon Swacker, CD-

    ROM Search Techniques of Novice End-Users: Is The English-as-a-Second-Language Student at a Disadvantage? College &Research Libraries 56 (January 1995): 4959.

    22. Ibid., p. 56.23. Robert Bogdan & Sari Knopp Biklen, Qualitative Research for

    Education: An Introduction to Theory and Methods. 4th edition.2003 (Boston: Pearson Education Group, Inc., 1978).

    24. Barney G. Glaser, Theoretical Sensitivity: Advances in theMethodology of Grounded Theory (Mill Valley, CA: SociologyPress, 1978).

    25. Phil Benson, Teaching and Researching Autonomy in Language

    Learning. (Harlow, England: Pearson Education Limited, 2001),p. 34.

    26. Henri Holec, Autonomy and Foreign Language Learning(Strasbourg: Council for Co-operation of the Council ofEurope/Centre de Recherches et dApplications Pedagogiquesen Langues, 1979).

    27. Benson, Teaching and Researching Autonomy in LanguageLearning, pp. 113176.

    28. Rebecca Oxford, Toward a More Systematic Model of L2Learner Autonomy, in Learner Autonomy Across Cultures:Language Education Perspectives, edited by Palfreyman,R.C. Smith (Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan Ltd, 2003)pp. 7591.

    29. Scott Bennett, Libraries Designed for Learning. Online. Council onLibrary and Information Resources. (November 2003). Available:http://www.clir.org/pubs/abstract/pub122abst.html (accessed June16, 2006).526 The Journal of Academic Librarianship

    Language Learning in the Library: An Exploratory Study of ESL StudentsLiterature ReviewMethodologyDescription of ESL StudentsUses of the LibrarySpeakingListeningReadingWritingLanguage Learning in the LibraryImplicationsConclusionWritten QuestionnaireOral Interview QuestionnaireParticipants in the StudyNotes and References