Jenna Altherr Flores' Abstracts
Jenna Altherr-Flores
Jenna Altherr-Flores
Ph.D. Student
Second Language Acquisition & Teaching
Conference Summary
2017 TESOL International Convention and Expo
Seattle, Washington
LAY ABSTRACTS
My talks at the 2017 TESOL International Convention and Expo are part of two invited panels.
PANEL 1: "Political, Social, and Integration Implications for Refugees and Asylum Seekers"
Jenna Altherr Flores’ Title: "The U.S. naturalization test: Implications for refugee-background
adult emergent readers"
Jenna Altherr Flores’ Lay Abstract
The U.S. naturalization test and its accompanying multimodal study cards are meant to help
potential citizens learn about U.S. history and government while preparing for the naturalization
test. The test claims to be a test of civic and cultural literacy, however, the official U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services’ Civics Flash Cards for the Naturalization Test and the naturalization test
itself both rely on multiple literacies (content schemata, test literacy, multimodal literacies), which
not all immigrants possess. My work investigates how ideologies of language and citizenship are
implicitly presented in these official study materials, and considers how immigrants can be
marginalized through these ideologies. I examine the still image, writing, layout, and visual
composition (Kress & van Leeuwen, 1996; Kress, 2010) of the cards to determine 1) how the cards
display the ideology of the creators, 2) how messages of citizenship and belonging are conveyed to
readers via the cards, and 3) how readers make meaning from the cards. With a particular concern
for adults from refugee backgrounds, I consider the efficacy of these study materials for non-
Western English language learners with emerging literacy (that is, for students who are learning
English as a second language and also becoming literate) and who may have had little-to-no formal
education. My research concludes that the study cards were created for an institutionally-imagined
community of test-takers who have previous experience with the background historical knowledge
presented in the study cards, knowledge of test structure, and knowledge of how images, language,
writing, and visual layout work together. My presentation will provide alternative multimodal
options for teaching the naturalization test material to students from outside the imagined
population. The options will include recognizable images, level-appropriate language, unambiguous
text structures, and cohesive and consistent visual layout.
PANEL 2: "Connecting Research to Practice: Serving Adult Emergent Readers"
Jenna Altherr Flores’ Title: “Adult emergent readers with refugee backgrounds: Classroom
multimodal assessment and pedagogy”
Jenna Altherr Flores’ Lay Abstract
I take a critical approach (Pennycook, 2001) to English language and literacy testing and teaching to
analyze a set of assessments used by a community English as a Second Language and English
literacy program. This set of assessments is multimodal (Kress & van Leeuwen, 1996; Kress, 2010),
that is, it uses a combination of writing, still image, and layout to convey information and ask
questions. The goals of my action research are to 1) gain an understanding of how adults who are in
the process of becoming literate, are from refugee backgrounds, are from non-Western countries,
and have little-to-no formal education make meaning from multimodal classroom texts, and 2)
create a feasible set of assessments for this population. I gathered data in three ways: multimodal
analysis of the assessments, analysis of student responses on the assessments, and semi-structured
qualitative interviews. My presentation also addresses the principles of language assessment
(Brown & Abeywickrama, 2010), considers the power of testing (Shohamy, 2001), and discusses
the socio-political context that surrounds ESL and literacy testing. The findings of my study are
beneficial for assessment and pedagogical practices for refugee-background adults with emerging
literacy from non-Western countries. My presentation will provide best classroom practices for
assessing and teaching this population with multimodal texts.
CONFERENCE ABSTRACTS
My talks at the 2017 TESOL International Convention and Expo are part of two invited panels.
Invited panels require an invitation from the organizer, and then a 50-word abstract from each
panelist. A 50-word abstract for the entire panel is printed in the program.
PANEL 1
Panel Title: "Political, Social, and Integration Implications for Refugees and Asylum Seekers"
Panel Abstract
TESOL practitioners and researchers discuss global issues concerning forced migration:
ideologies of U.S. citizenship; civic participation and access to citizenship in European countries;
pathways to citizenship in Egypt, Turkey, and Jordan; governmental assistance for refugees;
structures of identity among displaced persons; and social needs and legal rights of
unaccompanied minors.
Panelists
- Pindie Stephen – Senior Migrant Training Specialist/Integration Focal Point, International Organization for Migration (IOM)
- Stacy Brown – Emergency Bilingual Case Manager for Unaccompanied Minors & ELL Specialist, OKTESOL Immediate Past President
- Jenna A. Altherr Flores –Doctoral Student, Second Language Acquisition and Teaching, University of Arizona; Chair-Elect, Refugee Concerns
- Earlene Gentry – Retired ESL Educator, Retired from Fulbright Commission in Egypt
- Kinana Qaddour – University of Kansas, School of Education, MA in TESOL
Jenna Altherr Flores’ Title: "The U.S. naturalization test: Implications for refugee-background
adult emergent readers"
Jenna Altherr Flores’ Accepted Abstract
The researcher will present on the implied ideologies in official U.S. naturalization test study
materials, and the implications of combining assessment of cultural literacy, civic knowledge,
and traditional literacy in the same test. She will provide recommendations for alternative
multimodal strategies for teaching naturalization test information to adults with refugee
backgrounds who have emerging literacy.
PANEL 2
Panel Title: "Connecting Research to Practice: Serving Adult Emergent Readers"
Panel Abstract
Serving the diverse needs of adult emergent readers is challenging. This research-to-practice
panel includes SLA-informed recommendations for instruction, assessment, and teacher
education. Participants receive ideas for balancing literacy and language, embracing loss due to
migration, using mobile devices, and employing multimodal design in literacy assessments and
classroom pedagogy.
Panelists
1) Martha Bigelow – Professor, University of Minnesota
2) Patsy Egan Vinogradov – Director, ATLAS, Hamline University
3) Raichle Farrelly – Assistant Professor, Saint Michael's College
4) Jenna A. Altherr Flores – Doctoral Student, Second Language Acquisition and Teaching,
University of Arizona; Chair-Elect, Refugee Concerns
Jenna Altherr Flores’ Title: “Adult emergent readers with refugee backgrounds: Classroom
multimodal assessment and pedagogy”
Jenna Altherr Flores’ Accepted Abstract
With data gathered from critical multimodal artifact analysis and semi-structured qualitative
interviews, the researcher presents best practices for assessing and teaching refugee-background
adult emergent readers with images and layout. The researcher also discusses language
assessment principles, the power of testing, and socio-political concerns surrounding regular
ESL assessment monitoring by state and federal governments.
Jenna Altherr-Flores
Ph.D. Student
Second Language Acquisition & Teaching
Conference Summary
2017 TESOL International Convention and Expo
Seattle, Washington
LAY ABSTRACTS
My talks at the 2017 TESOL International Convention and Expo are part of two invited panels.
PANEL 1: "Political, Social, and Integration Implications for Refugees and Asylum Seekers"
Jenna Altherr Flores’ Title: "The U.S. naturalization test: Implications for refugee-background
adult emergent readers"
Jenna Altherr Flores’ Lay Abstract
The U.S. naturalization test and its accompanying multimodal study cards are meant to help
potential citizens learn about U.S. history and government while preparing for the naturalization
test. The test claims to be a test of civic and cultural literacy, however, the official U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services’ Civics Flash Cards for the Naturalization Test and the naturalization test
itself both rely on multiple literacies (content schemata, test literacy, multimodal literacies), which
not all immigrants possess. My work investigates how ideologies of language and citizenship are
implicitly presented in these official study materials, and considers how immigrants can be
marginalized through these ideologies. I examine the still image, writing, layout, and visual
composition (Kress & van Leeuwen, 1996; Kress, 2010) of the cards to determine 1) how the cards
display the ideology of the creators, 2) how messages of citizenship and belonging are conveyed to
readers via the cards, and 3) how readers make meaning from the cards. With a particular concern
for adults from refugee backgrounds, I consider the efficacy of these study materials for non-
Western English language learners with emerging literacy (that is, for students who are learning
English as a second language and also becoming literate) and who may have had little-to-no formal
education. My research concludes that the study cards were created for an institutionally-imagined
community of test-takers who have previous experience with the background historical knowledge
presented in the study cards, knowledge of test structure, and knowledge of how images, language,
writing, and visual layout work together. My presentation will provide alternative multimodal
options for teaching the naturalization test material to students from outside the imagined
population. The options will include recognizable images, level-appropriate language, unambiguous
text structures, and cohesive and consistent visual layout.
PANEL 2: "Connecting Research to Practice: Serving Adult Emergent Readers"
Jenna Altherr Flores’ Title: “Adult emergent readers with refugee backgrounds: Classroom
multimodal assessment and pedagogy”
Jenna Altherr Flores’ Lay Abstract
I take a critical approach (Pennycook, 2001) to English language and literacy testing and teaching to
analyze a set of assessments used by a community English as a Second Language and English
literacy program. This set of assessments is multimodal (Kress & van Leeuwen, 1996; Kress, 2010),
that is, it uses a combination of writing, still image, and layout to convey information and ask
questions. The goals of my action research are to 1) gain an understanding of how adults who are in
the process of becoming literate, are from refugee backgrounds, are from non-Western countries,
and have little-to-no formal education make meaning from multimodal classroom texts, and 2)
create a feasible set of assessments for this population. I gathered data in three ways: multimodal
analysis of the assessments, analysis of student responses on the assessments, and semi-structured
qualitative interviews. My presentation also addresses the principles of language assessment
(Brown & Abeywickrama, 2010), considers the power of testing (Shohamy, 2001), and discusses
the socio-political context that surrounds ESL and literacy testing. The findings of my study are
beneficial for assessment and pedagogical practices for refugee-background adults with emerging
literacy from non-Western countries. My presentation will provide best classroom practices for
assessing and teaching this population with multimodal texts.
CONFERENCE ABSTRACTS
My talks at the 2017 TESOL International Convention and Expo are part of two invited panels.
Invited panels require an invitation from the organizer, and then a 50-word abstract from each
panelist. A 50-word abstract for the entire panel is printed in the program.
PANEL 1
Panel Title: "Political, Social, and Integration Implications for Refugees and Asylum Seekers"
Panel Abstract
TESOL practitioners and researchers discuss global issues concerning forced migration:
ideologies of U.S. citizenship; civic participation and access to citizenship in European countries;
pathways to citizenship in Egypt, Turkey, and Jordan; governmental assistance for refugees;
structures of identity among displaced persons; and social needs and legal rights of
unaccompanied minors.
Panelists
- Pindie Stephen – Senior Migrant Training Specialist/Integration Focal Point, International Organization for Migration (IOM)
- Stacy Brown – Emergency Bilingual Case Manager for Unaccompanied Minors & ELL Specialist, OKTESOL Immediate Past President
- Jenna A. Altherr Flores –Doctoral Student, Second Language Acquisition and Teaching, University of Arizona; Chair-Elect, Refugee Concerns
- Earlene Gentry – Retired ESL Educator, Retired from Fulbright Commission in Egypt
- Kinana Qaddour – University of Kansas, School of Education, MA in TESOL
Jenna Altherr Flores’ Title: "The U.S. naturalization test: Implications for refugee-background
adult emergent readers"
Jenna Altherr Flores’ Accepted Abstract
The researcher will present on the implied ideologies in official U.S. naturalization test study
materials, and the implications of combining assessment of cultural literacy, civic knowledge,
and traditional literacy in the same test. She will provide recommendations for alternative
multimodal strategies for teaching naturalization test information to adults with refugee
backgrounds who have emerging literacy.
PANEL 2
Panel Title: "Connecting Research to Practice: Serving Adult Emergent Readers"
Panel Abstract
Serving the diverse needs of adult emergent readers is challenging. This research-to-practice
panel includes SLA-informed recommendations for instruction, assessment, and teacher
education. Participants receive ideas for balancing literacy and language, embracing loss due to
migration, using mobile devices, and employing multimodal design in literacy assessments and
classroom pedagogy.
Panelists
1) Martha Bigelow – Professor, University of Minnesota
2) Patsy Egan Vinogradov – Director, ATLAS, Hamline University
3) Raichle Farrelly – Assistant Professor, Saint Michael's College
4) Jenna A. Altherr Flores – Doctoral Student, Second Language Acquisition and Teaching,
University of Arizona; Chair-Elect, Refugee Concerns
Jenna Altherr Flores’ Title: “Adult emergent readers with refugee backgrounds: Classroom
multimodal assessment and pedagogy”
Jenna Altherr Flores’ Accepted Abstract
With data gathered from critical multimodal artifact analysis and semi-structured qualitative
interviews, the researcher presents best practices for assessing and teaching refugee-background
adult emergent readers with images and layout. The researcher also discusses language
assessment principles, the power of testing, and socio-political concerns surrounding regular
ESL assessment monitoring by state and federal governments.