This essay has studied the extent to which research on language learning strategies has influenced four Swedish syllabi for the English subject in compulsory school year 7-9. The study has made use of hermeneutics to both categorize and interpret the various mentions of language learning strategies that can be seen throughout the various syllabi. All in all, it can be concluded that research, especially Swedish research, has come to increasingly influence the syllabi over time, which can be seen through both the increased number of mentions of language learning strategies and through the more clearly defined terminology used when mentioning the strategies in LGR 11 (2011). This development may be seen as showcasing a shift in focus from teaching methods regulated by the teacher to learning strategies applied by students and their significance for the degree of success and level of achievement reached in the target language. However, for the teachers and students reading the syllabus, it is still not overtly mentioned what the strategies are, and in order to find out, they have to find the description of language learning strategies on their own. It can, therefore, be beneficial to include workshops and seminars on the topic to ensure that all English teachers understand what kind of strategies they should be looking for in their students. This would strengthen the verification of the grades given to the students and the overall professionalism of the teachers. How exactly these seminars and workshops should be constructed and incorporated in schools and universities, however, is not within the scope of this essay, but can be determined in future studies on the subject.

The present study examines students’ use, attitudes and preferences, when it comes to EE (Extramural English). EE is defined as English language activities that learners are engaged in outside their ordinary language class, such as reading books, reading newspapers/magazines, watching TV, watching films, surfing the Internet, playing video games, listening to music, etc. The results of the study are based on data that was collected from Swedish upper secondary-school learners of English over a period of one term on several occasions. Information about students’ EE activities was collected by quantitative questionnaires, including both multiple-choice and open-ended questions. The results showed that Swedish upper-secondary school students were engaged in many different extramural activities. The extramural activity that the students were most often engaged in, was watching English language movies. The second most popular extramural activity was watching TV-programs in English with Swedish subtitles. Furthermore, according to the surveyed upper-secondary students, most of their language skills they develop with the help of their Extramural contacts with the English language. These are for example understanding of spoken English, speaking English, understanding of English vocabulary and understanding written English. However, when it comes to the written English and the development of English grammar, it appears that the students see themselves as developing these language skills more successfully within the language classroom than in their free time. The results also showed that, whereas the above-mentioned extramural activities were preferred by both boys and girls, there were also some differences in their use of extramural activities. Whereas boys rather preferred such activities as "English-speaking role-playing or computer games", girls, according to their answers, preferred such activities as "reading texts in English". The results of this study have shown that, according to the students’ responses, there is no strong gender difference when it comes to attitudes about learning English in school versus outside the school.

This thesis aims to explore whether some Swedish teachers and students feel that they are helped by ICT tools in their classrooms or not. It is vital for this thesis to find out whether or not teachers experience that their students are positively stimulated by the use of ICT when learning English. Ascertaining whether teachers find that ICT tools make it easier for them to teach or not is also of particular interest. Students’ answers to questions regarding the perceived benefits of technology and what they think about their teachers’ technology usage are also important. In order to accomplish this aim, four teachers were interviewed about their opinions on this matter and one English class per teacher, totaling 70 students, answered questionnaires regarding their opinions on the matter. The results reveal that teachers believe that while ICT offers some great tools to create variation in the classroom and that it might increase student motivation, opinions on whether or not technology also helps students to produce better results differ. The students’ results on the other hand clearly show that most students believe that they learn better when using computers, they would like to use computers more during class, and they prefer to write using a computer rather than pen and paper. Overall, the students have a more positive attitude to ICT tools than the teachers.

The thesis examines the concept of normalisation of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), i.e. complete, effective integration of technology, in the context of primary Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) in England. While normalisation research is conducted predominantly in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context, understanding normalisation in the primary mainstream education in England is important due to the contrast between teachers’ lack of readiness to deliver languages as part of the National Curriculum, and technology penetration in the classrooms. This thesis therefore, taking a sociocultural perspective of Activity Theory, attempts to redefine normalisation to include context specific characteristics, identify what factors contribute to and impede normalisation, and assess where primary CALL is on route to normalisation. An ethnographic approach was deemed to be most suitable to gain deep understanding of normalisation. Prolonged immersion in a primary school and the thematic analysis of observations, interviews, field notes and audio recordings revealed that factors impeding normalisation of primary CALL revolve around the following areas: attitudes, logistics, training and support and pedagogy. The issues related to the subject itself, e.g. negative attitudes toward the subject, lack of skills, impact on the achievement of normalisation to larger extent than issues related to technology. Hence in the primary context, normalisation needs to be considered from the point of view of normalisation of MFL and then the technology that is embedded into MFL. The analysis of the data allowed the researcher to create a model which serves as a form of audit of factors that need to be considered when thinking of successful technology integration into languages. Such guidance is needed for the primary MFL context having reoccurring issues, but is also relevant to primary EFL contexts in Europe where similar problems related to teaching of the subject are reported.

This thesis aims at exploring what linguistic challenges and opportunities multilingual students experience when reading in English. This paper has a qualitative approach and consists of focus group interviews as the method for collecting data. The participants were students in compulsory school, ninth grade, studying English as a foreign language. A total of nine multilingual were divided into three groups. Firstly they received a piece of informative text to read, containing a picture and a heading, and secondly they answered and discussed questions about their use of reading strategies. The results from the present study show that they tended to use top-down strategies when reading. The picture was not regarded as important as the heading; yet it was clear that they transferred already developed strategies from other languages. Previous research has shown that a reading ability developed in a student´s first language will be transferred to other languages, through an underlying proficency. Likewise it was expected in this study that the students would use their first language in order to understand English as a foreign language, but unpredictably findings show that Swedish was the preferred language when translating. In conclusion, one can therefore argue for Swedish as the strongest academic language and therefore important in scaffolding multilingual students.

Thesis (M. Sc. (Computer Science)) --University of Limpopo, 2019 / A Text-to-speech (TTS) synthesis system is a software system that receives text as input and produces speech as output. A TTS synthesis system can be used for, amongst others, language learning, and reading out text for people living with different disabilities, i.e., physically challenged, visually impaired, etc., by native and non-native speakers of the target language. Most people relate easily to a second language spoken by a non-native speaker they share a native language with. Most online English TTS synthesis systems are usually developed using native speakers of English. This research study focuses on developing accented English synthetic voices as spoken by non-native speakers in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The Modular Architecture for Research on speech sYnthesis (MARY) TTS engine is used in developing the synthetic voices. The Hidden Markov Model (HMM) method was used to train the synthetic voices. Secondary training text corpus is used to develop the training speech corpus by recording six speakers reading the text corpus. The quality of developed synthetic voices is measured in terms of their intelligibility, similarity and naturalness using a listening test. The results in the research study are classified based on evaluators’ occupation and gender and the overall results. The subjective listening test indicates that the developed synthetic voices have a high level of acceptance in terms of similarity and intelligibility. A speech analysis software is used to compare the recorded synthesised speech and the human recordings. There is no significant difference in the voice pitch of the speakers and the synthetic voices except for one synthetic voice.

Motivational research has recently shifted focus to include what role teachers, and the motivational strategies they use, play in the language learning classroom (Cheng & Dörnyei, 2007; Dörnyei & Csizer, 1998). Motivational research has traditionally gathered data from either teachers or students. However, researchers have recently been calling for a shift in focus from this individualistic perspective to evaluating motivation more holistically (Dörnyei, 2001a; Oxford, 2003; Ushioda, 2006). Nevertheless, few studies have included the opinions of both the students and teachers. This study has elicited the opinions of both students and teachers to find out which teaching practices both groups believe foster motivation in the foreign language classroom. The results indicate that students and teachers alike find teaching practices related to Teacher, Rapport, and Climate as the top three most motivational conceptual domains. Furthermore, only 3 conceptual domains, out of 17, were statistically different between groups: Task, Effort, and Comparison.

This degree project aims to investigate if ICT has any influence as motivation for English foreign language learners. Furthermore, this study is to investigate in what way the motivation is affected, if it is affected at all. Today, computers and other digital tools such as tablets influence the society greatly and are a part of the learners’ everyday life. The data in this study is analyzed and collected through survey questionnaires. The participants are 45 third graders from a Swedish elementary school. Many students today have a great interest in computers and tablets since it is a part of their daily life. Andersson (2003) states that many are bored since the Swedish school still hold to the old traditions. Hence, this project aims to investigate if incorporating ICT in the EFL classroom can increase students’ motivation. The conclusion of this study is that the majority of students are affected by ICT in a positive way. Also, the collected data showed that students’ motivation increased because the lessons got more fun and they felt happier when incorporating ICT in the EFL classroom.

The aim of this study is to explore how outdoor education (OE) can influence foreign language anxiety (FLA) and foreign language enjoyment (FLE) when primary students are learning English as a foreign language (EFL). The design was a pre-post intervention study with two experimental groups of 3rd graders of a Catalan state school that participated in an outdoor English session. The research has followed a mixed-methods approach, consisting of a pre- and post-test, group interviews with the students and individual interviews to their main teachers. Statistical analyses indicated a significant decrease in the FLA levels after the outdoor session, especially in girls. Regarding the FLE levels, even if there was an increase for both boys and girls, the difference was not significant. The statistical power was too low and the lack of a control group makes it difficult to claim that the differences where due to the outdoor setting. The qualitative data revealed positive feelings regarding the outdoor English session. Both students and teachers mentioned numerous benefits such as the increase of motivation, active learning or interaction with nature. However, the teachers pinpointed some challenges that need to be taken into account when applying this method. Even if FLA and FLE have been widely investigated, studies on how the outdoors can influence these emotions, and its effect in primary students are new fields of research. This study has provided an overview on how learning English outdoors can be linked with FLA and FLE levels and the differences presented between genders.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Because English is the most widely-spoken second language in South Africa, it is becoming increasingly important for learners to be able to master the English language, including English grammatical structures; not only to do well at their internal and external school examinations, but also to communicate effectively in a progressively anglicised educational, occupational and commercial society. Educators of English First Additional Language (FAL) often have to augment existing textbook material, especially in the field of grammar teaching and learning, as many of the more recent textbook publications do not make sufficient provision for the communicative teaching and learning of grammatical structures. One way in which textbook material could be augmented would be to develop interactive multimedia learning material for the teaching of grammar. However, many South African English FAL classrooms are underresourced in terms of computers and other technological tools needed to use such interactive computer assisted language learning (CALL) material. The learners being taught in these technologically barren classrooms may fall far behind their peers in terms of exposure to interactive educational technology, i.e. they may become victims of the digital divide. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the digital divide could be addressed with the development and use of computer assisted language learning material that makes provision for learner interactivity and could be used in classrooms with minimal access to technological tools. To determine the attitudes of educators with regard to grammar instruction in general, as well as the use of technology in the teaching and learning of grammar and the general accessibility of technology in English FAL classrooms, educators of English FAL at nine rural, Afrikaans-medium schools situated in low-income communities in the Western and Northern Cape were asked to complete a questionnaire. The results of this survey were used to ascertain what kind of multimedia learning material would be suitable for use in technologically challenged English FAL classrooms. As part of this study, exemplar material has been developed to make a recommendation regarding the type of multimedia material that could be used in technologically under-resourced classrooms. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Aangesien Engels die taal is wat die meeste as tweede taal in Suid-Afrika gebesig word, raak dit toenemend belangrik vir leerders om die Engelse taal, insluitende die grammatikale strukture van Engels te bemeester; enersyds om goed te doen in hulle interne en eksterne skooleksamens en andersyds om effektief te kan kommunikeer in ’n toenemend verengelsde onderwys-, werks- en ekonomiese gemeenskap. Opvoeders van Engels Eerste Addisionele Taal (EAT) moet baiekeer bestaande handboekmateriaal aanvul, aangesien baie van die nuwe handboeke nie voldoende voorsiening maak vir die kommunikatiewe onderrig en leer van grammatikale strukture nie. Een manier waarop handboekmateriaal aangevul kan word, is om interaktiewe multimedia-leermateriaal te ontwikkel om grammatika te onderrig. Baie Suid-Afrikaanse klaskamers is egter nie voldoende toegerus met rekenaars en ander tegnologiese materiaal wat nodig sou wees om sodanige interaktiewe rekenaar-ondersteunde leermateriaal te gebruik nie. Leerders wat onderrig word in sulke tegnologies swak toegeruste klaskamers mag dus toenemend tekort skiet in vergelyking met hulle meer bevoorregte tydgenote. Die hoofdoel van hierdie studie was om te ondersoek of hierdie digitale skeiding aangespreek kan word deur die ontwikkeling en gebruik van rekenaar ondersteunde leermateriaal wat, terwyl dit voorsiening maak vir leerder-interaktiwiteit, ook gebruik kan word in klaskamers met minimale toegang tot tegnologie. Om die houdings van opvoeders ten opsigte van grammatika-onderrig in die algemeen, sowel as die gebruik van tegnologie in die leer en onderrig van grammatika; en die algemene beskikbaarheid van tegnologie in Engels EAT klaskamers te ondersoek, is opvoeders aan nege plattelandse, Afrikaans-medium skole geleë in lae-inkomste woonareas in die Wes- en Noord-Kaap gevra om ’n vraelys te voltooi. Die uitslag van hierdie ondersoek is gebruik om vas te stel watter tipe multi-media leermateriaal geskik sou wees vir gebruik in tegnologies swak toegeruste Engels EAT klaskamers. As deel van hierdie studie is voorbeeld-materiaal ontwikkel om ’n aanbeveling te maak rakende die tipe materiaal wat onder hierdie omstandighede gebruik sou kon word.