The influence of reading ability on cross-language transfer in Mandarin-speaking ninth graders was explored. Each participant's native language (L1-Mandarin Chinese) and second language (L2-English) were assessed. Although the relationship between L1 and L2 reading ability has been discussed in many previous studies, few studies have examined this relationship among L2 readers whose L1 is sharply different from their L2, who are at the junior-high-school age range, and who are learning English in a setting where English is not used in daily communication (e.g., English as a foreign language). To investigate the role of L1 reading competence in the language reading ability transfer, a reformed public examination, called the Basic Competency Test (BCT), was applied in this study. The 30,000 Taiwanese ninth grade participants, randomly selected from the pool of the national examination involved in a consecutive six-year period, were considered as a whole and then disaggregated into six groups based on the year they took the BCT. A preliminary analysis was about reliability coefficients of twelve examinations (six in Mandarin Chinese reading, and six in English reading) used in the present study. Scores from both Mandarin Chinese and English reading comprehension tests were subjected to descriptive, correlational, and regressional analyses. Both correlation and regression analyses revealed congruent results that provided support for the positive influence of Mandarin Chinese reading competence on English reading ability, that is, L2 reading ability is dependent on L1 reading competence. The finding supported the Linguistic Interdependence Hypothesis. In addition, participants' gender and school district also played statistically significant roles to affect the cross-language transfer of reading ability, whereas the length of time in English exposure had no statistically significant effect on the language reading ability transfer. Thus, cross-language transfer in reading ability was influenced by learners' L1 reading competence, gender, and school district. This suggested educational policy makers in Taiwan that boost native-Chinese speaking students' Mandarin knowledge help support the development of English reading ability. Apparently, if students' L1 reading abilities can be built up more soundly, their L2 reading ability should be easier to acquire.

This study investigates the refusal realizations of native speakers of American English (AE), Turkish (TUR) and Turkish learners of English with advanced level of proficiency (TRE). It aims to uncover the refusal strategies of young AE, TUR and TRE in conversations between equals and also to uncover if the learners display pragmatic transfer in their refusal strategies. In addition to this, the extent to which the social variables of level of closeness and refusal eliciting acts affect the refusal productions of each group is pursued. The thesis also aimed to provide an explanation for the rapport management orientations of the three examined groups when refusing equal-status interlocutors. To this end, the data are collected from three different groups using a Discourse Completion Test (DCT), which is developed out of the situations in a TV Serial. The analysis of data is done manually and each refusal is coded. CLAN CHILDES is utilized in order to see the typical combinations of refusal semantic formulae used by three groups. Later, PASW is used to run descriptive statistics and calculate the frequency and percentages of refusal strategies/semantic formulae. The results of the study show that refusals and rapport management orientations while refusing status equal interlocutors are culture and situation specific and they differ both cross-culturally and intra-culturally. Research findings also reveal that TRE often produce pragmatically appropriate refusals because refusal strategies they use correspond to those of AE. However, there are some cases in which the evidence of pragmatic transfer are observed with respect to the frequency of certain semantic formula usages.

This thesis adapts cooperative learning methods for the College English teaching context in China. Its focus is on investigating the effects of cooperative learning on students' English language proficiency, learning motivation and social skills, in comparison with traditional whole-class instruction, by employing a pre-test-post-test control group quasi-experimental design. The first chapter clarifies the context for the research, which includes an introduction about the importance of English language teaching in China, a description of the widely used traditional approach, as well as its negative consequences. Observations are made regarding the characteristics of College English teaching and recent nationwide College English reform, which have spurred a transformation of the traditional approach at the tertiary level, with a focus on enhancing students' listening and speaking abilities in English. This is followed by a brief overview of cooperative learning, as well as its potential to contribute to College English teaching. The overall aim of the research and the specific research questions addressed are presented at the end of this chapter. The second chapter consists of a review of the literature regarding the history of cooperative learning, the fundamental theoretical underpinnings of cooperative learning, major cooperative learning methods, basic elements of cooperative learning, and its positive outcomes. This chapter also elaborates on key issues in implementing cooperative learning in the classroom and the cultural appropriateness of cooperative learning in China. In accordance with the specific context for this research, this chapter addresses the relevant connections of cooperative learning to second and foreign language teaching, tertiary education, and large-class instruction. An extensive review is also included regarding recent studies on using cooperative learning in second and foreign language teaching around the world as well as in China. The review locates a gap in the existing studies; the effectiveness of cooperative learning in teaching English as a foreign language to tertiary learners in China, which constitutes the focus of this thesis. The third chapter starts with some key concepts essential for quantitative methodology used in this research. It is followed by an introduction of participants and the general research procedure, which includes a pilot study and a main study employing a pre-test-post-test control group quasi-experimental design. Details of the intervention procedure are provided, focusing on different teaching methods used in the cooperative learning classroom and the traditional classroom. This chapter also provides details of the three measures used in this research: the College English Test, the Language Learning Orientations Scale, and the Social Skills Scale for Chinese College English Learners. At the end of the chapter there is an explanation of specific techniques and principles for data analysis. In chapter four, results are presented based on analysis of the data from the three measures. In general, the results focus on seven aspects: mean scores, standard deviations of pre- and post-test scores for each group, effect sizes of Cohen's d from pre- to post-test for each group, alpha values of paired-samples t-tests for each group, alpha values of interaction effect between group and time from ANOVAs, alpha values of post-test difference between groups from one way ANCOVAs, and means plots for each of testing areas. The findings provide evidence in favour of cooperative learning in some areas, for instance, in teaching speaking, listening and reading, in generating intrinsic motivation, and in incorporating students' equal participation and individual accountability into learning. The final chapter includes a discussion of the findings on the three measures in relation to the findings of previous research. It goes on to discuss implications for the practice of English language teaching, with a focus on the challenges of using cooperative learning in Chinese tertiary institutions. These challenges mainly include designing appropriate cooperative learning tasks, extra workload involved in preparing and implementing cooperative learning lessons, limited teaching hours and a large curriculum to cover, as well as students' use of the first language in teamwork. The chapter ends with a discussion about the major contributions and limitations of the current study, as well as recommendations for future research.

The aim of this study was to see if a deliberately creative approach in an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) class would have any impact on the students’ EFL learning in terms of more varied vocabulary use, more original written texts, more implementation of story elements (such as a story goal, obstacle, character motive) and increased motivation leading to enhanced activity and attention.      An empirical method was adopted in connection in which two Swedish upper-secondary school classes of a vocational program participated. One class was exposed to a regular teaching method (RTM) while the other class was exposed to a creative study design (CSD). During a four week period the students were assigned to write a short story and received instructions on different story elements (story goal, obstacle and character motivation). The RTM was based on how the class’s ordinary teacher would have taught. The CSD was uniquely created for this study and included several techniques and recommendations from scholars in the field of creativity.      The results showed that the students exposed to the CSD implemented the story elements to a somewhat higher degree, used a slightly more varied vocabulary, wrote more creative stories, and showed more attention and activity than the students exposed to the RTM. However, more extensive studies would be needed to confirm these results and allow generalizations about the possible benefits the CSD has as opposed to the RTM when it comes to EFL learning.

The thesis identifies cultural indicators of Englishness through an analysis of readings of children's literature texts. These were taught on a children's literature course to Czech student-teachers at the Pedagogical Faculty, Brno in the Czech Republic from 1992 to 1995. The aim has been to identify cultural indicators of Englishness embedded in the texts and to reveal myths of national identity. This has been achieved by using a cross-cultural perspective whereby the Czech readings have been used to identify taken-for-granted aspects of English culture. The outcome has been to provide a paradigm for the exploration of culture in and through children's literature texts and to argue that children's literature should be incorporated into the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language and cultural studies for non-native speakers of English. In addition the methodological implications for the teaching of children's literature texts in the EFL classroom are discussed. The theoretical position which underpins the work is phenomenological in that it is an investigation of meanings. The readings by the Czech students and then the researcher were considered from two theoretical positions. An ethnographic perspective has been employed using the work of Geerz and Cohen to investigate the readings of three cohorts of Czech students who are outsiders to English culture. The reactions of the Czech students to the texts significantly reveal the legacy of the totalitarian system which began to end with the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. Literary theory has been applied by the researcher to investigate the texts from an insider's perspective. Reader response theories involving the notion of the implied reader (Iser) and horizons of expectations (Jauss) are adopted to reveal and interrogate a culture's notions of childhood. It is established in the thesis that hitherto a sociological perspective has been taken with children's literature texts in the investigation of ideology with reference to class, race and gender. These have been oppositional readings which locate English children's literature as a site for the socialisation of children into the norms, values and beliefs of dominant society. It is argued in this thesis that by a careful investigation of the texts from a literary perspective and using the cross-cultural information gained, another view might be taken which is that English children's literature texts are less than normalising.

This literature review analyses what advantages and disadvantages can be gained by utilizing the flipped classroom method. The Swedish curriculum has been taken into consideration when conducting this review in order to see whether the method is compatible with the aim of the subject of English in the Swedish upper secondary school. Two key principles behind the flipped classroom are ‘active learning’ and ‘student-centered learning’. These key principles have been discussed and contrasted with the terms: ‘passive learning’ and ‘teacher-centered learning’. Acknowledging the fact that it is a challenge to engage students in their own learning as well as have them realize the benefits of doing so, this paper also highlights the advantages of implementing technology tools in the classroom where one can meet the needs of the students of today. The results of this literature review show that there are many advantages when utilizing the flipped classroom method. For example, the flipped classroom creates well-suited environments where discussions can take place, as the in-class activities aim at all students being engaged, applying concepts and sharing ideas. However, the results also show some disadvantages that may come when converting to a flipped classroom. Some of these are that the flipped model takes adjustment time, students need to adapt to the transition to a flipped classroom,and preparing online lessons is time consuming. Furthermore, both students and teachers need to learn how to use the new technology that comes with the flipped classroom model.

LIMA JÚNIOR, Ronaldo Mangueira. A influência da idade na aquisição da fonologia do inglês por brasileiros. 2012.188f. – Tese (Doutorado) – Universidade de Brasília, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Linguística, Brasília (DF), 2012. / Submitted by anizia almeida (aniziaalmeida80@gmail.com) on 2016-06-21T12:40:59Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2012_tese_rmlimajr.pdf: 4530239 bytes, checksum: 0b1e8835e5cd84322b62adf650080726 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Márcia Araújo (marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-06-27T21:05:50Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2012_tese_rmlimajr.pdf: 4530239 bytes, checksum: 0b1e8835e5cd84322b62adf650080726 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-27T21:05:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2012_tese_rmlimajr.pdf: 4530239 bytes, checksum: 0b1e8835e5cd84322b62adf650080726 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / This study sought to investigate how the factor ―age at the beginning of acquisition‖ influences the phonological acquisition of English by Brazilian learners who acquired the foreign language exclusively in Brazilian language classrooms and who were in the last semester of their English courses when the data were collected. Research participants were 10 learners who had begun studying English before age 12, 10 between 12 and 15, 10 after 16, and 10 native speakers of American English. All participants were recorded reading a carrier sentence containing words with the vowels [], reading a paragraph, and speaking spontaneously. The vowels were analyzed acoustically in relation to their duration and spectral quality (F1 and F2), and the other two recordings were judged in terms of intelligibility and degree of foreign accent by nine judges. In addition, all learners completed a survey that assessed extralinguistic characteristics such as motivation, desire to sound like a native speaker, degree of identification with the L2 culture, search for extra exposure to the L2, etc. The data were analyzed under the assumptions of the Complex and Dynamic Systems approach to second language acquisition (e.g. LARSEN-FREEMAN, 1997; DE BOT, 2008; CAMERON, 2003; ELLIS, 1998) and of (Acoustic-)Articulatory Phonetics (BROWMAN; GOLDSTEIN, 1987, 1993; ALBANO, 2001). The results of all analyses showed a large decrease in the quality of phonological production between native speakers and early beginners. Among the learners, though, the results did not reveal a single critical period after which L2 phonology is equally difficult or impossible to acquire, but rather a gradual tendency of greater difficulty to acquire the L2 phonology accurately as ages of onset increased. A few exceptional learners, who had phonological productions close or equal to those of native speakers, were found. / O presente estudo buscou investigar como o fator ―idade no início da aquisição‖ influencia a aquisição da fonologia do inglês por alunos brasileiros que adquiriram essa língua estrangeira exclusivamente em salas de aula no Brasil e que estavam no último semestre de seus cursos de inglês no momento da coleta de dados. Participaram da pesquisa 10 alunos que começaram a estudar inglês antes dos 12 anos de idade, 10 que começaram entre 12 e 15, 10 que começaram após os 16, e 10 falantes nativos de inglês americano. Todos foram gravados lendo uma frase veículo com palavras que continham as vogais [], lendo um parágrafo, e falando espontaneamente. As vogais foram analisadas acusticamente com relação à duração e à qualidade espectral (F1 e F2), e as outras gravações foram julgadas em inteligibilidade e grau de sotaque estrangeiro por nove juízes. Ademais, todos os alunos responderam a um questionário que suscitou características extralinguísticas dos aprendizes, tal como motivação, vontade de soar como um falante nativo do inglês, grau de identificação com a cultura da L2, busca por exposição extra à L2, etc. Os dados foram analisados com base na Teoria de Sistemas Complexos e Dinâmicos para a aquisição de segunda língua (e.g. LARSEN-FREEMAN, 1997; DE BOT, 2008; CAMERON, 2003; ELLIS, 1998) e na fonética (acústico-)articulatória (BROWMAN; GOLDSTEIN, 1987, 1993; ALBANO, 2001). Os resultados de todas as análises mostraram uma grande queda na qualidade da produção fonológica entre os falantes nativos e os aprendizes que começaram mais cedo. Entre os aprendizes, contudo, os resultados não revelaram um único período crítico após o qual a aquisição fonológica seja igualmente dificultosa ou impossível, e sim uma tendência gradual de dificuldade em adquirir a fonologia do inglês-L2 acuradamente conforme a idade de início da aquisição aumenta. Alguns alunos de desempenhos excepcionais, com produções próximas ou iguais às de falantes nativos, foram encontrados.

O presente estudo tem por objetivo compilar e analisar percepções sobre a correção de erros que ocorrem em sala de aula de língua estrangeira. O assunto parece não estar resolvido nem teórica nem pedagogicamente, haja vista que alguns teóricos, como Dulay e Burt (1974), Krashen (1982), Dekeyser (1993) e Truscott (1999) não vêem a correção de erros de forma positiva, enquanto que outros, como Selinker (1992), Lyster e Ranta (1997), Lyster, Lightbown e Spada (1999) e mais recentemente Brandt (2008), defendem uma dose saudável de correção. Neste trabalho decidiu-se pela compilação da opinião de alunos, futuros professores (alunos de Letras) e professores de inglês como língua estrangeira. Foram utilizados como instrumentos de coleta dos dados grupos focais questionários abertos e entrevistas semi-estruturadas. A razão por se trabalhar com três grupos distintos de sujeitos teve o objetivo de obter informações em três diferentes estágios da formação de um possível professor de inglês como língua estrangeira, informações essas que pudessem ser trianguladas. Tal abordagem reveste esta pesquisa de um possível ineditismo, pelo menos no caso de erros orais cometidos por brasileiros em sala de aula de língua estrangeira. A análise dos dados mostrou que há uma unanimidade sobre a necessidade e importância da correção de erros em sala de aula, fato apontado pelos três públicos estudados. Entretanto, a forma de como se deve corrigir dividiu os alunos, os futuros professores e os professores, que apontaram desde o cuidado com o constrangimento até a conscientização sobre o aspecto que esteja sendo corrigido. Conclui-se, portanto, que embora todos os participantes desta pesquisa tenham a correção de erros como algo muito importante em sala de aula, alguns procedimentos e ajustes ainda devem ser feitos para que a correção não se torne um momento constrangedor nem para o aluno nem para o professor, mas que seja uma colaboradora para a aquisição do idioma / This study aims to compile and analyze the perceptions about the correction of errors which occur in the classroom. This topic does not appear to be solved either theoretically or pedagogically, witnessed in the fact that certain theorists, namely, Dulay and Burt (1974), Krashen (1982), Dekeyser (1993) and Truscott (1999) do not see the correction of errors in a positive way, while others, namely Selinker (1992), Lyster and Ranta (1997), Lyster, Lightbown and Spada (1999) and most recently Brandt (2008) advocate a healthy' dose of correction. In this work it was decided to compile the opinions of students, future teachers (language students) and teachers of English as a foreign language. Data was collected through focus groups, open questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The reason behind the decision to work with these three different groups was to collect information at three different stages in the qualification of a possible teacher of English as a foreign language, which could be crossed-checked at a later stage. This may contribute towards novelty in this research, at least in analyzing oral errors made by Brazilians in a foreign language classroom. Data analysis showed that there is unanimity on the need and importance of the correction of errors in the classroom, a fact highlighted by the three groups studied. However, the manner in which errors ought to be corrected divided both the students, the undergraduates and the practitioners who pointed out a number of factors ranging from possible embarrassment at the correction to the awareness of what is being corrected. It follows, therefore, that although all participants of this research see the correction of errors in the classroom as important, some procedures and adjustments should also be made so that the correction does not become an embarrassing moment for the student or for the teacher, but a contributing factor to language acquisition

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2002-08-30Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:34:31Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 souza_vra_me_mar.pdf: 400189 bytes, checksum: 45010e6ba518e2a26b0ee3e83b6bec1e (MD5) / A leitura em inglês para o fim de elaboração de resumos documentários pode ser facilitada mediante a utilização da abordagem do inglês instrumental. O aluno aprende estratégias de leitura que o ajudam na compreensão dos textos sem precisar ter o total domínio do inglês. A proposta desta pesquisa consiste na investigação do processo de leitura de um texto em inglês após os conhecimentos adquiridos nas disciplinas de Inglês Instrumental e Indexação e Resumos no curso de Biblioteconomia. Propomos uma interface entre as duas disciplinas com a finalidade de compreensão de textos em inglês para realização da tarefa de elaboração de resumos. Os objetivos são: trazer contribuição para as disciplinas afins no que concerne à orientação de leitura para elaboração de resumos, fazer levantamento de indicadores de leitura para elaboração de metodologias com a sugestão da utilização do Inglês Instrumental. Tal investigação foi realizada por meio de levantamento bibliográfico sobre resumo, leitura e por meio de observação do processo de leitura. A técnica da coleta de dados foi a denominada Protocolo Verbal. Os processos de leitura observados foram realizados por dois alunos do quarto ano do curso de Biblioteconomia do campus da UNESP de Marília. Receberam instruções quanto ao uso do Inglês Instrumental, para superação dos problemas oriundos da deficiência de conhecimento da língua e, instruções quanto às técnicas de síntese, análise e representação do documento para a elaboração do resumo documentário. Verificamos como procedem à compreensão do texto na tarefa de leitura para elaboração do resumo documentário e observamos que utilizam as estratégias de leitura aprendidas nas aulas de Inglês Instrumental, bem como utilizam o conhecimento adquirido sobre a elaboração do resumo. Os resultados obtidos... / Reading in English with the purpose of writing abstracts can be facilitated through ESP (English for specific purposes) approach. The student learns reading strategies that help him in text comprehension without the necessity of having great knowledge in English. This research proposal is to investigate the reading process of a written English text after the students had been acquainted with the two disciplines (ESP and 'Indexing and Abstract') in the Library Science course. We propose an 'interface' between both subjects in order to comprehend English written texts to the task of writing abstracts. The objectives are to contribute to these subjects related to the reading orientation to the abstract writing task and to point out some reading indicators to methodologies suggesting ESP approach. This research was carried out by the analysis of abstract and reading bibliographies and observation of the reading process. The technique of the data collecting was the one denominated Thinking Aloud. The reading process observed was carried out by two students from the fourth grade of Library Science at UNESP in Marília. Both of them had taken the two subjects above mentioned during the course. They received instructions about the use of ESP to overcome problems of the weak language knowledge and also about the synthesis, analysis and representation of the document. We verified how they read a text in order to write an abstract and observed that they used the reading strategies learned in the ESP classes as well as the knowledge about abstract writing. The obtained results indicate that the instrumental approach may be useful to the abstract writing task by means of appropriate reading strategies, such as, vocabulary strategies, language structure, paragraph structure, textual markers, selectivity, metacognitive monitoring, prediction, nominal... (Complete abstract, click electronic address below)

O presente estudo tem por objetivo compilar e analisar percepções sobre a correção de erros que ocorrem em sala de aula de língua estrangeira. O assunto parece não estar resolvido nem teórica nem pedagogicamente, haja vista que alguns teóricos, como Dulay e Burt (1974), Krashen (1982), Dekeyser (1993) e Truscott (1999) não vêem a correção de erros de forma positiva, enquanto que outros, como Selinker (1992), Lyster e Ranta (1997), Lyster, Lightbown e Spada (1999) e mais recentemente Brandt (2008), defendem uma dose saudável de correção. Neste trabalho decidiu-se pela compilação da opinião de alunos, futuros professores (alunos de Letras) e professores de inglês como língua estrangeira. Foram utilizados como instrumentos de coleta dos dados grupos focais questionários abertos e entrevistas semi-estruturadas. A razão por se trabalhar com três grupos distintos de sujeitos teve o objetivo de obter informações em três diferentes estágios da formação de um possível professor de inglês como língua estrangeira, informações essas que pudessem ser trianguladas. Tal abordagem reveste esta pesquisa de um possível ineditismo, pelo menos no caso de erros orais cometidos por brasileiros em sala de aula de língua estrangeira. A análise dos dados mostrou que há uma unanimidade sobre a necessidade e importância da correção de erros em sala de aula, fato apontado pelos três públicos estudados. Entretanto, a forma de como se deve corrigir dividiu os alunos, os futuros professores e os professores, que apontaram desde o cuidado com o constrangimento até a conscientização sobre o aspecto que esteja sendo corrigido. Conclui-se, portanto, que embora todos os participantes desta pesquisa tenham a correção de erros como algo muito importante em sala de aula, alguns procedimentos e ajustes ainda devem ser feitos para que a correção não se torne um momento constrangedor nem para o aluno nem para o professor, mas que seja uma colaboradora para a aquisição do idioma / This study aims to compile and analyze the perceptions about the correction of errors which occur in the classroom. This topic does not appear to be solved either theoretically or pedagogically, witnessed in the fact that certain theorists, namely, Dulay and Burt (1974), Krashen (1982), Dekeyser (1993) and Truscott (1999) do not see the correction of errors in a positive way, while others, namely Selinker (1992), Lyster and Ranta (1997), Lyster, Lightbown and Spada (1999) and most recently Brandt (2008) advocate a healthy' dose of correction. In this work it was decided to compile the opinions of students, future teachers (language students) and teachers of English as a foreign language. Data was collected through focus groups, open questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The reason behind the decision to work with these three different groups was to collect information at three different stages in the qualification of a possible teacher of English as a foreign language, which could be crossed-checked at a later stage. This may contribute towards novelty in this research, at least in analyzing oral errors made by Brazilians in a foreign language classroom. Data analysis showed that there is unanimity on the need and importance of the correction of errors in the classroom, a fact highlighted by the three groups studied. However, the manner in which errors ought to be corrected divided both the students, the undergraduates and the practitioners who pointed out a number of factors ranging from possible embarrassment at the correction to the awareness of what is being corrected. It follows, therefore, that although all participants of this research see the correction of errors in the classroom as important, some procedures and adjustments should also be made so that the correction does not become an embarrassing moment for the student or for the teacher, but a contributing factor to language acquisition