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Improving the teaching of English as a foreign language in public schools is a high priority for the Dominican administration elected in 2004. Consequently, the government’s plan of action includes a pilot project that integrates language teaching strategies and methods already found in the country’s private, K-12, foreign language programs. The purpose of this naturalistic inquiry was to investigate English teaching through case studies at two private schools in hopes of guiding the country’s educational policy. The schools were selected based on their contrasting methods of foreign language instruction. One school, Imersão, follows a structured immersion program where most academic subjects are taught in English. The second school, Cervantina, teaches all subjects in Spanish, the students’ first language, and provides one hour a day of English instruction. The research process included repeated observations of classroom activities, interviews with administrators, staff and students, and reviewing teachers’ lesson plans and student products in English. The study found that effective English language teaching can be accomplished through varying methods, as elements that promote language learning were seen in each of the schools. The programs were observed to be similar in the importance placed on meeting the academic needs of students with differing abilities, as well as cultural and linguistic backgrounds, by having language classes emphasize the importance of grammar and vocabulary alongside culturally relevant authentic communication opportunities. Even though students at both schools are able to communicate orally and in writing in English, Imersão students appear better equipped to contend with complex academic situations in the second language. However, in order to concentrate almost entirely on the teaching of English, Imersão falls short of the immersion objective of concomitantly developing the primary language at age-appropriate levels. The results also suggest that encouraging students to analyze, deduce, and think in the foreign language while learning subject content in English is advantageous. Future research into this topic should explore where the threshold of optimum exposure to the foreign language inside and outside of the classroom might be in order to achieve language proficiency, therefore allowing the administration to maximize the use of limited education resources.

The issues relative to foreign accent continue to puzzle second language researchers, educators, and learners today. Although once thought to be at the root, maturational constraints have fallen short of definitively accounting for the myriad levels and rates of phonological attainment (Bialystok & Miller, 1999, p. 128). This study, a Posttest-only Control Group Design, examined how the pronunciation accuracy of adult, English language learners, as demonstrated by utterance length, was related to two input stimuli: auditory-only input and auditoryorthographic input. Utterance length and input modality were further examined with the added variables of native language, specifically Arabic and Spanish, and second language proficiency as defined by unofficial TOEFL Listening Comprehension and Reading Comprehension section scores. Results from independent t tests indicated a statistically significant difference in utterance length based on input modality (t(192) = -3.285. p = .001), while with the added variable of native language, factorial ANOVA results indicated no statistically significance difference for the population studied. In addition, multiple linear regression analyses examined input modality and second language proficiency as predictors of utterance length accuracy and revealed a statistically significant relationship (R 2 = .108, adjusted R 2 = .089, F(3, 144) = 5.805, p = .001), with 11% of the utterance length variance accounted for by these two factors predictors. Lastly, hierarchical regressions applied to two blocks of factors revealed statistical significance: (a) input modality/native language (R 2 = .069, adjusted R 2 = .048, F(2, 87) = 3.230, p = .044) and ListenComp (R 2 = .101, adjusted R 2 = .070, F(3, 86) = 3.232, p = .026), with ListenComp iv increasing the predictive power by 3%; (b) input modality/native language (R 2 = .069, adjusted R 2 = .048, F(2, 87) = 3.230, p = .044) and ReadComp (R 2 = .112, adjusted R 2 = .081, F(1, 86) = 3.629, p = .016), with ReadComp increasing the predictive power by 4%; and (c) input modality/native language (R 2 = .069, adjusted R 2 = .048, F(2, 87) = 3.230, p = .044) and ListenComp/ReadComp (R 2 = .114, adjusted R 2 = .072, F(2, 85) = 2.129, p = .035), with ListenComp/ReadComp increasing the predictive power by 4%. The implications of this research are that by considering issues relative to input modality and second language proficiency levels especially when teaching new vocabulary to adult second language learners, the potential for improved pronunciation accuracy is maximized. Furthermore, the heightened attention to the role of input modality as a cognitive factor on phonological output in second language teaching and learning may redirect the manner in which target language phonology is approached.

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This diploma thesis is devoted to the application of drama in German language teaching at Waldorf school. The content itself provides a theoretical insight into the basic concepts and principles of drama education and foreign language teaching at primary school. For the sake of clarity and understanding, these basic levels related to the subject are more elaborated in the introductory chapters. The theoretical part also includes chapters related to Waldorf pedagogy and its basic principles. In the practical part, one of the main objectives was to verify whether methods of dramatic education in German language teaching could support the pupil's ability to express themselves, with an emphasis on the verbal component. The work also includes description and reflection of three lessons, the aim of which was to find out whether the selected methods of drama in foreign language teaching have an impact on pupils' ability to communicate effectively and on the overall outcome of the learning process. At the end of the thesis are described findings, which confirm the benefits of including elements of drama education in foreign language teaching, and also where their influence manifested most.

Thesis (DLitt (African Languages))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / This study explores how focus on form can be included by means of computer within a task-based approach to the teaching of as specific purposes isiXhosa course for student teachers ...

The dissertation deals with foreign language teaching methods at the Primary School in the Czech, English and German environment. It includes the summary of the present basic knowledge about the foreign language teaching methods generally both in the Czech, English and German environment. Subsequently there has been presented and analysed the real use of foreign language teaching methods at the Czech Primary School at present. In conclusion there has been drawn further suggestion for a possible appropriate future development of the foreign language teaching methods at the Czech Primary School based on the research too.

O presente estudo se propõe a apresentar um panorama do ensino de língua japonesa no mundo através dos dados estatísticos produzidos pela Fundação Japão, e situar o ensino de língua japonesa no Brasil dentro do contexto mundial. Serão apresentados também dados de acesso às novas tecnologias de informação e comunicação, base para o acesso aos instrumentos de ensino-aprendizagem da língua. Tanto os dados de ensino como os de acesso serão correlacionados a dados de base econômica, pois esta ainda é a peça fundamental para a tomada de decisões nas sociedades contemporâneas. Em seguida será feita uma breve exposição sobre os recursos (físicos, digitais, humanos e sociais) necessários para o acesso e uso significativo da rede e sobre o e-learning e os mitos relacionados à sua aplicação e função. Também será apresentado o quadro de macroestratégias que propõe práticas de ensino-aprendizagem que valorizem sobretudo as experiências locais engajadas e emancipadoras. Por fim, pretende-se esboçar algumas sugestões de como a tecnologia poderia ser empregada no ensino de língua japonesa dentro do contexto brasileiro, para o estabelecimento de uma rede colaborativa de criação e compartilhamento de conteúdo e desenvolvimento de habilidades que respeite as diferenças individuais de estudantes e professores e que possam emancipá-los para novos tipos de interações sociais/virtuais mais significativas e prazerosas, o que não quer dizer que sejam menos trabalhosas. / This study aims to present a panorama of Japanese language teaching around the world through the statistical data, produced by the Japan Foundation, and to place Japanese language teaching in Brazil within the world context. Data on access to new information and communication technologies will also be presented, which is the basis for access to language teaching and learning instruments. Both teaching and access data will be correlated with data of economic base, since this is still the fundamental piece for decision making in contemporary societies. Afterwards, a brief presentation will be made on the resources (physical, digital, human and social), necessary for access and significant use of the network and on e-learning, and the myths related to its application and function. It will also be presented the framework of macrostrategies that proposes practices of teaching and learning that value especially the local experiences engaged and emancipating. Finally, it is intended to outline some suggestions of how technology could be used in Japanese language teaching within the Brazilian context, for the establishment of a collaborative network for the creation and sharing of content and skills development that respects students and teachers individual differences, and that can emancipate them to new types of social and virtual interactions that are more meaningful and enjoyable, which is not to say less laborious.

Este trabalho lida com unidades lexicais compostas por mais de uma palavra usadas com função referencial,ou seja, cada uma dessas unidades lexicais constitui um nome. Em uma sala de aula de ensino de língua inglesa para brasileiros, observou-se como o fato de o aluno 'enxergar' essas unidades lexicais pode ajudá-lo a ler um texto. / This study is about multi-word lexical units which have referential meaning, i.e., each unit is used as a name. In an English teaching classroom for Brazilian students it was noticed that making students aware of such lexical units may help them read a text.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:45:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Mainly Reinhardt Vieira dos Santos Ramalho.pdf: 2370241 bytes, checksum: 0f6a5822990ef31cfdf2f037d0450824 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-10-14 / This paper aims to study the usage of American TV series in English as a foreign language classes through the gathering of chunks of language. Though we start this dissertation from the description of the communicative and its innovative principles by presenting the communicative competence and its four divisions strategic, grammatical, discursive and sociolinguistic based on researches like Hymes (1972), Brown (2000), Richards (2006), Richards e Roberts (1986) and Savignon (1983; 1991). Besides we describe the importance of the realia in a communicative class. As well as we discuss the lesson of the communicative approach and the four abilities reading, writing, speaking and listening. Still talking about the communicative lesson we discuss about teaching grammar, vocabulary and culture. The choice of using TV series is justified because they are a rich source both linguistic and cultural of the English language (North American) and we can find a plenty of examples chunks of language, collocations, phrasal verbs, and idioms. In our analysis we gathered not only the linguistics but also the cultural references of the first episode of Gilmore Girls by using software known as Unitex® that searches the chunks in the script selected and finally we propose some activities based on the analysis. / Este trabalho tem como objetivo estudar o uso de seriados de televisão norte-americanos em aulas de inglês como língua estrangeira por meio do levantamento dos chunks da língua inglesa. Iniciamos, então, esta dissertação pela descrição da CLT e seus preceitos inovadores apresentando competência comunicativa e suas quatro subdivisões competência estratégica, gramatical, discursiva e sociolinguística com base nos estudos de pesquisadores como Hymes (1972), Brown (2000), Richards (2006), Richards e Roberts (1986), Savignon (1983; 1991). Além disso, em nossa pesquisa, descrevemos o uso de realia em sala de aula, e em nosso recorte optamos pelos seriados norte-americanos. Ainda falando sobre a CLT, discorremos acerca da aula comunicativa apresentando suas características, bem como discutimos as quarto habilidades linguísticas: a leitura (reading), a escrita (writing), a habilidade oral (speaking) e habilidade de ouvir (listening), tratamos, igualmente, do ensino de gramática (teaching grammar), de vocabulário (teaching vocabulary), e cultura acompanhadas de sugestões de atividades relacionadas ao uso de seriados. A justificativa da escolha de seriados norte-americanos deu-se por se tratar de uma rica fonte cultural e linguística e dos chunks da língua inglesa e suas subdivisões collocations, phrasal verbs e idioms está centrado na cultura americana. Em nossa análise, fizemos o levantamento das referências culturais e linguísticas de um episódio do seriado Gilmore Girls - Pilot (Episódio Piloto) - utilizando o programa de computador Unitex® que realiza uma varredura no texto e localiza os chunks of language no roteiro do episódio e, por fim apresentamos algumas atividades baseadas na análise feita.