My study aims to explore foreign language planning and policy in Saudi schools, by examining the influences on foreign language planning and policy in the country (e.g. the government). Also, by examining the effects of foreign language planning and policy on Saudi schools, students and community. A theoretical framework of foreign language planning (FLP), which is based on Cooper’s (1989) “language as decision making” framework, will be employed in the study to support the data analysis process. Data will be gathered using qualitative questionnaires, focus groups as well as semi-structured interviews, and analysed using aspects of Charmaz’s (2006) constructive grounded theory.

The study is about the choice of request strategies used by second language speakers residing in the UK, particularly in a multicultural setting situated in an institution of higher learning in Sheffield. The aim of the study is to examine the choice of request strategies used by second language learners in a multicultural environment in an English speaking country. The objectives of the study are to consider the different strategies used by the second language learners and to also examine the variables that might influence the choice of request strategies used. The variables that have been identified are the social distance, power and dominance, gender and status. The participants of this study were volunteers from the MA of Education programme. The data collection involved two different phases and the first phase was the survey with the use of Discourse Completion (DCT) as the instrument. The second phase of the data collection was a few session follow-up discussion with a few groups of participants who have volunteered during the administration of the survey. The findings of the study have initiated the formulation of the Cooperative Intercultural Pragmatics of Request Strategies Model that has integrated three theories which are the Hofstede’s National Culture Dimension, Blum-Kulka’s Request Strategies (Level of Directness) and Grice’s Maxims of Cooperative Principle. This model was used to justify and rationalise the findings for the third research question that examines the four variables that may have influenced the choice of request strategies used by the participants. The study has also recommended a few future researches that can be carried out as a follow up.

This thesis presents research into Chinese students’ learning experiences in the UK. In recent years this has become an important issue given the fact that students from China now form the largest international student group in British universities. In this study, I explore problems of stereotyping ‘the Chinese learner’. It aims to challenge essentialist conceptualisation which sees individual students from China as undifferential collective members marked by a unique and fixed set of cultural scripts. A qualitative multiple-case study was conducted to investigate experiences of 13 Chinese postgraduate students in a UK university. Specifically, an audio diary method combined with various types of interviews, observation and internet-mediated methods were employed. In addition, the research design evolved under critical reflection as the study progressed. The research was permeated by complex social interactions. This in turn required careful attention to ethical considerations and the conventions that governed such interaction. The research reveals how diverse meanings and understandings the participants derived from their experiences combined to impact on their perceptions and actions. Firstly, the findings indicate the interrelationship between different contextual factors. They show that the students’ learning performance was influenced by various social activities. The participants, aware of the challenges they face, employed diverse strategies to survive and succeed in new cultural and academic environments. Finally, the research reveals the reformation and reconstruction of self-identity as crucial consequences of learning in the UK. In the conclusion, I summarize the findings and give recommendations. Specifically, I stress my stance of problematising an over-generalised depiction of ‘the Chinese learner’ and call for much greater attention to be paid to the complexity of each individual, and the power of individual agency. I also urge future research to turn to methodologies sensitive to individual difference, without necessarily denying similarities that may be attributed to shared cultural constructs. Finally, a model as a base on which to study students’ experiences is tentatively proposed to aid future research.

This qualitative study explores 16 Thai university students’ motivation to learn the English language over time through narrative inquiry. The students’ general attitude and orientation towards the English language, their motivational trajectories during their past English learning experiences, and their visions of their future second language (L2) selves were investigated. This study adopted a holistic approach to explore student motivation, with research methods dedicated to exploring the students’ past experiences (through Language Learning Histories), and the students’ concepts of their present and possible future selves (through semi-structured interviews). Adopting non-linear and socio-dynamic perspectives in understanding motivation, this study employed various theoretical frameworks, including self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan, 1985), the person-in-context relational view (Ushioda, 2009), the complex dynamic systems perspective (Dörnyei, 2009b), and the L2 Motivational Self System (Dörnyei, 2005, 2009a), to help conceptualise students’ motivation. The findings reveal that the instrumentality or utilitarian value of the English language played a significant role in fostering Thai students’ positive attitudes towards English. International posture (Yashima, 2009), personal interests, and a combination of different motivations were also found to associate with the students’ positive attitudes towards English. The results also show that the students’ motivation was complex and dynamic. Three broad patterns of motivational trajectories were identified among the students. The findings indicate that motivational changes across time was strongly related to their situated or immediate learning environment, critical incidents, and their cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1986). The data suggest that while the students’ sense of ‘ought-to L2 self’ was associated with a fear of being unemployed and the pressure of Thailand’s integration into the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015, their sense of ‘ideal L2 self’ was strongly triggered by their imagined future careers, desires to go abroad, and international posture. Through examining dynamic changes in the students’ motivation, as well as exploring the ways in which the students identified themselves with the language in the future, this study adds to the knowledge base, aiding both L2 students and practitioners to understand and be aware of students’ different dispositions in language learning. This study also suggests pedagogical improvements in English language teaching in the context of Thailand.

The outcomes for children and young people (YP) who have been permanently excluded from school are bleak, few return to education. Stories of those excluded are primarily negative and focus on the exclusion event. This research focuses on the stories of YP who have returned to education following permanent exclusion from school and explores how they understood, experienced and relayed their stories. Three young women’s narratives were gathered through unstructured interviews, their stories were taken back for further information gathering, exploration and deconstruction of terminology/phraseology where possible. A final meeting was arranged to take back and re-present their stories through drawn representation. The stories were analysed for content and function and found to present three differing typologies of redemption, reconciliation and resignation. Themes, event narratives and meta-narratives/discourses were identified and explored within the stories, including what helped/hindered the participants in accessing education. Commonalties identified across all three stories include descriptions of their actions as ‘naughty’/’good’, personal responsibility/blame for exclusion, a want for education, descriptions of growing up, family and peer influences and educational practices and discourses. The findings are analysed against previous literature and potential implications for child and educational psychologists are discussed.

The issue of radicalisation and extremism is not necessarily a ‘new’ occurrence but is one that is increasingly prevalent in both political and social agendas (Sewell & Hulusi, 2016). Research indicates a worrying rise in the prevalence of radicalised children and young people over the past few decades (e.g. Home Office, 2011a; Kundani, 2012). Given the adverse negative outcomes that are associated with such forms of radicalisation, researchers and policy makers have been keen to focus on identifying causal routes and find ways of implementing preventative anti-radicalisation measures. School-based anti-radicalisation training (Prevent) has been identified as one potentially effective means of preventing the above problems (e.g. Home Office, 2011a). Whilst there is seemingly more research available on the ‘factors’ that influence the radicalisation process in children and young people (e.g. Bartlett & Miller, 2012) there is very little research available on the role of teachers in attempting to address this. As part of the government’s Prevent programme, teachers are now expected to play a central role in highlighting children and young people that are at risk of being radicalised. How this is achieved, however, is something of a contentious issue. The aim of the current study was to explore teachers’ values and beliefs towards radicalisation and extremism, as well as their perceptions of and attitudes towards the implementation of current anti-radicalisation strategies (Prevent). The role of the Educational Psychologist in supporting teachers was also addressed. A sequential explanatory mixed methods design was used to explore the issue of radicalisation and extremism in as rich a sample as possible through maximum variation sampling. A total of 38 teachers were included in the analyses. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics. There were ten focus teachers in the qualitative strand with teachers’ interview data analysed thematically. There were a number of implications for researchers, practitioners, and programme developers as a result of the findings from the study. Specifically, the need for the core components of the Prevent programme to be far clearer and for teachers to be better supported in their efforts to implement anti-radicalisation strategies, both in training and with the ongoing support they receive. There were also some significant implications for how Prevent is being disseminated in schools, with teachers reporting that they felt it is important that children, young people, and their families are included in the process.

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English, as a foreign language, is a compulsory course for all students in their university study journey since the 1990s in China (MOE, 1994). The significant status of English was re-affirmed by the reform of English in higher education since 2007, which was further improved in 2016 by new guidelines by the Ministry of Education in China (MOE, 2007, 2016). English has become a tool for communication acquired by students to use in their daily life, for example when studying, living, and for social communication and future work (MOE, 2016), rather than being a foreign language used to merely read English articles to understand the Western world (in China, 'Western world' refers to developed countries, for example, the United Kingdom, the United States, or Canada, etc., which have a high-level development in economic, technology and living standards (Zhang, 2018)). Standardised uniform education will be gradually replaced by individualised education to satisfy each student's needs in their daily life (Ma, 2017). The Internet, as a medium, brings a potentially revolutionary change in the way both learning and teaching take place inside and outside of class. Its use is suggested by the Ministry of Education to promote students' English learning ability, particular in learning outside of the classroom (MOE, 2016). This research explored 19 university students' perceptions of EFL learning outside of class by accessing their ideas of and motivation for learning English, and investigating their English learning activities on websites out of class during the research conducted. It draws on a case study approach, based on the constructivist viewpoint, to analyse students' English learning by themes. Results were obtained through a combination of weekly group meetings, individual interviews, and reflective written reports completed by students. Moreover, this study discusses the relationship between perceptions and practices, it reflects on the relationship between beliefs and the learning process (Ellis, 2008).