This study explores how U.S. college students experience integrative and instrumental motivation and how their sociolinguistic identity is understood, represented and constructed through their multiple experiences learning French as a Foreign Language (FFL) in an intensive Summer French Language Immersion Programs (SFLIPs). The results of the study demonstrate that participants who exhibited the most characteristics in connection to integrative motivation were the ones who took full advantage of the opportunities of being immersed in an environment in which exposure and production of the target language were maximized. The study demonstrates how participants’ lived experiences affect the way they construct their identity, how integrative motivation plays a key role in this construction and addresses a gap in literature by specifically adressing the themes of motivation and identity in the context of intensive French immersion in the U.S.

This study examines the relationships between foreign language learning beliefs and preferences of 2 Vietnamese learners and beliefs and practices of 2 Native English speaking teachers in a private English school in Vietnam. The learners were not satisfied with learning English in public schools and had many expectations on the course and the teachers while the teachers had to make their learners pleased. Beliefs were reviewed as determinations of actions; beliefs entail knowledge, values, and attitude, and relate closely to identity and experience. The researcher adopted an interpretivist paradigm and three qualitative methods: Repgrid interview, Stimulated recall interview, and The COLT as an observation schedule. The interview data was coded inductively with content analysis method to build up the subjects’ beliefs and belief systems. Then, the systems were compared to find the relationships between their beliefs. To see how their beliefs related with learning preferences and teaching practices, the researcher analysed what they said and made use of the video record of their classroom activities; besides, the teachers’ beliefs were compared with the timing calculation of the activities in their classes. The results showed that beliefs about language learning affected strongly the participants’ preferred ways of teaching and learning and there were tight matches between the teachers’ beliefs and actions in class. There were influences of beliefs of the teachers and learners on each other, they were not direct influences but through their interpretations of the classroom events. However, the influences from the teacher were much clearer. After the course, the learners’ preferences and beliefs about some learning activities were changed and became more reflective. They also started to recognize the benefits of different ways of learning English. Meanwhile, the teachers’ interpretation of their learners’ expectations, learning preferences, and levels strongly affected what and how they taught.

<p> This study focused on how lesson planning takes place at the college level in contrast to how the process takes place in grades K through 12. The study was conducted through a survey and interviews to English professors at the College of General Studies at the University of Puerto Rico in R&iacute;o Piedras. In order to conduct the research, factors such as academic background, teaching experience, context, age, teaching practices, motivation, and syllabus design were considered.</p><p> Data collected showed that planning does take place at the college level, first in the form of a semester-long syllabus and then in daily/weekly lesson plans that include varying degrees of detail. Lesson planning helps improve teacher performance by providing confidence. It improves student learning outcomes by helping them better understand the materials. Both, teachers and students, benefit from the focus and guidance planning provides.</p><p> Recommendations include creating teacher training programs in institutions of higher educations to provide the support teachers need to perform at their best and conducting further research in other departments, colleges, or campuses to see how planning takes places outside English courses.</p>

In classrooms all over the world, there are students who fear the attention of both teachers and peers alike. Anxiety is a cause for such fears and in foreign language classrooms it can be prevalent. Foreign language anxiety (FLA) is a concept developed by Horwitz et al (1986) to describe the unique anxiety that arises in a foreign language learning situation. Anxious students are less prone to use their target language and feel less motivated in their language studies, both of which have a negative effect on their learning. The aim of this study was to measure and compare anxiety levels among Swedish lower and upper secondary school students, identify major sources of anxiety and gain understanding of individuals’ perception of foreign language anxiety. 49 subjects from two classes participated in the study. Their anxiety was measured with the foreign language classroom anxiety scale (FLCAS) developed by Horwitz et al (1986). Interviews were used to gain insight into the subjects’ perception of foreign language anxiety. The results showed that a majority of the subjects were anxious and that students in the lower secondary school class were more anxious than the upper secondary school class. The identified major sources of anxiety were teacher-induced anxiety, fear of negative evaluation and general anxiety. / I klassrum över hela världen finns det elever som är rädda för både lärarens och sina klasskamraters uppmärksamhet. Nervositet är en orsak till en sådan rädsla och kan vara vanligt i främmandespråkklassrum. Språkängslan inför främmande språk är ett begrepp utvecklat av Horwitz m. fl. (1986) för att beskriva den unika nervositet som uppstår vid lärande av främmande språk. Nervösa elever är mindre benägna att använda språket de lär sig och känner sig mindre motiverade att lära sig och båda sakerna har en negativ effekt på deras inlärning. Syftet med studien var att mäta och jämföra nervositetsnivåer bland svenska högstadie- och gymnasieelever, identifiera de största källorna till nervositet och få förståelse för elevers uppfattning av nervositet. 49 elever från två klasser deltog i studien. Deras nervositet mättes med skalan för språknervositet i samband med undervisning i främmande språk, utvecklad av Horwitz m fl (1986). Intervjuer användes för att få insikt i deltagarnas uppfattning om språknervositet inför främmande språk. Resultatet visade att en majoritet av deltagarna led av språknervositet och att högstadieeleverna i högre grad var nervösa än gymnasieeleverna. De största källorna till nervositet som identifierades var lärarorsakad nervositet, rädsla för negativt omdöme och generell nervositet.

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<p> This quant-QUAL sequential explanatory mixed methods study describes a framework for evaluating the communicative competence (Canale &amp; Swain, 1980; Canale, 1983) of non-beginner students of Chinese for placement purposes at U.S. four-year postsecondary institutions. A pragmatic lens was used to collect and analyze data that generated a descriptive portrait of current Chinese placement procedures. Three data sources informed this study: (1) a sample of randomly-selected institutional websites on Chinese placement procedures (n1 = 226), (2) an online survey of program coordinators&rsquo; perceptions (n2 = 27), and (3) a follow-up semi-structured individual interview with Chinese program coordinators (n3 = 20). Findings revealed that five procedures are commonly used: (a) written test, (b) oral interview, (c) background questionnaire, (d) standardized tests (Advanced Placement, and International Baccalaureate), and (e) seat-time equivalency. An individual oral interview is the most appropriate procedure that fits many characteristics as the literature suggested (Bloom and Allison, 1949; Heilenman, 1983; Shohamy, 1998; Bernhardt, Rivera, and Kamil, 2004; O&rsquo;Sullivan, 2011; Kane, 2012). These procedures encompassed all the four phases in the history of foreign or world language placement procedures at U.S. postsecondary institutions (Latoja, 2001; Spolsky, 2000). A fifth phase using individual interviews and background questionnaires is proposed in the present study. In addition, three types of accommodation strategies for placing students are identified: (a) student-oriented, (b) class-oriented, and (c) other resources. Student heterogeneity and placement policies are also identified to affect the Chinese placement procedures. </p><p> It appears that only those well-developed programs with seasoned coordinators have placement procedures mapped to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines, but not to the other ACTFL standards. Accordingly, six models are recommended for Chinese programs with different characteristics. These programs should: (a) adapt placement models to meet demands and leverage resources of institutions and student population, (b) apply localized accommodation strategies and relevant placement policies to facilitate individual student articulation from one program to another, and (c) diversify curriculum and engage faculty in professional development related to the ACTFL standards and professional learning communities. This study concludes with implications for researchers, practitioners, and students. </p>

The present work aims to analyze the potential value of anthroponyms within the didac-tics of Spanish as a Foreign Language. With that purpose, theoretical basis concerning anthroponyms is provided in favor of a solid formal background that will support the following didactic proposal. Likewise, the actual presence of anthroponyms in the Curricular Plan of the Instituto Cervantes is analyzed, as well as other ways of use that it doesn't consider, but that will also inspire the activities presented at the end of this work. We will examine with more depth those anthroponyms integrated in phraseological units (Como Pedro por su casa; En tiempos de Maricasta?a; etc) for what a classification of the different existing phraseological units will be described. This classification will lead to the design of a compendium of phraseological units with these characteristics that will serve as a reference for the didactic proposal.

Videogames are an audio-visual instrument with a strong educational potential that, nevertheless, have not been considered as such yet. The goal of this work is to encourage teacher and researchers to exhaust the didactic possibilities of this new instrument which constitutes as well a nowadays real social phenomenon, in order to achieve thus its integration at the language teaching classrooms and, more precisely, at the Spanish as a Foreign Language ones. With this purpose in mind, we will delimit the main features of videogames contrasting it with other two elements with which it shares key characteristics and which are properly taken into account within the teaching sector: movies and games. Once this is accomplished, we will meditate on the pros and cons to which the use of videogames as didactic materials lead, we will provide certain keys for its proper usage and, eventually, we will gather up these thoughts and considerations which will be afterwards poured into a didactic proposal based on the graphic adventure game Hollywood Monsters 2.

Orientador: João Antonio Telles / Banca: Fernanda Liberalli / Banca: Creobel Franco Maimone / Resumo: O objetivo desta pesquisa é viabilizar a produção de outros modos de pensar a educação de professores de línguas estrangeiras. Buscamos construir contextos não convencionais de pesquisa nos quais os profissionais possam refletir acerca de sua experiência de ensino/aprendizagem de línguas. Para tanto, nos baseamos metodologicamente na Pesquisa Educacional com Base nas Artes (Eisner, 1991)cujo recurso principal é um espetáculo teatral, denominado Parâmetros em Análise. Tal espetáculo foi construído a partir de temas inspirados nos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais. Foram apresentados dez espetáculos em diversas instituições das redes de ensino oficial e particulares do Estado de São Paulo. No palco do espetáculo, foram representadas, artisticamente, cenas do dia-a-dia e do fazer pedagógico dos professores de línguas estrangeiras, assim como, os seus conflitos e dilemas profissionais. Após o espetáculo ocorreu uma reflexão crítica compartilhada entre a platéia composta por professores, educadores de professores e alunos de Letras. O espetáculo e a reflexão compõem aquilo que Foucault (Deleuze, 1988) conceitua como sendo um dispositivo. Para o filósofo, dispositivos são máquinas de fazer ver e falar. Eles formam uma espécie de instrumento teórico com o qual contamos para visualizar as práticas sociais que se dão na escola. As reflexões realizadas pelos professores indicam um desencontro entre aquilo que professores e alunos estão atualizando nas suas práticas e, aquilo que propõem certas pesquisas, políticas educacionais e o funcionamento da estrutura institucional da escola. / Abstract: The objective of this paper is to make the production of "other" ways of thinking over education of foreign language teachers possible. We intend to construct non-conventional contexts of research, in which the professionals can think over their language learning/teaching experiences. For that, we are based methodologically on the Educational Research based on Arts (Eisner, 1991) whose chief resource is the dramatic performance, called Patterns in Analysis. Such performance was built from themes inspired in the Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais. Ten performances were acted in several public and private institutions of education in the State of São Paulo. On the stage, everyday scenes and the pedagogical work of foreign language teachers were acted artistically, such as, their conflicts and professional dilemmas. After the performance, a critical reflection shared by the audience composed by teachers, teachers' professors and students took place. The performance and the reflection compose what Foucault (Deleuze, 1988) considers as a device. To the philosopher, devices are machines of making see and speak. They constitute a theoretical instrument that we use to analyze the social experiences that happen at schools. The reflections arisen by the teachers indicate a discordance from what teachers and students have been passing through a process of modification in their experiences and, from what some researches, educational policies and the operation of the institutional structure of the school propose. / Mestre

Orientador: Douglas Altamiro Consolo / Banca: Mailce Borges Mota / Banca: Melissa Alves Baffi-Bonvino / Resumo: Esta pesquisa trata da avaliação da proficiência oral de quatro professoras de inglês como língua estrangeira (ILE). O foco está na competência gramatical na produção oral das professoras-participantes (PPs), no que se refere à precisão e à complexidade gramatical de sua fala. Trata-se de uma análise comparativa de dados orais das participantes, obtidos em contexto pré-serviço, por meio da aplicação do TEPOLI (Teste de Proficiência Oral em Língua Inglesa), e em serviço, como professoras de língua inglesa (LI) em sala de aula. De maneira geral, buscamos oferecer contribuições para validar o TEPOLI, teste oral criado na UNESP de São José do Rio Preto, como um instrumento de avaliação da proficiência oral (PO) de (futuros) professores de LI no contexto brasileiro. Como objetivos específicos, buscamos, em primeiro lugar, comparar o desempenho gramatical das PPs em ambos os contextos a fim de discutir em que medida o TEPOLI consegue prever as necessidades linguísticas dos professores quando em sala de aula, com foco em sua competência gramatical, e, em segundo lugar, a partir desta comparação, oferecer contribuições para o aprimoramento dos componentes do descritor gramática e estrutura sintática da escala holística do teste oral, bem como para a elaboração de uma escala analítica referente a esses componentes. A metodologia da pesquisa é de natureza híbrida, pois adota procedimentos quantitativos e qualitativos para o tratamento dos dados. Os resultados obtidos por meio da comparação entre o contexto pré-serviço e em serviço mostram que o desempenho oral das PPs em ambos os contextos é similar, o que fornece fortes indícios de que o TEPOLI é capaz de prever grande parte dos comportamentos linguísticos do professor em sala de aula, principalmente no que se refere à dimensão... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This study deals with the assessment of the oral proficiency of four English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers. The focus is on the grammatical competence in the oral production of the participants, with regard to accuracy and grammatical complexity. It is a comparative study of the oral language produced during the TEPOLI (Test of Oral Proficiency in English) - a pre-service context - and in the classrooms, as EFL teachers - an in-service context. Our general goal is to offer contributions to validate the TEPOLI, an oral test developed at UNESP, in São José do Rio Preto, as a specific tool to assess the oral proficiency of (future) teachers in the Brazilian context. We first seek to compare the grammatical performance of the participants in both contexts in order to discuss the predictability of the TEPOLI on the linguistic needs of teachers when speaking in the classroom, concerning the grammar in their oral production. From this comparison, we offer contributions to the improvement of the components of the grammar and syntactic structure descriptor of the holistic scale of the oral test, as well as to the development of an analytical scale related to these components. The research methodology has a hybrid nature, as it adopts quantitative and qualitative procedures to analyze data. The results obtained by the comparison between the pre-service context and the in-service context show that the oral performance of the participants in both contexts is similar, which provide strong evidence that the TEPOLI is able to predict large part of the linguistic behavior of the teacher's oral production when in the classroom, especially with regard to the qualitative dimension of the accuracy and the grammatical complexity of their oral production, the two characteristics investigated. However, our results show that... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre