O ensino de Português como Língua Estrangeira (PLE), em nosso país, é, atualmente, uma atividade de natureza acidental, com esparsas oportunidades de formação específica e, em geral, realizada por professores de outras línguas estrangeiras, nativos de português. Propomo-nos, neste estudo, observar essa conjuntura, tomando como hipótese o fato de que o professor ensinar outras línguas e ser nativo não se constitui como uma garantia de conforto para o ensino de português para estrangeiros. A partir disto, levantamos representações de língua, professor e aluno para os professores de PLE entrevistados, a fim de contemplar a relação do professor com a língua que ensina, como ele representa seu lugar de professor e que lugar ele constrói para seu aluno. Procedemos à análise sob uma perspectiva discursiva (ORLANDI, 1997; CORACINI, 1999; GUIMARÃES, 2002) e também considerando alguns conceitos da Psicanálise (FREUD, 1919; LACAN, 1964; MILNER, 1978; BACKES, 2000) e dos Estudos Culturais (BHABHA, 1994; BAUMAN, 2001; WOODWARD, 2000). Em linhas gerais, observamos que há uma estrangeiridade na constituição da língua portuguesa no professor, que acarreta certa dificuldade do ensino dessa língua como língua estrangeira. O lugar do professor, com caráter de novidade, é marcado pelo espaço de enunciação do português, que, habitado por outras línguas, em especial o inglês, afeta a constituição do lugar do professor de PLE. O aluno, por sua vez, é representado por meio de uma estereotipia em relação à sua nação de origem. As imagens levantadas constituem-se de maneira interdependente e relacionam-se à fluidez do lugar do professor de PLE: um lugar com novos contornos, moventes e dinâmicos. / Teaching Portuguese as a Foreign Language in Brazil is, at present, an accidental activity, with a few opportunities for specific Professional education and, in general, it is done by teachers of other foreign languages who are also Portuguese native speakers. Our aim in this study is to observe such domain, considering as our hypothesis the fact that teaching other languages and being a native does not guarantee that the teacher will feel comfortable to teach Portuguese to foreigners. Relying on the interviewed teachers words, we identified representations concerning language, teacher and student, with analysis focusing on the relation between teacher and language, the way they represent their position as a teacher and the position they construct to their students. We have adopted a discursive perspective (ORLANDI, 1997; CORACINI, 1999; GUIMARÃES, 2002) and also take into account concepts from Psychoanalysis (FREUD, 1919; LACAN, 1964; MILNER, 1978; BACKES, 2000) and Cultural Studies (BHABHA, 1994; BAUMAN, 2001; WOODWARD, 2000). Generally speaking, we have observed that there is strangeness for the teacher in relation to their Portuguese constitution, which follows into certain difficulties when they are supposed to teach it to foreigners. The teachers position, a new one, is marked by the Portuguese uttering space, itself composed by many languages, especially English. Such composition affects the constitution of the teachers position in Portuguese as a Foreign Language. As for the student, the teachers represent them via stereotypes about their native countries. The images about language, teacher and student are interdependent and also related to the flowing character of the position of the Portuguese as a Foreign Language teacher: a dynamic position, with new outlines and in constant movement.

Aprendizes e professores de línguas constituem-se por diferentes representações acerca da língua com a qual mantêm contato e do contexto que a compreende. Desse ponto de vista, analisamos a relação sujeito-língua com o objetivo de examinar como as representações mobilizadas pelos sujeitos produzem efeitos de sentido para os sujeitos e para a relação que eles estabelecem com a língua. Assim, de uma perspectiva discursiva (CORACINI, 2009; GRIGOLETTO, 2013; ORLANDI, 2012), considerando conceitos psicanalíticos (LACAN, 1964; VOLTOLINI, 2011), analisamos os dizeres de quinze entrevistados (aprendizes e professores), envolvidos com uma língua estrangeira: inglês, espanhol, francês, alemão, italiano, japonês, chinês e russo. Depreendemos, dos dizeres, a regularidade de três formações discursivas, a que nomeamos: língua guarda-roupa (cuja dinâmica é semelhante àquela conceitualizada por Bauman (2005) com a \"comunidade guardaroupa\"), língua atraente (sugerindo os efeitos de fascinação que a língua exerce ao sujeito) e língua fragmentada (apontando determinada imagem de segmentação da língua). Na análise, articulamos o conceito freudiano do \"estranho\" (FREUD, 1919), que se apresenta de modo profícuo para o exame da relação sujeito-língua, pois explica efeitos de \"estranhamento\", percebidos como desconforto e dificuldade, constitutivos do sujeito e que observamos nessa relação. A partir desse conceito, também examinamos os efeitos de familiaridade, enunciados como bem-estar e conforto na relação sujeito-língua e também relacionados às formações discursivas referidas. A análise da fluidez entre os efeitos de estranhamento e familiaridade destaca a constituição clivada do sujeito e a amplitude de efeitos de sua relação com a língua, contemplando representações constituídas nas condições de produção da hipermodernidade, concernentes ao mundo do mercado e de suas relações líquidas. / Language learners and teachers are constituted by different representations of the language with which they keep contact and also of the context that surrounds it. Bearing that in mind, we analyse the relation between subject and language, aiming at understanding how the representations the subjects mobilise produce different effects upon them and on the relation they establish with the language. Thus, from a discursive perspective (CORACINI, 2009; GRIGOLETTO, 2013; ORLANDI, 2012), considering psychoanalytical concepts (LACAN, 1964; VOLTOLINI, 2011), we examine the interviews made with fifteen learners and teachers, involved with one of the following languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Chinese and Russian. We can see, from their words, the regularity of three different discursive formations: the cloakroom language (whose dynamics is similar to the one developed by Bauman (2005) with the \"cloackroom community\"), the attractive language (suggesting effects of fascination the language exercises upon the subject), and the fragmented language (indicating certain representations of language segmentation). In our analysis, we articulate the Freudian concept of the \"uncanny\" (FREUD, 1919), for it explains sensations of discomfort and difficulty, which constitute the subject and can be observed in the relation between subject and language. We also examine its counterpart, the effects of familiarity, uttered as sensations of well-being and comfort in this relation and also related to the discursive formations forementioned. The analysis of the dynamics between the effects of uncanny and familiarity highlight the cleaved constitution of the subject and the range of effects of their relation with the language, contemplating representations constructed in accordance with the circumstances of hypermodernity, concerning the market itself and its liquid relations.

A presente dissertação trata das crenças e representações de alunos e professores de língua estrangeira como fatores que interferem no processo de ensino/aprendizagem. O trabalho resulta de uma pesquisa de cunho qualitativo na qual foram utilizadas como base teórica as noções de crença e de reprodução cultural, de Bourdieu, e o conceito de representação, de Chartier. O enfoque do tema também considerou as contribuições teóricas em aquisição e aprendizagem de línguas. Foi empregada na pesquisa a metodologia etnográfica, incluindo observação participante e elaboração de notas de campo. A análise do material produzido durante as atividades da pesquisa aponta para a importância da explicitação das crenças e representações em jogo no processo de ensino/aprendizagem de língua estrangeira, como mais um recurso para o professor no processo de reflexão sobre sua prática e solução de problemas didáticos. / The present dissertation discusses beliefs and representations of foreign language students and teachers as factors which interfere with teaching and learning processes. The work stems from a qualitative research project in which Bourdieu´s notions of belief and cultural reproduction, as well as Chartier´s concept of representation, were used as theoretical bases. The theme focus has also taken into account theoretical contributions related to language acquisition and learning. Ethnographic methodology was employed, which included in-class participative observation and elaboration of field notes. Analysis of material produced during research activities points out the importance of explicitness of those beliefs and representations in play at foreign language teaching and learning processes, as they constitute one more set of resources to teachers within their reflection process about practices and solutions to didactical issues.

This study offers an assessment of the non-native speech intelligibility of a group of English learners of Spanish at word level and in connected speech. Specifically, we aimed at analysing the impact of certain categories of phonemic errors, as well as three temporal variables of L2 speech (speech rate, pause frequency and pause duration) on intelligibility scores. In addition, the possible correlation between degree of intelligibility and certain individual factors (gender, level of proficiency, motivation, aptitude and L1) was also studied. Sixty evaluators, native speakers of Peninsular Spanish, transcribed different speech samples belonging to a group of 20 Key Stage 4 English learners of Spanish. The transcription of the different speech samples served to assess intelligibility at word level and in connected speech (sentence, passage and semi-spontaneous production). Results revealed an intelligibility loss at all levels of analysis, as well as a high correlation between intelligibility scores in the single word test and those obtained in connected speech. At a segmental level, deviations affecting vowels, especially unstressed vowels, seemed to play a more important role than inaccuracies affecting consonants. Moreover, correlation analyses underscored the importance of speech rate, pause frequency and pause duration for intelligibility loss. The predictability of our multiple-regression models was high for speech samples obtained at sentence and passage levels. However, multiple-regression models for speech samples obtained through the semi-spontaneous production task exhibited a more limited capability in predicting variation in students’ intelligibility scores. Results suggest the existence of additional variables affecting intelligibility at this level of analysis. All individual differences under study, with the exception of gender, were highly correlated with speech intelligibility. From a pedagogical perspective, it is argued here that any successful instructional treatment of speech intelligibility will depend on an appropriate integration of temporal aspects of speech within the time devoted to pronunciation instruction in the foreign language classroom.

This research explores the final assessment of language competence of future foreign language (FL) teachers (university graduates) in the Russian educational context. Foreign Language teacher training has always been an essential part of Russian education and its importance increased in the 1990s. Later however, with significant educational reforms at primary and secondary school level, teacher training became an area of least attention and interest from the Ministry of Education of Russia and local education authorities. This research is based on the belief that no school reforms are possible without investing in teachers and, therefore, in initial and in-service teacher education, with assessment being one of its key dimensions. The study aims to describe optimal methods of assessing language competence of novice teachers of English as a FL in Russia. For this purpose, the following objectives have been achieved: - a description of current notions of FL teacher language competence, based on analyses of previous theoretical and empirical research; - design of exam evaluation tools – 3 questionnaires and an interview framework, and their use in data collection from various stakeholders in a Russian state pedagogical university; - identification of strengths and weaknesses of the current Final language assessment; - description of possible alternative options for the Final Language Examination and discussion of their impact on different stakeholders. The research follows a mixed-methods design with both qualitative and quantitative data collected and discussed. The study involves various stakeholders at different levels and from different backgrounds – university students, Final Exam takers; Exam designers and administrators, and also teachers of English who provided their valuable vision of the current Final Language Examination and its possible alternatives. The data obtained through surveys and interviews allows for tentative conclusions on the current Language Examination’s appropriacy and relevance, and provides ground for a multi-faceted analysis of the Exam’s strong points and weaknesses, and for development of alternative assessment tasks. The research concludes by viewing possible changes in the Exam as likely and less likely to happen in the near future, based on analysis of the Russian higher education context.

This study investigated the processes of curriculum development and curriculum enactment for Portuguese as a Foreign Language (PFL) courses within the context of the Exchange Programme for Undergraduate Students (PEC-G) in Brazil. The following overarching research question guided the investigation: what shapes and informs curriculum development for the PFL courses which are offered by Brazilian public universities for PEC-G students? The following sub-questions were also addressed: (1) what are the key goals to be achieved by such PFL courses? (2) to what extent do syllabi, pedagogical materials and teaching reflect the curriculum within this context? and (3) to what extent does institutional support influence the processes of structuring and/or re-structuring these PFL courses? The research design was informed by Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT). Nine PFL programme co-ordinators and ten teachers, representing seven of the twelve PFL programmes in Brazil, participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews. Fine-grained analysis involved inductive, deductive and abductive analysis of the interview data. The findings revealed that the examination for the Certificate of Proficiency in Brazilian Portuguese (CELPE-BRAS) - which is mainly based on Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) - had been used as the supporting, main or only guidelines for PFL curriculum development and enactment within the seven PFL courses for PEC-G students that were investigated. The present study contributes to the existing literature on PFL policy, curriculum development and pedagogy by exploring the notions of language, language use, competence and culture which have been promoted by the PFL courses for PEC-G students. Informed by Freire's conscientização and intercultural perspectives on foreign language education, this thesis recommends revisiting those notions in order to provide the PEC-G students with an education in PFL that moves beyond the preparation for the CELPE-BRAS examination. By making such recommendation, this thesis seeks to encourage the development and enactment of language-in-education policies and curriculum guidelines for PFL within the PEC-G context which promote language and culture as meaning-making processes for the advancement of cosmopolitan citizenship and of transformative social agency towards social justice.

In an era of increased global investment in the use of technology in education generally, Saudi Arabia has intensified its quest to incorporate E-learning as a supplementary tool for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at the high school levels. The benefits of this paradigm shift are obvious because the growth of the Internet and the proliferation of computers appear to have had a direct impact on the steady increase in popularity of E-learning, especially for EFL, in Saudi Arabia. This research is premised on the assumption that the successful implementation of E-learning in Saudi Arabia will require the readiness of students and teachers in particular, ahead of the adoption and use of the technology for teaching and learning. This study adopts a mixed method approach using both qualitative and quantitative methods at three stages in order to achieve distinct research objectives. The first stage of the research involved qualitative interviews with students and teachers that explored the underlying factors of readiness of students and English teachers. The second stage of the research involved surveys with students and English teachers that examined their current level of readiness, as well as any age and/or gender differences in their readiness to use E-learning as a supplementary tool for EFL in Saudi Arabia. The third and final stage involved in-depth qualitative interviews with national and regional government officials as well as heads of families in order to develop a deeper understanding of the current level of readiness for students and English teachers. Overall, the present study provides an alternative perspective to understanding the readiness of students and teachers to use E-learning, particularly in the Saudi context. The study establishes that in developing societies where institutions are less established and considered thinner, the introduction of E-learning in such societies will require more than the availability of financial resources and political will. The research outcome demonstrates that the readiness of students and teachers for E-learning in Saudi Arabia is indicated mainly by a set of underlying personal factors which are influenced by a set of external factors. In terms of the current level of readiness of the respondents, there is a mixed outcome. Further, there are also some differences and similarities in the readiness of respondents to use E-learning for EFL based on age and gender. Finally, this study contributes to the existing body of international literature on E-learning readiness by proposing an expansive new framework that takes into account both personal and external factors in exploring readiness. More so, the propose new framework incorporates the significant role the wider cultural and social context plays as well as the importance of gender issues and their particular centrality in the Saudi context in relation to individual and organisational E-learning readiness.

Orientador: Alessandra Del Ré / Banca: Renata Maria Facuri Coelho Marchezan / Banca: Cibele Krause-Lemke / Resumo: Esta pesquisa busca pensar a questão da constituição da subjetividade do aprendiz de inglês como língua estrangeira (LE), partindo da hipótese de que o aluno, no caso, adulto, ao se deparar com a língua alvo (LA), enfrenta um embate entre o que já está constituído em sua língua materna (constituição que se encontra também em constante modificação) e o novo, que vem atrelado à LE. Para realizar a pesquisa, partimos de uma perspectiva discursiva, baseada nas ideias do Círculo de Bakhtin (1976, 1981, 1997, 2006). Acreditamos que, ao entrar em contato com a nova língua/cultura, o aluno, enquanto sujeito que se constitui na linguagem, passa por uma série de deslocamentos identitários, constitutivos de sua subjetividade de base, os quais lhe permitem utilizar a outra língua. Na perspectiva dialógica e discursiva apresentada na pesquisa, refletimos sobre tais processos de deslocamento identitário, levando as contribuições bakhtinianas para a área de Aquisição de Linguagem, assim como para os estudos em aquisição/aprendizagem de LE. Analisamos, ao longo do trabalho, seis relatos escritos e cinco entrevistas de alunos adultos de inglês como LE, em situação formal de aprendizagem numa escola de idiomas da cidade de Americana, SP. Buscamos, nos discursos de tais alunos, indícios de sua subjetividade e da emergência identitária trazida pela língua estrangeira. As análises dos dados nos revela que a hipótese dos deslocamentos identitários é consistente, uma vez que flagramos, em alguns momentos da fala dos alunos e de seus relatos escritos, índices de tais movimentos de um domínio a outro e de mudanças de pontos de vista, dentro da linguagem e por meio dela / Abstract: This research aims to consider the issue of the subjectivity constitution of the adult learner of English as a foreign language, assuming that the adult learners, as they encounter the target language, they also face a conflict between what has already been established through their first language (what, in a way, is always changing and assuming new possibilities) and the new point of view, attached to the foreign language. We lead the research according to a discursive point of view, based on the ideas of Bakhtin and his Circle (1976, 1981, 1997, 2006). We believe that in contact with the new language/culture, the student, as a subject that is constituted in and through the language, has to go through a series of identity movements, which allow them to use the other language. In the discursive and dialogical perspective presented on this work, we look at these processes of identity movements, bringing the bakhtinian point of view to the Language Acquisition field as well as to the studies on Second Language Learning. In this research, we analyze six written reports and five interviews of adults learners of English as a foreign language, from a formal learning process in a language school in Americana, SP (Brazil). We aim to show, in the speech of such students, evidences of their subjectivity and the emergence of a new identity, linked to the foreign language. The data analysis reveals that the hypothesis of the identity movement is consistent, since it is possible to recognize traits of changes of point of view in the considered speeches / Mestre

<p> Increasing numbers of English-language learners with limited or interrupted formal education are entering schools across the United States. This new trend is affecting school districts with new challenges as high school teachers of English speakers of other languages are not prepared to address the beginning literacy needs of students with limited or interrupted formal education. In addition, students with limited or interrupted formal education are encountering challenges in high school as they are simultaneously learning a new language and academic content in a new culture in addition to learning how to read and write for the first time in their lives. Moreover, additional challenges that arise with this group of students involve addressing their socioemotional and acculturation needs. </p><p> This qualitative study examined how high school teachers of English speakers of other languages in a small urban mid-Atlantic school district integrated social and academic English-development skills for students with limited or interrupted formal education. To accomplish this, the researcher collected data by conducting eight individual teacher interviews and six classroom observations. The researcher also gathered student background information, which included assessment scores that aided during the analysis of classroom observations. </p><p> Five general themes emerged from data analysis: (a) meeting the socioemotional needs of students with limited or interrupted formal education by building relationships, (b) differentiating instruction to meet the academic needs of students with limited or interrupted formal education, (c) meeting the beginning literacy needs of students with limited or interrupted formal education who have limited knowledge of literacy instruction, (d) lack of integration into the school culture and students creating their own community, and (e) the power of students&rsquo; native languages. The findings of this study will assist school districts across the United States to focus on the areas of needs to provide high-quality educational opportunities to students with limited or interrupted formal education. The gathered information will also contribute to enhance teaching practices that benefit the socioemotional, academic, and acculturation needs of this unique student population.</p><p>

Research indicates that general and mental healthcare services have been, and continue to be, underutilized by racial and ethnic minorities. Studies point to the language gap between limited English proficiency (LEP) individuals and mental-health clinicians as one of the factors in perpetuating that gap. Despite the legal and professional mandates that require professionals in healthcare to provide and use language interpreters in giving care, psychologists rarely make use of professional interpreters when conducting psychotherapy. Most clinicians have little experience providing mental-health treatment across differences in language, and it is supposed that clinicians usually receive little or no training on how to address those differences. This study involved a national survey of all APA-accredited programs to ascertain how student trainees are currently being prepared to work with language interpreters in professional training programs and to evaluate potential barriers to the implementation of training guidelines for use in those programs. Findings indicated that several instructors are addressing the use of language interpreters through a variety of pedagogical approaches. Guidelines for clinical practice with interpreters were also evaluated and ranked so as to establish consensus on the necessary competencies. Implications for instructors are also included.