Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1987. / Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S.)--Missouri State University, 2009. / "May 2009." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 22-23). Also available online.

Dr P.W. Marais was an influential preacher in the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk (Dutch Reformed Church) in his ministerial career during 3 April 1954 until 5 May 1995. He was an evangelistic par excellence with may people who became converted Christians as a result of his preaching. He worked with a preaching theory of observation, information, progress in thought, self-expression or the heuristic method which he attained from the greatest teacher of all times, Jesus Christ. The pedagogue, H.J.J. Bingle, had a great influence in the development of this theory. The research question is: How does Marais’ theory of preaching agree with his preaching practice? The study shows that there seems to be a large agreement between the two. Another question is: What effect should Marais’ preaching have in the contemporary context which differs by far from the context in which he preached. Will he today be able to reach the postmodern person with his preaching approach? In two instances it would have been a problem for Marais to reach the postmodern listener in this context. On account of the lack of Scripture knowledge of the postmodern listener Marais’ use of texts would not be effective. A proper exegesis would have to be done for the postmodern listener. In other words the context of the text and the context of the listener would have to be brought together. Marais’ theory is lacking in knowledge to implement this. Due to his passion for the Scriptures, his sincerety and his logical reasoning, he could have contributed immensely to the modern preaching. / Dissertation (MA (Reasearch in Practical Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Practical Theology / MA / unrestricted

The Swedish syllabus for English promotes a communicative approach to language teaching, but does not offer concrete guidelines regarding how a communicative classroom should be enacted. This leaves a great deal of interpretation up to each individual teacher. The purpose of this study is to observe and understand how teachers at upper secondary schools in Sweden perceive and enact the communitive guidelines stipulated by the syllabus for English. This qualitative study is based on classroom observations combined with semi-structured interviews with four teachers of English at upper secondary schools in Sweden. The findings reveal that the teachers use a range of strategies when enacting their communicative classroom. However, the most significant finding is that there is considerable focus on meaning rather than form across all of the four participants. This suggests that the teachers perceive communicative language teaching largely in terms of a natural approach, where the learning of form happens by itself as long as the target language is used in an anxiety-free classroom environment. Furthermore, corrective feedback on language form is perceived as potentially harmful for the pupils’ willingness to communicate in English, and hence it is largely avoided. Since the latest research in the field of communicative language teaching has restored the significance of form, there is a need for teachers of English to develop strategies that are a hybrid of both meaning- and form-focused activities in order to successfully accomplish all facets of communicative language teaching. The syllabus for English should offer clearer guidelines to support teachers in this endeavour.

The role that grammar should occupy in the teaching of the Spanish language, and of languages in general, has varied throughout history. From taking a central role in the grammar-translation method to positioning grammar on the periphery and implicitly teaching it in the communicative approach. The teaching of grammar is part of the training of students once they pass the introductory and most basic level of the language, so we will study how this process occurs in the classrooms of a couple of schools in the region of Skåne. For this we will make a distinction between the teaching of grammar explicitly and the implicit teaching of it. Our research is based on the testimonies of two professors with extensive academic competence on the subject and with a large number of years of experience. Through semi-structured interviews, we had access to detailed information about the choice of the way in which they work, and we corroborated that they favor explicit grammar teaching because, according to our informants, this provides solid knowledge, saves time and effort to students to form grammatical structures, students request it and have a positive attitude towards it and it motivates them. It is also the form that gives the best results for learning the language, in combination with the advantages of the communicative approach, affirm the teachers interviewed. Another aspect in our research that our informants confirm is the lack of materials for the formal teaching of grammar, since said material is almost non-existent in manuals for language teaching, so the responsibility to find, and in many cases create these materials rests with the teachers. This aspect together with the fact that the choice to teach explicit grammar in class may lead to more research that has an echo in the Skolverket curricula so that materials that cover these needs are developed. On the other hand, based on the information collected by our informants, we can say that it does not seem necessary to us that there is a sharp dichotomy between the grammar-translation method and the communicative approach, but rather that both methods be reconciled in a harmonious way. That is to say, that the best of both methods is taken advantage of without having to choose between one or the other in a clear way. Our research can serve to guide such future research.

No description available.

Thesis (M.Ed. (Language Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / We live in a world in which communication plays a very crucial role in everything we engage in. The fact that the new Constitution of South Africa (Act No.200 of 1993) has given official status to the 11 major languages (something which was formerly granted only to English and Afrikaans) is irrefutable. In spite of all that, the English language has remained a major national language, as well as a Medium of Instruction in schools and universities in South Africa. However, effective communication has since been one of the most critical concerns in South Africa because English has been labelled as a nightmare. This is because the majority of learners at schools experience difficulties in acquiring Communicative Competence Skills in English, which is their Second Language (SL).The reality is, for one to communicate effectively, an individual should acquire Communicative Competence, which will enable him to engage with other people. To tackle this problem, there are effective and efficient strategies that need to be addressed. Literature reviews point out (a) the importance of the English First Additional Language (EFAL); (b) the challenges learners face at schools in acquiring Communicative Competence in English Second Language (ESL); and(c) solutions to overcome this situation. This study aimed at investigating the challenges experienced on the development of listening and speaking in EFAL. The study employed a qualitative Case Study design to investigate the challenges experienced on the development of listening and speaking in EFAL. Data for this qualitative case were obtained from interviews with learners and teachers. Observations were made at the two selected schools, and questionnaires were administered as well. The findings revealed various challenges that impede learners from developing Communicative Competence Skills in ESL. Learners do not understand English because their vocabulary in the language is limited. They also have challenges in pronouncing English words, and they cannot express themselves accurately in ESL because it is not their home language. Consequently, their proficiency in the language is low and impinges on their comprehension levels. It is recommended that teachers should ensure that they create a beneficial environment for learners to acquire Communicative Competence. Teachers should, in addition, introduce activities which will enable learners to communicate frequently. Learners should be given opportunities where they can read frequently, because reading improves vocabulary and helps one to become familiar with sentence structure, word order and correct pronunciations. Furthermore, learners should invest in a good dictionary to check unfamiliar words. Learners should build active listening and speaking skills that improve lines of communication with others and should be aware of their own communication barriers. They should learn different phrases/strategies that improve how they respond, and they should not fear to be offended. They should, furthermore, feel comfortable when they express their emotions and look at the speaker directly when communicating. Most importantly, learners should put aside distracting thoughts and should also listen to the speaker’s body language

Studiens syfte var att belysa vilka möjligheter förlagsproducerade läromedel för engelskämnet ger eleverna att utveckla sin kommunikativa kompetens i linje med läroplanens intentioner. För att uppfylla detta syfte ställdes två forskningsfrågor: hur möjligheten att öva de fyra förmåg­orna för språkinlärning fördelas i förlagsproducerade läromedel och på vilka sätt ut­veckling av elev­ernas kommunikativa kompetens möjliggörs i läromedlen. Sammanlagt nio textböcker och nio övningsböcker för årskurserna 4–6 från tre olika läromedelsserier (Skills, Sparks och Join the Quest) ingick i studien. Studiens metod var en kvalitativ innehållsanalys med kvantitativa in­slag. Övningarna kategoriserades efter vilken/vilka av de fyra förmågorna som övades och på vilket sätt förmågan övades (mekaniskt, meningsfullt eller kommunikativt). Resultatet visade att hörförståelse är den förmåga som får minst utrymme i alla tre läromedels­serier och i två av tre läromedelsserier övas hörförståelse inte en gång i ett kommunikativt syfte genom årskurs 4–6. Vissa läromedelsserier erbjuder eleverna mer kommuni­kativ övning av för­mågorna, medan vissa erbjuder mindre. En av de tre läromedelsserierna visar även på brister med att möjliggöra utveckling av de två potentiellt viktigaste förmågorna, hör­förståelse och den muntliga förmå­gan, i ett kommunikativt syfte. / The aim of this study was to illustrate the possibility of developing communicative competence with the help of English language teaching materials for grades 4-6. Two research questions were asked to fulfill the aim of the study: how the opportunity to develop the four language skills are distributed in commercial English language teaching materials and in what way dev­elopment of communicative competence is facilitated by using these teaching materials. A total of nine textbooks and nine exercise books for grades 4-6 from three different series (Skills, Sparks and Join the Quest) were included in this study. The methodological approach of this study was a qualitative content analysis with quantitative features. The exercises were catego­rized based on which of the four language skills that were practiced and how they were practiced (mechanical, meaningful, or communicative exercises). The result showed that listening comp­rehension is the least focused skill in all three series. In two out of three series, listening compre­hension is not practiced in a communicative way in either of the grades. Some series contain more communicative language exercises, while some contain less. One of the three series also shows shortcomings when it comes to developing the two potentially most important skills, listening comprehension and the oral skill, in a communicative way.

Studiens syfte var att ta reda på huruvida undervisningsmetoder för att utveckla elevernas muntliga, kommunikativa förmågor skulle vara synliga vid observationer av två lärares engelskundervisning i årskurs 4. Syftet var även att genom intervjuer få kunskap om de undervisande lärarnas syn på att utveckla elevernas förmåga att muntligt kommunicera på engelska och om deras arbetssätt innehöll aktiviteter för att främja denna utveckling. Resultatet visade att det fanns flera faktorer som inverkade på möjligheterna att anamma ett kommunikativt arbetssätt i klassrummet men att båda lärare ställde sig positiva till att använda dessa arbetsmetoder för att lära ut engelska.

Urban policies are currently shaped by contemporary processes of globalisation including a market-oriented approach to urban development. In Rio de Janeiro there is currently a high rate of urban population growth causing issues such as inequality, informal settlements and lack of access to basic services. Improved urban management is urgently needed which has become an obstacle to overcome by the GoRJ and the World Bank. Participatory methods has become widely integrated into development promoting programs with the incentive to include various key stakeholders in urban policy making. This case study explores issues of how strategies are produced and implemented into the context of Rio de Janeiro. Furthermore, it aims to explore events caused by such strategies. Based on a taken-for-granted premise that participatory methods and market-oriented planning leads to accelerated development, this study calls for a critical examination of how such approaches are carried out in practice.  In communicative planning theory, there is a critical stance towards rational models used in planning systems. The findings of this paper present how neoliberal ideology has formed urban development in Rio de Janeiro and how it contains a rational rethoric. It furher presents ways of how participatory methods can reinforce oppressions and injustices, serving a top-down approach rather than the opposite.