China urgently needs a large number of interpreters, guides and teachers who are competent communicators in the English Language. One of the foreign language institutes that is attempting to satisfy this need is the Beijing Second Foreign Language Institute (or Erwai). It is argued that Erwai fails to produce competent communicators in English, a failure that is seen to be due to three interdependent factors: 1) the lack of teacher training, especially in the area of teaching methodology; 2) the resultant inability to select and effectively exploit teaching materials; and 3) the inappropriateness of currently-used teaching approaches to the perceived goals of the Institute. It is the third of these factors that receives particular attention in this paper. A survey is made of the merits and shortcomings of the three teaching approaches that have been used at Erwai, namely the 'grammar-translation,' 'audio-lingual' and 'cognitive' approaches. This serves as back-ground to the proposal that a 'communicative approach' to teaching be introduced at Erwai. It is claimed that the communicative approach is the most appropriate to the goals of Erwai students, the majority of whom will need to be communicatively competent in their future professions. The communicative approach is applied to the four basic skills of language and it is suggested that these skill areas be integrated in the classroom, rather than be taught in separate courses, as is presently the case at Erwai. Finally, the adoption of a communicative approach is seen to involve changes not only in classroom activities and materials, but also in the role of the student and the role of the teacher.

Šiomis dienomis akcentuojamas mokymosi visą gyvenimą galimybės ir užsienio kalbų mokymosi reikšmė žmonių gyvenimui, asmeniniam tobulėjimui, savęs realizavimui, prisitaikymui prie mokslo ir technikos pažangos, prie kylančių reikalavimų darbuotojų kvalifikacijai, ekonomikos plėtotei ir kokybės užtikrinimui. Užsienio kalbų mokymosi kokybės valdymo galimybės naudojant komunikatyvinį kalbų mokymo(si) metodą, kurio esmė − kalbos mokymasis bendraujant, realizuojant besimokančiųjų poreikius mokytis pagrindinių Europos kalbų tam, kad suaugę žmonės galėtų pasinaudoti dauguma galimybių, kurios jiems atsiveria naujosiose Europos Sąjungos ir Europos Tarybos valstybės narėse. Mokymosi komunikatyviniu metodu tikslas yra mokinio komunikatyvinė kompetencija, kuri kalbėjimą padaro gyvą ir priverčia besimokantyjį įveikti kalbėjimo svetima kalba barjerą bei padeda praktiškai naudoti kalbą visose situacijose. / Every person is responsible for his/her life. Wanting to achieve their aims people can get help from other people, but everyone has to decide, what or how they have to do wanting to find their own best way. Every person has to choose the most suitable way of learning, which will help to achieve their goals. Nowadays the main attention is paid to the permanent learning, which can help to educate comprehensive abilities of activity, especially of IT, new culture of work techniques, foreign language and communication. Adults learning/teaching foreign languages using the communicative approach reveals much possilities.

Communicative approaches, such as communicative language teaching (CLT) and task-based language teaching (TBLT), have been promoted in second language education around the world for over four decades. This continued mainstream status may be due to their convincing theoretical bases in principles of second language acquisition, which are believed to be beneficial to language learners. However, they are not widely accepted by teachers in many English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. A number of studies in a variety of contexts have aimed to identify factors which impede their implementation, but few of these have further built on the implications of these investigations. The current investigation, instead, studied classroom practice in a Taiwanese EFL secondary school, in order to identify and solve any problems arising. Based on the assumption that teacher learning is a complex process, it was necessary to set up a teacher development programme (TD) and use action research to explore how it could help teachers develop their practitioner knowledge of communicative approaches. Drawing on the data from questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations, the main finding was that the teachers’ limited understanding of these approaches seemed to be a more dominant factor than the teachers’ beliefs. This resulted in perceptions of learners, syllabus/textbooks and time becoming barriers to the implementation of the approaches, as often pointed out in past studies. This study also found effective ways to encourage teachers to learn to implement this new pedagogy. First, supplying examples of a theory’s practical application equipped practitioners to develop practical knowledge of that theory. Second, collaborative learning between the teachers, as well as the assistance of an expert, helped make the teacher education programme work. This led to the conclusion that communicative approaches motivated teachers in their professional practice. The findings of this research could shed light on these aspects of L2 teaching in a variety of other similar contexts and could be useful for educational policymakers, practitioners, and teacher educators in implementing innovative approaches.

Este trabalho versa sobre desenvolver a habilidade de “reconhecer características ou propriedades de fenômenos ondulatórios ou oscilatórios, relacionando-os a seus usos em diferentes contextos” (BRASIL, 2009, p.8) de uma forma menos tradicional. O objetivo foi abordar o conteúdo de acústica utilizando instrumentos musicais (violão, guitarra, flauta, xilofone, lira...). A partir de ondas estacionárias em tubos sonoros e cordas vibrantes, foram elucidados os conceitos de altura, intensidade e timbre, relacionando com os conceitos básicos de ondas – frequência, comprimento de onda, amplitude, velocidade de propagação das ondas em cordas de diferentes densidades lineares, entre outros. Também foram trabalhadas notas musicais e conceitos bem básicos de formação de acordes. A proposta foi aplicada com os dois nonos anos de um colégio particular bastante tradicional de Novo Hamburgo: o Colégio Marista Pio XII. Nesta fase final do Ensino Fundamental, o colégio disponibiliza aos seus alunos cinco períodos de Ciências da Natureza, distribuídos em: um de Biologia, dois de Física e dois de Química. A ideia é que fossem trabalhadas Competências e Habilidades comuns aos componentes curriculares, por meio de sequências didáticas. O trabalho foi aplicado em um total de seis encontros, cada um com duração de 50 min. Alguns desses períodos foram dedicados a aulas puramente expositivas, outros deles com aulas expositivas dialogadas, com a utilização de uma espiral de caderno, uma guitarra, um cavaquinho, instrumentos de sopro e do computador, onde interpretamos as frequências fundamentais emitidas pela vibração das cordas e do ar em tubos sonoros com o software Spectrogram1. Como referencial teórico, utilizamos a teoria sócio-interacionista de Vygotsky e alguns conceitos de alfabetização científica. A discussão e o manuseio de instrumentos musicais em pequenos grupos fizeram com que os alunos interagissem entre si e com o professor, favorecendo a construção do conhecimento e a interação de signos. A partir dessas interações aluno - instrumentos musicais, professor - aluno e aluno – aluno, o objetivo era abrir espaço para questionamentos, discussões e reflexões, de maneira que o conhecimento fosse sintetizado por todos. Como referência para o planejamento de ensino, construção do significado das aulas e análise das interações, utilizamos uma ferramenta analítica de Mortimer e Scott (2002). / This work is about developing the ability to "recognize characteristics or properties of wave or oscillatory phenomena, relating them to their uses in different contexts "(BRASIL, 2009, p.8), in a less traditional way. The objective was to approach the content of acoustics using musical instruments (guitar, electric guitar, flute, xylophone, lyre ...). From stationary waves in sound tubes and vibrating strings, concepts of height, intensity and timbre, were elucidated, relating them to the basic concepts of waves - frequency, wavelength, amplitude, velocity of wave propagation in strings of different linear densities, among others. Musical notes and basic concepts of chord formation were also seen. The proposal was applied with two groups of nineth graders from a very traditional private school in Novo Hamburgo: Marista Pio XII school. In this final phase of elementary school, the school offers its students five classes of Science a week, distributed in one of Biology, two of Physics and two of Chemestry. The idea was work with common skills to these curricular components, through didactic sequences. The work was applied out in a total of six classes, each lasting 50 min. Some of these were devoted to purely expository presentation, others with dialogic lectures, with the use of the spiral of a notebook, a guitar, another small kind of guitar, wind instruments and a computer where we interpret the fundamental frequencies emitted by the vibration of the strings and air in sound tubes with the Spectrogram software2. As a theoretical reference, we use Vygotsky's socio-interactionist theory and some concepts of scientific literacy. The discussion and manipulation of musical instruments in small groups led the students to interact with each other and with the teacher, favoring the construction of knowledge and interaction. From these student - musical instruments, teacher - student and student – student interactions, the objective is to open space for questions, discussions and reflections, so that knowledge was synthesized by all. As a reference for teaching planning, construction of meaning and interaction analysis, l we used an analytical tool by Mortimer and Scott (2002).

Este trabalho versa sobre desenvolver a habilidade de “reconhecer características ou propriedades de fenômenos ondulatórios ou oscilatórios, relacionando-os a seus usos em diferentes contextos” (BRASIL, 2009, p.8) de uma forma menos tradicional. O objetivo foi abordar o conteúdo de acústica utilizando instrumentos musicais (violão, guitarra, flauta, xilofone, lira...). A partir de ondas estacionárias em tubos sonoros e cordas vibrantes, foram elucidados os conceitos de altura, intensidade e timbre, relacionando com os conceitos básicos de ondas – frequência, comprimento de onda, amplitude, velocidade de propagação das ondas em cordas de diferentes densidades lineares, entre outros. Também foram trabalhadas notas musicais e conceitos bem básicos de formação de acordes. A proposta foi aplicada com os dois nonos anos de um colégio particular bastante tradicional de Novo Hamburgo: o Colégio Marista Pio XII. Nesta fase final do Ensino Fundamental, o colégio disponibiliza aos seus alunos cinco períodos de Ciências da Natureza, distribuídos em: um de Biologia, dois de Física e dois de Química. A ideia é que fossem trabalhadas Competências e Habilidades comuns aos componentes curriculares, por meio de sequências didáticas. O trabalho foi aplicado em um total de seis encontros, cada um com duração de 50 min. Alguns desses períodos foram dedicados a aulas puramente expositivas, outros deles com aulas expositivas dialogadas, com a utilização de uma espiral de caderno, uma guitarra, um cavaquinho, instrumentos de sopro e do computador, onde interpretamos as frequências fundamentais emitidas pela vibração das cordas e do ar em tubos sonoros com o software Spectrogram1. Como referencial teórico, utilizamos a teoria sócio-interacionista de Vygotsky e alguns conceitos de alfabetização científica. A discussão e o manuseio de instrumentos musicais em pequenos grupos fizeram com que os alunos interagissem entre si e com o professor, favorecendo a construção do conhecimento e a interação de signos. A partir dessas interações aluno - instrumentos musicais, professor - aluno e aluno – aluno, o objetivo era abrir espaço para questionamentos, discussões e reflexões, de maneira que o conhecimento fosse sintetizado por todos. Como referência para o planejamento de ensino, construção do significado das aulas e análise das interações, utilizamos uma ferramenta analítica de Mortimer e Scott (2002). / This work is about developing the ability to "recognize characteristics or properties of wave or oscillatory phenomena, relating them to their uses in different contexts "(BRASIL, 2009, p.8), in a less traditional way. The objective was to approach the content of acoustics using musical instruments (guitar, electric guitar, flute, xylophone, lyre ...). From stationary waves in sound tubes and vibrating strings, concepts of height, intensity and timbre, were elucidated, relating them to the basic concepts of waves - frequency, wavelength, amplitude, velocity of wave propagation in strings of different linear densities, among others. Musical notes and basic concepts of chord formation were also seen. The proposal was applied with two groups of nineth graders from a very traditional private school in Novo Hamburgo: Marista Pio XII school. In this final phase of elementary school, the school offers its students five classes of Science a week, distributed in one of Biology, two of Physics and two of Chemestry. The idea was work with common skills to these curricular components, through didactic sequences. The work was applied out in a total of six classes, each lasting 50 min. Some of these were devoted to purely expository presentation, others with dialogic lectures, with the use of the spiral of a notebook, a guitar, another small kind of guitar, wind instruments and a computer where we interpret the fundamental frequencies emitted by the vibration of the strings and air in sound tubes with the Spectrogram software2. As a theoretical reference, we use Vygotsky's socio-interactionist theory and some concepts of scientific literacy. The discussion and manipulation of musical instruments in small groups led the students to interact with each other and with the teacher, favoring the construction of knowledge and interaction. From these student - musical instruments, teacher - student and student – student interactions, the objective is to open space for questions, discussions and reflections, so that knowledge was synthesized by all. As a reference for teaching planning, construction of meaning and interaction analysis, l we used an analytical tool by Mortimer and Scott (2002).

Orientador: Marilda do Couto Cavalcanti / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-25T12:40:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Silva_MariaAparecidaCaltabianoMagalhaesBorgesda_D.pdf: 5899230 bytes, checksum: bba5005a30dd547fd022ba2117646a38 (MD5) Previous issue date: 1999 / Resumo: O objetivo desta pesquisa é investigar a interação que ocorre entre os membros de um determinado grupo de adultos, aprendizes da língua inglesa, focalizando a interrelação entre os momentos de verdade e faz-de-conta em aulas comunicativas. O foco da investigação é uma escola de línguas de São Paulo, capital. A pesquisadora, matriculada como aluna regular, acompanhou e fez parte de um grupo de adultos freqüentando os estágios correspondentes aos níveis 8 e 9 (intermediário), durante o período de junho a novembro de 1994. A presente pesquisa, de natureza etnográfica, utilizou os seguintes instrumentos para coleta de registros: gravação em áudio, notas de campo, diários e entrevistas informais feitas com os alunos participantes do grupo-foco de estudo e com professores responsáveis pelo curso e pelo treinamento dado pela escola. Para análise dos dados, foram utilizados como base teórica, estudos de autores como Widdowson (1978, 1979), Breen e Candlin (1980), Canale. e Swain (1980), Swan (1985), Almeida Filho (1993), entre outros, sobre a abordagem comunicativa, atualmente proposta para o ensino de línguas estrangeiras e trabalhos sobre interação social de Erving Goffman, destacando conceitos de papéis (1981) e preservação da face (1967) para a análise da interação na sala de aula / Abstract: This research aims at discussing some aspects related to the language teaching and learning process, analysing the interaction occurring among a group of adult learners in the English language classroom. Taking into account that the classes are considered communicative, the analysis focuses on the authenticity of the interaction among the group, analyzing some simulated and non-simulated situations. The data were collected in a private language schoollocated in São Paulo. The researcher attended the classes as a regular student from June to November in 1994. Being na ethnographic research, the following procedures were used: the classes were audio recorded, fieldnotes were taken and some informal interviews were made with the participants: teachers and students. The analyses were based on some works of Widdowson (1978, 1979), Breen and Candlin (1980), Canale e Swain (1980), Swan (1985), A1meida Filho (1993) about communicative approach. Studies in the social interaction area, as made by Goffman (1967, 1981), were also aken in account in order to analyze the interaction in the English language classroom / Doutorado / Ensino-Aprendizagem de Segunda Lingua e Lingua Estrangeira / Doutor em Linguística Aplicada

Cette étude traite des écueils de communication que rencontrent les apprenants de l’anglais langue étrangère dans l’enseignement secondaire en Tunisie, et à partir de ces constats, propose quelques recommandations susceptibles de les aider à surmonter ces obstacles.Il s’est avéré que ces difficultés de communication ont pour origine deux facteurs principaux: le manque d’exposition à l’anglais et l’inadéquation de certaines méthodes pédagogiques.En effet, l’anglais semble être enseigné tout simplement comme une matière scolaire. Les apprenants ne sont exposés à cette langue qu’en milieu institutionnel, et ce pendant seulement quelques heures par semaine.Il faut noter, par ailleurs, l’inadéquation de certaines méthodes pédagogiques: le recours à la langue maternelle dans l’enseignement de l’anglais en est un exemple. Ceci est une technique qui s’est révélée plus nuisible que bénéfique du fait qu’elle est souvent utilisée uniquement pour expliquer des termes lexicaux et des structures syntaxiques difficiles.Quant à l’approche communicative, elle n’a pas permis d’atteindre les objectifs d’apprentissage escomptés en raison de certaines contraintes sérieuses qui ont entravé sa mise en application.Le fait que cette approche mette l’accent sur le sens aux dépens de la forme et donne la priorité à l’expression orale au détriment de l’expression écrite d’une part, ainsi que les classes nombreuses et le manque ou l’indisponibilité de matériaux pédagogiques, d’autre part, sont d’autres éléments qui ne favorisent pas l’apprentissage.Outre ces facteurs, on remarque également l’absence quasi‐totale de cours théoriques sur les diverses compétences à acquérir avant que ne débute l’apprentissage de la langue étrangère.Donc, afin d’aider les apprenants à progresser dans leur apprentissage et de contribuer à l’amélioration de leur compétence communicative, il serait utile de créer un environnement anglophone au lycée même et dans la mesure du possible, à l’extérieur de l’institution. Il serait également pertinent d’adopter des approches diversifiées et attacher davantage d’importance aux leçons théoriques en parallèle avec l’enseignement pratique. / This study explores the whys and wherefores of the communication difficulties experienced by Tunisian secondary school learners of English as a foreign language, and aims at offering ways out of the issue.It has been demonstrated that the issue proceeds broadly from the woeful dearth of exposure to and practice of the language and certain inadequacies of the teaching methodology.English seems to be learned as a mere curricular discipline, in that students have only a few weekly sessions confined solely to a classroom setting.The inadequacies of the teaching methodology are manifest in a number of aspects. The use of the mother tongue in EFL classes has proved to generate more harm than good. In the very framework, it has also been revealed that Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has not been at the level of the expected outcome. Two CLT principal principles, focus on meaning to the detriment of form, and prioritizing oral fluency over written proficiency, as well as certain constraints, mainly the severe lack of instructional materials and large classes have intervened with its successful implementation in EFL classes. An added factor related to teaching methodology is the quasi‐absence of theoretical teaching as a prerequisite for the success of specific learning activities.Accordingly, exposing learners profusely to English in various ways inside and outside the classroom, adopting an only‐English eclectic approach to teaching the language, and combining theoretical instruction with practical teaching can considerably contribute to surmounting the students’ learning difficulties, and hence to the achievement of their communicative competence.

This diploma thesis is concerned with the use of Suggestopedia and Superlearning in English language teaching. The theoretical part focuses on the historical and theoretical context of the methods, the description of their aims, processes and techniques. Furthermore, Communicative approach and its closely related methods are briefly explained, as they are also connected to Altissima language school where the research was done. The practical part deals with the analysis of two observed lessons where the principles of Suggestopedia and Superlearning were used. Moreover, the lectors' statements and learners' comments are scrutinized.

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.

This study examines the effectiveness of on-line video-assisted pronunciation exercises in beginning level classes of foreign-language learning. A review of the current literature on pronunciation is presented, followed by a description of a study used to test the effectiveness of computer-based exercises in improving pronunciation. The participants were a group of high school students that were members of a fourth year French class. As part of their regular class time, the students participated in two types of exercises, in-class group work and computer-lab self-directed exercises, in which the students watched videos with subtitles while repeating what they heard. Satisfaction with the program was determined by collecting feedback from the students using qualitative and quantitative surveys. The students found the videos interesting and appreciated the learning autonomy provided by the self-directed exercises. Improvement was assessed by comparing performance on pre- and post-tests measuring both free response and reading pronunciation. Significant improvements were observed in both categories, but the improvements in reading pronunciation were most striking. The results demonstrate that computer-based exercises can be engaging and effective in teaching French pronunciation, and can be readily incorporated into the high school classroom.