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

In recent years FLE researchers and instructors have become increasingly interested in devising theoretical frameworks and pedagogical materials that prepare learners for the realities of today’s globalized world. Current FLE research suggests that equipping learners with intercultural communicative competence (ICC) is the best approach to achieve this goal. As a result of this, administrators and instructors of foreign language programs are reassessing their curricula to ensure that the cultural content is effective and sufficient for enabling learners to successfully function in a culturally diverse world. This thesis aims to reassess the cultural component of the beginner Arabic curriculum at the University of Texas at Austin by serving two objectives. The first objective is to present the results of a survey that examines the impact of the cultural content in the current beginner Arabic course at the University of Texas at Austin on learners’ ICC development. The second objective is to incorporate these results in a pedagogical framework to further enhance the development of ICC in the beginner Arabic classroom setting. The results were gathered from two student surveys, conducted at the beginning and end of the academic year, and from follow-up interviews administered half way through the study’s duration. The findings indicate that the majority of Arabic learners at the beginner level are predisposed with good general knowledge and positive perceptions with regard to the Arab world, suggesting that they are primed to develop ICC before commencing their study of Arabic. In addition to this, the findings show that the current Arabic curriculum did help to further develop ICC in learners to a certain extent. However, there are some areas for improvement, mainly regarding the organization and selection of topics. These observations were taken into consideration in designing the pedagogical framework that presents learning outcomes specific to the beginner Arabic curriculum. The intention is that such a framework will align curricular goals that will in turn result in learners becoming informed global citizens of the world. / text

Effective teaching that promotes learners’ active engagement and the development of communicative proficiency has been a challenge to teachers of English as a second language (ESL). Previous research on second language (L2) teaching has shown that L2 learners improve better in communicative skills when they are actively engaged, participate in communicative tasks that facilitate interaction and are provided with the opportunity to use the target language in the classroom. This study focuses on improving ESL learners’ learning outcomes in remotely-located primary schools in Nigeria. The study aimed to test whether the introduction of Personal Response System (PRS) and communicative approach can improve pupils’ English-language communicative competences and their attitudes towards English learning. Specifically, this study examined the extent to which significant differences exist in pupils’ communicative competence performance scores and learning gains based on teachers’ use of a communicative approach, PRS and lecture methods in the ESL classroom. Furthermore, the research also attempted to find out whether pupils’ attitudes towards the learning of English would significantly differ based on teaching strategy. Attitudes of pupils and teachers towards the interventions were also investigated. A pre-test and post-test non-randomised control group design was adopted in this study. Some qualitative data were also collected to augment the quantitative main data. Ninety nine pupils from three intact classes in different schools in Ijebu-North local government, Ogun-State, Nigeria were assigned to two experimental groups and one control group. In addition to the traditional use of textbooks, one of the experimental groups was taught using communicative activities, while the second experimental group experienced communicative tasks blended with the use of a personal response system. The control group received the conventional classroom instruction (lecture method), including the use of the English language textbook. In order to provide answers to the research questions and the hypothesis of this study, English Language Listening Tests and English Language Speaking Tests, Pupils’ Attitude to English Language Lesson Questionnaire, Pupils’ Attitude to Clickers’ Questionnaire and Pupils’ Attitude to Communicative Approach Questionnaire were administered at the pre-and post-test stages of the research. These instruments were also complemented with data from classroom observation, video recording of the instructional process, and audio-recorded interviews with the teachers and selected pupils in the experimental groups. The results indicate that the two experimental groups showed greater improvement in communicative competence than did the control group; but the PRS group improved more than the communicative approach group both in listening and speaking skills development. Moreover, pupils’ learning gains were statistically different, with the PRS group having the highest gain scores above the communicative approach group, while the control group did not experience increased learning gains. The results also reveal pupils’ mixed-reactions with respect to their attitudes toward the English language lesson and the interventions. Teachers’ attitudes toward the interventions were in the positive direction.

Abstract not available

This thesis investigates future English teachers&rsquo / experiences of learning English proverbs in Anatolian Teacher Training High Schools (ATTHS) in Turkey. In order to reveal the situation about proverb teaching in English language classrooms in ATTHS, students&rsquo / opinions are sought and coursebooks are analysed. In doing this, this study aims to find out EFL teacher trainees&rsquo / attitudes towards learning and teaching English proverbs, their conceptualization of proverbs, their thoughts about their knowledge and use of English proverbs, and perceptions about how sufficiently their English teachers and coursebooks at high school taught them English proverbs. This study also aims to uncover how the English coursebooks they used in ATTHS teach proverbs. To achieve these aims, a questionnaire is administered to 187 freshman ELT students / a semi-structured interview is conducted with volunteers and the coursebooks used by the majority are examined using an analysis form and a checklist. As a result, it is found that those teacher trainees have positive attitudes towards learning and teaching English proverbs, think that they do not have enough knowledge of English proverbs and that their English teachers and coursebooks did not teach proverbs sufficiently. Moreover, the participants&rsquo / conceptualization of proverbs reflects traditional definitions. Besides, coursebook analysis reveals that while the examined local coursebooks contain almost no proverbs at all, the analysed international coursebooks include a relatively bigger number of proverbs. However, except for some of the semantic and cultural aspects of proverbs, there is hardly any explicit reference to other aspects of proverbs in all the coursebooks examined.

Thesis (PHD)--University of Montana, 2009. / Contents viewed on December 22, 2009. Title from author supplied metadata. Includes bibliographical references.

This Report addresses the importance of intercultural communicative competence among foreign language learners and the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) technology to achieve this goal in the classroom. CMC technology provides learners a unique opportunity to interact with students of different cultures, a situation that allows for experiential learning to occur and which has been shown to lead to gains in intercultural communicative competence. The work begins with a definition of culture and intercultural communicative competence, followed by a review of general approaches used to facilitate such competence in students, and finally a review of the literature on the positive and negative aspects of using CMC for cross-cultural learning. As the aim of this work is to offer teachers a resource and guidance for implementing intercultural exchanges via the use of CMC tools, the Report concludes with suggestions on best practices for using CMC in the foreign language classroom. / text

Šiame darbe yra analizuojamas komunikacinės kompetencijos, kuri yra užsienio kalbų mokymo(si) tikslas ir turinys plačiąja prasme, ugdymas. Šio darbo tikslas yra atskleisti, kaip sėkmingai anglakalbėse šalyse socializavęsi žmonės vertina anglų kalbos mokymosi patirtį Lietuvoje, parodyti kalbos mokėjimo svarbą sėkmingai socializacijai užsienio šalyje bei ištirti mokytojų požiūrį į komunikacinės kompetencijos ugdymo efektyvumą, atsižvelgiant į migrantų paminėtus probleminius aspektus. Darbe yra remiamasi tokiomis metodologinėmis nuostatomis kaip kritinė teorija ir socialinis konstruktyvizmas, kurios suteikia galimybę skatinti pačių besimokančiųjų supratimą ir aktyvumą, moko individą suprasti įvykių esmę bei ugdo jo sugebėjimą spręsti problemas. Darbe keliama prielaida, jog anglų kalbos mokymas Lietuvoje yra daugiausiai orientuotas į lingvistinės kompetencijos (pagrindinių gramatinių ir leksinių žinių) ugdymą, egzamino išlaikymą, o to nepakanka norint sėkmingai komunikuoti šia kalba užsienio šalyse, atsiradus poreikiui kalbėti šnekamąja anglų kalba, išmanyti tarpkultūrinio ir socialinio bendravimo aspektus. Ši prielaida pasitvirtino išanalizavus interviu su migrantais ir mokytojais metu gautus duomenis. / In this paper the development of the communicative competence is analyzed. In general, communicative competence is the aim and the content of the foreign language teaching and learning. The aim of this paper is to reveal how people, who have successfully socialized abroad, assess the experience of foreign language learning in Lithuania as well as to show the importance of the foreign language knowledge to the successful socialization in another country and to investigate the viewpoint of the teachers towards the effectiveness of the communicative competence development, bearing in mind the problematic aspects which have been highlighted by migrants. This paper is grounded on the following methodologies: critical theory and social constructivism. These methodologies enable the individual to evolve his understanding and activity; they also teach the individual to understand the essence of various events in his life and foster the ability to find the solution of various issues. The assumption of this paper is that in Lithuania the teaching of the English language is mainly oriented in the development of the linguistic competence (the development of basic lexical and grammatical skills), in the pass of the final exam, and such development is insufficient when the need to have a knowledge of spoken English, of some aspects of multicultural and social behavior occurs. This assumption is confirmed after the analysis of the interviews with migrants and teachers.

The following work is based on the proposition that foreign languages are primarily acquired for the purpose of communication in a multicultural context. This communicative aspect of language is my main concern. The thesis defines the theoretical and practical implications of an action-orientated language teaching environment. I base my own work on the theory of speech acts as elaborated by John L. Austin and John R. Searle, as well as Ludwig Wittgenstein's theory of language games. I corroborate the theory of speech acts as being defined and established in any act of communication, such as a conversation. This leads me to the examination whether such language games can be realized through applying action-orientated teaching methods to teach foreign languages. Within the context of this thesis, I examine whether these methods can effectively improve the student's ability to communicate. This work favors integrated methodical procedures that engage the student in playacting in the foreign tongue.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 282-292). / Microfiche. / ix, 292 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm