The purpose of this study was to determine perceptions of students, teachers and parents concerning English-medium instruction and their perceptions of English as a foreign language. The research design of the study comprised a nation-wide questionnaire survey and individual interviews. The sample for the survey consisted of 982 students, 383 teachers and 988 parents in 42 Anatolian high schools across 32 provinces in Turkey selected using statified and criterion sampling. The participants of the interviews were six students, four teachers and four parents. Two distinct instruments were used for data collection / a survey questionnaire containing five-point Likert scales and open-ended questions / and a semi-structured interview schedule. To analyze quantitative data, descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA and bivariate correlations were conducted. The qualitative data of the interviews and open-ended questions were analyzed via content analysis. Results indicated that students, teachers and parents do not favor English-medium instruction at secondary education. Regardless of their position on English-medium instruction, participants underscored problems of implementation of English-medium instruction at Anatolian high schools. A positive correleation was found between perceptions of English and perceptions of English-medium instruction for each group. Results also showed that all groups perceive English positively as a foreign language, and support the teaching and learning of English. According to students&amp / #8217 / and teachers&amp / #8217 / perceptions, English-medium instruction influences the instructional process in math and science in Anatolian high schools, and poses problems particularly in the learning of the subject matter.

The purpose of this study is to outline students’ attitudes towards ICT in the learning of English. The research was carried out as action research at a vocational high school in Sweden. The study aims at giving answers to the questions what the students’ attitudes towards ICT are, to what extent they think that ICT affects their learning and if ICT use changes their attitudes towards English. The students had little or no previous experience of ICT. For a period of two months, they used ICT in their English studies. This work was organized according to Svensson’s (2008) definitions ICT as a tutor, ICT as a tool and ICT as an arena, which are connected to behavioristic, cognitive/constructive and social constructivist/socio-cultural learning perspectives, respectively. For example, the students read and listened to texts online, wrote their own dialogues for a movie and maintained their own blogs. After each module, they evaluated the method and at the end of the project they were interviewed. The study shows that most of the students were positive towards ICT in learning English. They were most positive towards ICT as a tutor, which was interesting given that behavioristic ways of learning are often criticized by today’s scholars. Furthermore, the students claimed that ICT gives them new opportunities to learn. Not surprisingly, to learn in a way that suits the individual learner was seen as positive. They stated that it was difficult to comment on the impact that ICT might have had on their performance after such a limited period of time, but they indicated that they thought that they had improved at least a little. During the interviews, a few students claimed to have changed their attitudes towards English a little, in a positive way, but it was difficult to confirm this after such short time.

Abstract The aim of this study is to investigate some uses of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a pedagogical aid for supporting students with difficulties in reaching the curricular goals in the school subject English. Special focus is on students with reading and writing difficulties and on students with a foreign background in the ninth grade of the compulsory school and in upper secondary school. The method of investigation consisted of two parts: (a) interviews with eleven regular English teachers and with four remedial teachers about their experiences of using ICT as a pedagogical aid, and (b) an action study in which ICT-based activities were tested in a group of six students with difficulties in English. The results of the interviews showed that in the remedial classes ICT-based support was rather limited. The exceptions were students with severe reading and writing difficulties and other grave learning disabilities. These students were offered greater access to various technical aids and systematic support. For dyslexic students various ICT tools often proved to be an effective and indispensable support in their learning. In non-remedial English lessons, the use of ICT was somewhat greater. Here teachers used ICT as a pedagogical aid for the benefit of all students. The computer was considered to be a good support for project writing as it provided the students with a huge database, with online dictionaries and with a spell checker. The results of the action research showed that students were positive about communicating in English via ICT and they showed great interest in other activities facilitated by technology, such as training grammar, vocabulary, and reading. In conclusion, these surveys generated results similar to those of other studies, showing that although ICT can be an effective pedagogical aid in supporting students with difficulties learning English, it is not presently being used to its full potential.

<p>The purpose of this study is to outline students’ attitudes towards ICT in the learning of English. The research was carried out as action research at a vocational high school in Sweden. The study aims at giving answers to the questions what the students’ attitudes towards ICT are, to what extent they think that ICT affects their learning and if ICT use changes their attitudes towards English. The students had little or no previous experience of ICT. For a period of two months, they used ICT in their English studies. This work was organized according to Svensson’s (2008) definitions <em>ICT as a tutor</em>,<em> ICT as a tool </em>and<em> ICT as an arena</em>, which are connected to behavioristic, cognitive/constructive and social constructivist/socio-cultural learning perspectives, respectively. For example, the students read and listened to texts online, wrote their own dialogues for a movie and maintained their own blogs. After each module, they evaluated the method and at the end of the project they were interviewed. The study shows that most of the students were positive towards ICT in learning English. They were most positive towards ICT as a tutor, which was interesting given that behavioristic ways of learning are often criticized by today’s scholars. Furthermore, the students claimed that ICT gives them new opportunities to learn. Not surprisingly, to learn in a way that suits the individual learner was seen as positive. They stated that it was difficult to comment on the impact that ICT might have had on their performance after such a limited period of time, but they indicated that they thought that they had improved at least a little. During the interviews, a few students claimed to have changed their attitudes towards English a little, in a positive way, but it was difficult to confirm this after such short time.</p>

<p><strong>Abstract </strong></p><p>The aim of this study is to investigate some uses of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a pedagogical aid for supporting students with difficulties in reaching the curricular goals in the school subject English. Special focus is on students with reading and writing difficulties and on students with a foreign background in the ninth grade of the compulsory school and in upper secondary school. The method of investigation consisted of two parts: (a) interviews with eleven regular English teachers and with four remedial teachers about their experiences of using ICT as a pedagogical aid, and (b) an action study in which ICT-based activities were tested in a group of six students with difficulties in English. The results of the interviews showed that in the remedial classes ICT-based support was rather limited. The exceptions were students with severe reading and writing difficulties and other grave learning disabilities. These students were offered greater access to various technical aids and systematic support. For dyslexic students various ICT tools often proved to be an effective and indispensable support in their learning. In non-remedial English lessons, the use of ICT was somewhat greater. Here teachers used ICT as a pedagogical aid for the benefit of all students. The computer was considered to be a good support for project writing as it provided the students with a huge database, with online dictionaries and with a spell checker. The results of the action research showed that students were positive about communicating in English via ICT and they showed great interest in other activities facilitated by technology, such as training grammar, vocabulary, and reading. In conclusion, these surveys generated results similar to those of other studies, showing that although ICT can be an effective pedagogical aid in supporting students with difficulties learning English, it is not presently being used to its full potential.</p>

<p>År 2003 utnämnde UNESCO årtiondet 2005-2014 till decenniet för utbildning i hållbar utveckling och även andra internationella och nationella beslut togs för att föra in utbildning för hållbar utveckling (Education for Sustainable Development) i skolans alla ämnen. ESD syftar till att eleven ska utveckla sin förmåga att kritiskt granska olika såväl ekologiska, sociala och ekonomiska perspektiv samt kunna ta ställning till dessa genom ett aktivt deltagande i olika demokratiska processer för att stödja hållbar utveckling. Forskning på området har dock visat att integreringen i skolans alla ämnen inte har fungerat på det sätt det har varit avsett. Denna uppsats syftar till att ta reda på om ESD förekommer inom engelskaundervisningen på gymnasienivå (inom Skaraborgs län). Den försöker också att identifiera vilka hinder och möjligheter det kan finnas för att arbeta med ESD i engelska A/B. Detta har gjorts utifrån en teoretisk litteraturstudie och en semistrukturerad enkätundersökning. Frågeformulär skickades ut till alla engelskalärare på tre gymnasieskolor i länet. De viktigaste resultaten som framkom var att ett av de största hindren för att arbeta med ESD i engelska var bristande kännedom om både skolans uppdrag gällande ESD, men också om vad begreppet innebär innehållsmässigt och didaktiskt. Även litteraturen speglar fortfarande uppfattningen att ESD till största del handlar om miljöfrågor och det finns mycket få praktiska råd vad gäller ESD i språkundervisningen. Det framkom dock framförallt att det verkar finnas stora möjligheter för att föra in ESD i engelskaämnet, eftersom det finns både intresse och motivation för detta bland majoriteten av de tillfrågade lärarna.</p> / <p>In 2003 UNESCO proclaimed the years 2005-2014 as a global decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Likewise other resolutions stated that ESD should be integrated in all school subjects. ESD focuses on developing the students’ ability to critically examine different ecological, social and economical perspectives and to participate actively in democratic processes in order to support sustainable development. Nevertheless, research has shown that the integration of ESD into all subjects has not been accomplished successfully. This degree project aims at examining if ESD occurs in English language lessons at three Swedish upper secondary schools. It also attempts to identify which impediments and possibilities there might exist for working with ESD in English lessons. This has been done by a literary review and a semi-structured questionnaire. An inquiry form was sent to all English teachers at the schools mentioned above. The most important results derived from this study were: Firstly, one of the biggest obstacles for working with ESD in English lessons was insufficient knowledge about UNESCO’s and the Swedish Education System’s commission as well as insufficient knowledge about what the concept ESD implies, both on a content level and on a didactical level. Secondly, literature reflected the common misconception that ESD is primarily concerned with environmental issues and modern research did not provide much information about how to teach ESD within language lessons. Above all, though, the results showed that one very important condition for integrating ESD into English lessons is fulfilled, since the majority of the teachers involved in this study seemed to be motivated to do so.</p>

There are a myriad of factors that influence the teaching and assessment of English as a foreign language in Israel. One such factor is the change in perception of how the mind collects and processes information. The transition from behaviorist theories of learning to constructivist and cognitivist theories has resulted in a new concept of learning that recognises the pivotal role of the learner in the learning process. Another instrumental factor is the creation of standards in education that are intended to raise the level of academic achievement and provide equitable educational opportunities for all learners. Both of these factors have impacted the study of English as a foreign language. Countries around the world have assumed monumental changes in the way they approach foreign language study. Following the examples of foreign countries Israel has recently implemented a standards-based curriculum that supports alternative assessment. Since this is a relatively new concept, the principles underlying standards and assessment are unfamiliar to many EFL teachers. Novice teachers, as well as experienced teachers, are experiencing difficulty incorporating standards and alternative assessment into their lessons. In the light of the above it was clear that a need existed to investigate how English foreign language teachers relate to assessment and to examine the extent to which they implement alternative assessment in their teaching. The aim of the study is to explore teachers' understanding of alternative assessment and find out how teachers incorporate alternative assessment in their EFL classes. Against this background, an empirical investigation was undertaken. It comprised a textual analysis of ten assessment packages and two focus group interviews. The research produced a wealth of descriptive data that illuminated the subject. The findings magnified the disparity between the theory behind alternative assessment and actual practice. It was apparent that the assessment activities which EFL teachers employed, were not in sync with the principles that were being promoted by the new curriculum for EFL teaching and assessment in Israeli schools. The study discusses the results of the investigation, suggests the implications and presents recommendations. / Educational Studies / D.Ed. (Didactics)

Ao longo das últimas décadas, foi crescente e notório o aumento de escolas de educação infantil em nosso país. Expandiu-se, em igual proporção, o número de turmas da educação infantil em escolas regulares, já que a própria LDB considera esse âmbito de ensino como parte integrante da educação básica. A fim de agregar um diferencial em sua grade curricular, aulas de língua inglesa como língua adicional são inseridas no currículo de um sem número de instituições nas mais variadas modalidades: aulas de 30 minutos ou 1 hora uma vez por semana, às vezes duas vezes por semana e, até mesmo, em propostas bilíngues, com aulas todos os dias da semana, em cargas horárias das mais diversas. Assim, este estudo propõe-se a uma análise crítica do ensino de língua inglesa como língua adicional para crianças de educação infantil. Foram selecionados como foco de pesquisa o uso da linguagem, a promoção do letramento na língua alvo e as crenças de professores, pais de alunos e coordenadores das instituições de ensino. Para a geração dos dados, duas escolas exclusivamente de educação infantil, duas escolas de educação básica e três escolas de idiomas foram visitadas. Procederam-se observações de aulas, entrevistas com os professores de língua inglesa, com pais de alunos e com as coordenadoras das escolas. Verificou-se que, independentemente da carga-horária oferecida pela escola, usar mais ou menos inglês em sala de aula era uma opção do professor, em acordo com as coordenações das escolas. Observou-se, também, que quanto mais comunicativa a abordagem de ensino, mais havia espaço para a promoção do letramento. E constatou-se que as crenças de pais, professoras e coordenadoras de escolas são pertinentes mas precisam ser ouvidas no contexto escolar de forma a produzir um ensino efetivo e prazeroso para os alunos. / Throughout the last decades, it was noticeably increasing the number of kindergarten schools in our country. It has expanded, in the same proportion, the number of kindergarten classes in regular schools, since LDB (Lei de Diretrizes e Bases) considers this scope of teaching as part of the primary education. In order to add some particularities in its curricula, classes of English as a foreign language has been inserted in hundreds of institutions, in many different approaches: thirty-minute or one hour classes once a week, sometimes twice a week and also in bilingual projects, with everyday classes, in several workloads. So, the aim of this search is to hold a critical analysis on the teaching of English as a foreign language to very young learners. The use of language, the promotion of literacy in the target language and the beliefs of teacher, students’ parents and schools coordinators were selected as the focus of this work. In order to generate the data, two kindergarten schools, two primary schools and three language schools were visited. Classes were observed and interviews with the teachers of English, with the students’ parents and with the schools coordinators were conducted. It was verified that, independently of the workload offered by the school, using less or more English in the classroom was an option made by the teacher, in accordance to the school’s coordination. It was also observed that the most communicative the approach was, the more space to literacy was given. And it was checked that parents’, teachers’, and coordinators’ beliefs are pertinent but need to be heard in the context of the school in order to offer an effective and pleasant learning environment for the pupils.

No âmbito do ensino-aprendizagem de línguas adicionais, pesquisas acerca do desenvolvimento da oralidade têm demonstrado que se trata de um fenômeno multidimensional. Nakatani (2010) mostrou que o domínio de estratégias comunicacionais são indicadores de desempenho linguístico e se relacionam com a proficiência do aprendiz; Kang, Rubin e Pickering (2010) observaram que os traços fonológicos afetam a percepção sobre inteligibilidade e proficiência; Hewitt e Stephenson (2011), e Ahmadian (2012) indicaram que as condições psicológicas individuais interferem na qualidade da produção oral. Escribano (2004) sugeriu que a referência contextual é essencial na construção de sentido; Gao (2011) apontou os benefícios do ensino baseado na construção do sentido, a partir de metáforas conceptuais (LAKOFF e JOHNSON, 1980), codificação dupla (CLARK e PAIVIO, 1991) e esquemas imagéticos (LAKOFF, 1987); e Ellis e Ferreira-Junior (2009) demonstraram que as construções exibem efeitos de recência e priming, afetando o uso da linguagem dos parceiros interacionais. Tais estudos apontam para a natureza complexa da aquisição de L2, mas o fazem dentro do paradigma experimental da psicolinguística. Já Larsen-Freeman (2006), demonstra que a fluência, a precisão e a complexidade desenvolvem-se com o tempo, com alto grau de variabilidade, dentro do paradigma da Teoria da Complexidade. Em viés semelhante, Paiva (2011) observa que os sistemas de Aquisição de Segunda Língua (ASL) são auto-organizáveis. Esses trabalhos, no entanto, não abordaram aprendizes de L2 com proficiência inicial, como pretendo fazer aqui. Tendo como referenciais teóricos a Teoria da Complexidade e a Linguística Cognitiva, o presente trabalho apresenta um estudo de caso, qualitativo-interpretativista, com nuances quantitativos, que discute os processos de adaptação que emergiram na expressão oral de um grupo de aprendizes iniciantes de inglês como língua adicional no contexto vocacional. Parte do entendimento de que na sala de aula vários (sub)sistemas complexos coocorrem, covariando e coadaptando-se em diferentes níveis. A investigação contou com dados transcritos de três avaliações coletados ao longo de 28 horas de aula, no domínio ENTREVISTA DE EMPREGO. Após observar a produção oral das aprendizes, criei uma taxonomia para categorizar as adaptações que ocorreram na sintaxe, semântica, fonologia e pragmática da língua-alvo. Posteriormente organizei as categorias em níveis de prototipicidade (ROSCH et al, 1976) de acordo com as adaptações mais frequentes. Finalmente, avaliei a inteligibilidade de cada elocução, classificando-as em três níveis. A partir desses dados, descrevi como a prática oral dessas participantes emergiu e se desenvolveu ao longo das 28 horas. Os achados comprovam uma das premissas da Linguística Cognitiva ao mostrarem que os níveis de descrição linguística funcionam conjuntamente em prol do sucesso comunicacional. Além disso, demonstram que a função do professor, como discutem LARSEN-FREEMAN e CAMERON (2008), não é gerar uniformidade, mas sim oportunizar vivências que estabeleçam continuidade entre o mundo, o corpo e a mente / In the field of second and foreign language learning, research on oral communication development has been demonstrating that it is a multi-dimensional phenomenon. Nakatani (2010) showed that the ability to use communicative strategies is related to linguistic performance and learners proficiency level; Kang, Rubin and Pickering (2010) affirmed that learners phonology affects perception over proficiency and intelligiblity; Hewitt and Stephenson (2011), as well as Ahmadian (2012), contended that individual psychological conditions interfere in the quality of production. Escribano (2004) suggested that contextual knowledge is essential to conceptualization; Gao (2011) pointed out the benefits of an approach based on conceptual metaphors (LAKOFF and JOHNSON, 1980), dual coding (CLARK and PAIVIO, 1991), and image schemas (LAKOFF, 1987); Ellis and Ferreira-Junior (2009) demonstrated that constructions exhibit priming and recency effects, which influence participants language use. These studies together instantiate the complex nature of L2 acquisition on the experimental psychology paradigm. In the scope of Complexity Theory, Larsen-Freeman (2006) demontrated that fluency, accuracy, and complexity increase over time, despite exhibiting high individual variability. By the same token, Paiva (2011) observed that SLA systems are self-organisable. Nevertheless, none of the above-mentioned studies addressed beginners, as we intend to do herein. By overlapping Complexity Theory and Cognitive Linguistics, we present a case study, with sprinkles of quantification, in order to specifically discuss the adaptation processes that emerged from the oral practice of a group of six English beginner female learners (n=6) in the vocational context. We understand that several complex (sub-) systems co-occur in the classroom, covarying and coadapting in different levels. The investigation counted on transcribed data (ATKINSON and HERITAGE, 1984) from three oral evaluations collected over 28 class hours, in the JOB INTERVIEW domain. After observing the learnersoral production, we created a taxonomy to categorise the adaptations that emerged in target language syntax, meaning, fonology and pragmatics. Later, we displayed the categories in prototype levels (ROSCH et al, 1976) in terms of frequency. Finally, we classified the inteligibility of each learners utterance in three levels. By means of these data, we were able to describe how participants oral expression emerged and evolved over 28 hours. The results reaffirm one of Cognitive Linguistics premises when showing that language description levels work jointly in favor of communicative success; and demonstrate that the teacher, rather than generate uniformity, ought to give rise to learning opportunities that provides a continuum between the world, the body and the mind, as discussed by Larsen-Freeman e Cameron (2008)

Ao longo das últimas décadas, foi crescente e notório o aumento de escolas de educação infantil em nosso país. Expandiu-se, em igual proporção, o número de turmas da educação infantil em escolas regulares, já que a própria LDB considera esse âmbito de ensino como parte integrante da educação básica. A fim de agregar um diferencial em sua grade curricular, aulas de língua inglesa como língua adicional são inseridas no currículo de um sem número de instituições nas mais variadas modalidades: aulas de 30 minutos ou 1 hora uma vez por semana, às vezes duas vezes por semana e, até mesmo, em propostas bilíngues, com aulas todos os dias da semana, em cargas horárias das mais diversas. Assim, este estudo propõe-se a uma análise crítica do ensino de língua inglesa como língua adicional para crianças de educação infantil. Foram selecionados como foco de pesquisa o uso da linguagem, a promoção do letramento na língua alvo e as crenças de professores, pais de alunos e coordenadores das instituições de ensino. Para a geração dos dados, duas escolas exclusivamente de educação infantil, duas escolas de educação básica e três escolas de idiomas foram visitadas. Procederam-se observações de aulas, entrevistas com os professores de língua inglesa, com pais de alunos e com as coordenadoras das escolas. Verificou-se que, independentemente da carga-horária oferecida pela escola, usar mais ou menos inglês em sala de aula era uma opção do professor, em acordo com as coordenações das escolas. Observou-se, também, que quanto mais comunicativa a abordagem de ensino, mais havia espaço para a promoção do letramento. E constatou-se que as crenças de pais, professoras e coordenadoras de escolas são pertinentes mas precisam ser ouvidas no contexto escolar de forma a produzir um ensino efetivo e prazeroso para os alunos. / Throughout the last decades, it was noticeably increasing the number of kindergarten schools in our country. It has expanded, in the same proportion, the number of kindergarten classes in regular schools, since LDB (Lei de Diretrizes e Bases) considers this scope of teaching as part of the primary education. In order to add some particularities in its curricula, classes of English as a foreign language has been inserted in hundreds of institutions, in many different approaches: thirty-minute or one hour classes once a week, sometimes twice a week and also in bilingual projects, with everyday classes, in several workloads. So, the aim of this search is to hold a critical analysis on the teaching of English as a foreign language to very young learners. The use of language, the promotion of literacy in the target language and the beliefs of teacher, students’ parents and schools coordinators were selected as the focus of this work. In order to generate the data, two kindergarten schools, two primary schools and three language schools were visited. Classes were observed and interviews with the teachers of English, with the students’ parents and with the schools coordinators were conducted. It was verified that, independently of the workload offered by the school, using less or more English in the classroom was an option made by the teacher, in accordance to the school’s coordination. It was also observed that the most communicative the approach was, the more space to literacy was given. And it was checked that parents’, teachers’, and coordinators’ beliefs are pertinent but need to be heard in the context of the school in order to offer an effective and pleasant learning environment for the pupils.