[ES] La instrucción de género denominada narrativa personal de no ficción o memorias, junto con el método de enseñanza Harkness en la expresión escrita del español como lengua extranjera, demostrará en el contexto particular de una universidad americana en España y en Estados Unidos un desarrollo superior de esta habilidad y desempeño. A la autora de esta tesis le gustaría contribuir a una tan esperada presencia de la escritura del español como L2 en la literatura de investigación. Este estudio trata de desarrollar en las clases de ELE para estudiantes americanos nuevos métodos que logren despertar el deseo, ya que no existe en este contexto la necesidad, de aprender español. A partir de la experiencia en la enseñanza del español a estudiantes universitarios y de secundaria estadounidenses, por un lado, en Estados Unidos como requisito obligatorio por parte de la universidad para el crédito en lenguas extranjeras y, por otro lado, en programas académicos estadounidenses de inmersión en España (en ambos casos siguiendo los libros y el método impuesto por las universidades) es común que estudiantes y profesores estén insatisfechos. La intención es demostrar que con la pedagogía Harkness y la enseñanza de la expresión escrita a través del género ensayo personal, es posible crear un currículo académico donde se obtienen claras mejoras en el aprendizaje final. Además, crea un ambiente donde los estudiantes están motivados y felices de aprender un segundo idioma. Se podría llevar a cabo la construcción de género y de la pedagogía basada en el género en un primer plano socio-contextual, de manera que permitan a los alumnos de ELE ver el contenido en términos de lenguaje desde el principio, en lugar de tener que integrarlos más tarde. Los programas de estudios universitarios de ELE tienen a su disposición la configuración de su destino, la calidad de su programa y el de los aprendizajes de sus alumnos. El objetivo se habrá logrado si el estudio ha convencido a los lectores de que los programas universitarios de ELE pueden revitalizarse aplicando una orientación humanística, al mismo tiempo, basada en el lenguaje. / [CA] L'orientació cap al gènere denominat non-fiction de la narrativa personal o Memoirs juntament amb el mètode Harkness d'ensenyament en l'expressió escrita d'ELE, en el context particular d'una Universitat Americana a Espanya i als Estats Units, demostrarà un desenvolupament més elevat de aquesta habilitat i del seu rendiment. L'autora d'aquesta tesi desitjaria contribuir a una llargament esperada presència de l'escriptura de l'espanyol com a L2 en la literatura d'investigació. Aquest estudi tracta de desenvolupar en les classes d'ELE per a estudiants americans nous mètodes que aconsegueixin despertar el desig, ja que no existeix en aquest context la necessitat, d'aprendre espanyol. Basat en l'experiència en ensenyar a estudiants universitaris americans espanyol, d'una banda, als Estats Units com a requeriment obligatori per part de la universitat de crèdit en llengües estrangeres i, de l'altra, en programes acadèmics americans d'immersió a Espanya (en els dos casos seguint els llibres i el mètode que imposen les universitats) és comú el desistiment i descontentament per part dels estudiants i professors. La intenció és demostrar que amb el mètode d'ensenyament Harkness juntament amb l'ensenyament de l'expressió escrita a través del gènere de l'assaig personal és possible crear un contingut acadèmic on no només s'obtenen clares millores de l'aprenentatge final, sinó que s'arriba a crear un ambient on els estudiants estan motivats i contents d'aprendre una segona llengua. Es podria dur a terme la construcció de gènere i de la pedagogia basada en el gènere en un primer pla soci-contextual, de manera que permetin als alumnes d'ELE veure el contingut en termes de llenguatge des del principi, en lloc d'haver de integrar-los posteriorment. S'haurà obtingut l'objectiu si l'estudi obté lectors convençuts que es poden revitalitzar programes universitaris d'ELA mitjançant l'aplicació d'una orientació humanista, a el mateix temps, basada en el llenguatge. / [EN] The gender instruction called the non-fiction personal narrative or memoirs, together with the Harkness method of teaching in the written expression of Spanish as a Foreign Language, will demonstrate in the particular context of an American University in Spain and in the US a higher development of this ability and performance. The author of this thesis would like to contribute to a long-awaited Spanish writing presence as L2 in the research literature. This study tries to develop in SFL classes for American universities and students' new methods that manage to awaken the desire since there is no need in this context to learn Spanish. Based on the experience in teaching Spanish to American university and high school students, on the one hand, in the United States as a mandatory requirement by the university for credit in foreign languages and, on the other hand, in American academic programs of immersion in Spain (in both cases following the books and the method imposed by the universities) it is common for students and teachers to be dissatisfied. The intention is to demonstrate that with the Harkness pedagogy and the teaching of written expression through the personal essay genre, it is possible to create an academic curriculum where clear improvements are obtained in the final learning. Besides, it creates an environment where students are motivated and happy to learn a second language. The construction of gender and gender-based instruction could be carried out in a socio-contextual foreground to allow SFL students to see the content in terms of language from the beginning, rather than having to integrate them later. SFL's university study programs have at their disposal shaping their destiny, the quality of their program, and that of their students' learning. The objective will have been achieved if the study has convinced readers that SFL university programs can be revitalized by applying a humanistic, at the same time, language-based orientation. / García Montes, P. (2021). Application of Genre and the Harkness Pedagogy for the Advanced Development of Writing Skills in Spanish in Foreign Language Courses [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/171795

This study offers insight into washback processes via interactions between the national test, teachers and students as well as raises questions about contemporary educational politics and standardized testing in EFL classrooms. Washback is a term for the effects a test has on teaching and learning. Standardized tests are given increased weight in Sweden and globally, risking an increase of washback. This development puts various properties of education at risk of being undermined. In Sweden, the national tests in ninth grade can be considered high-stake standardized tests since they should be particularly considered in grading. The oral subtest in English may involve specific issues due to socio-affective aspects and challenges of assessing foreign language speech. Through qualitative interviews with six English teachers in Sweden, this study explored their perceptions of washback effects of the oral subtest of English in the national tests in ninth grade. The results indicate substantial washback on teaching practices and learning behaviors, and that socio-affective aspects play a major role in teachers’ choices. Also, some teachers exhibit ambivalence to the content of the test and whether the test results should impact the grades.

This study is an attempt to determine the impact of teachers' attitudes on their classroom behaviour and therefore on their implementation of the Communicative Approach. A descriptive case study was conducted at six secondary schools in Harare, Zimbabwe (as ESL environment) to determine the effect of 38 O-level English teachers' attitudes on their classroom practice. Quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection, including a questionnaire, an observation instrument and a semistructured interview were used to gauge teachers' attitudes, assessing the extent to which attitudes are reflected in their classroom behaviour, and eliciting teachers' verbalisation of how they conceive of their professional task. The findings show that the effective implementation of the Communicative Approach was critically dependent on teachers' positive attitudes towards this approach in the five categories covered by this study. / Linguistics / M.A. (Applied Linguistics)

The growing diversity of school populations around the world means that for many learners the language of learning in mainstream classrooms is not their first language. The researcher would submit that content-based second language learning in a context such as a Science classroom is considered advantageous as it enables the learner to manipulate a target language such as English in a way which is meaningful. However, Science learners who have yet to achieve communicative competence in English are disadvantaged when it comes to developing a deep understanding of scientific concepts. Many mainstream Science educators have concerns about this significant group of learners who can be left on the periphery of the class to cope as best as they can. Very often educators aim to meet the needs of English Second Language (ESL) learners without any specific knowledge of the strategies which would enhance learning and ensure that learning environments encourage participation and interaction. The learners themselves have not only to deal with language and sociocultural issues but must face the cognitive demands of Science including negotiating its specialized language. The aim of this study was to investigate how the use of English as a language of learning and teaching Science in rural secondary schools in the Vlakfontein Circuit of the Limpopo Capricorn District, influenced the ability of Grade 8 students to learn Science. The focus was on the Grade 8 classes since they are at the threshold of their educational pursuit. The study had two main purposes. The first goal was to describe the current situation with respect to rural secondary school learners and their educators in selected learning environments in Vlakfontein Circuit. The second goal was to bring about improvement in the learners’ situations by employing specifically designed interventions. The study had three focal areas: the language; the teaching and learning environment; and the ESL learner. The investigation was conducted in disadvantaged rural secondary schools in the Vlakfontein Circuit in the Limpopo province. Observations of the Science classes revealed that, even for the learners with very limited English language proficiency there was little ESL specialist support available. The data analyzed was collected using a variety of data collection tools. The main data generation tools were observation, semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The analysis revealed that learners were lacking in Science register (terminology). This study also found out that non-technical language used in Science lessons affected the learners’ understanding much more than the educators were aware. Educators’ attitudes and beliefs strongly influenced the interaction and participation of ESL learners in Science classrooms. The study also revealed that developing language skills prevented ESL learners from asking questions and answering questions in class and academic progress in Science was impeded by limited opportunities for ESL learners to clarify their understanding. Further, the investigation established that achievement in Science and in education overall was affected by assessment instruments which were infused with specific linguistic or cultural knowledge. The study arrived at a conclusion that the needs of the research students could not be met by a programme based on the traditional format of ESP teaching. Hence, the researcher has recommended a Science Based English Programme (SBEP) which encapsulates several adjustments in orientation methods and materials to meet the ESL learners’ needs. This kind of learning-centred arrangement will allow not only efficiency of SBEP instruction but also allow the kinds of activities that may not be possible in groups with a wide dispersion of interests. However, the extent to which the research learners encountered difficulties with vocabulary suggests that there is a need to investigate more effective methods of dealing with this issue. Needed research could also be directed into the development of a Science glossary with appropriate language levels for ESL learners. This could include technical scientific terms with examples of how terms can be used.From the outcome of the interviews with educators, it is evident that further research is needed concerning the educators’ English proficiency and Science competence in ESL situations. / Teacher Education / D. Ed. (Didactics)

The aim of the research study, Combatting the Downward Spiral: Burnout, Support Networks and Coping Strategies of TESOL Teachers at Private Language Schools in Johannesburg, South Africa was firstly to determine whether TESOL teachers working in private language schools in Johannesburg, South Africa suffered from burnout. Secondly, the aim was to discover which factors caused stress for TESOL teachers inside and outside the classroom, what support structures were available for burned out TESOL teachers and the type of coping strategies TESOL teachers used to manage burnout. Using a mixed method design which consisted of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey and semi-structured interviews, the findings revealed that 46% of the TESOL teachers who participated in the research study were suffering from high levels of burnout. Interviews revealed three main areas that caused stress for TESOL teachers: the job of teaching, relationships at work and organisational and TESOL-related issues. These areas were divided further into various sub-themes. Furthermore, support structures for burned out TESOL teachers were generally inadequate and although TESOL teachers attempted to manage burnout by using a variety of coping strategies, these did not seem to be effective in the long-term. / English Studies / D. Lit. et Phil. (English)

Writing coherent essays is evidence of a university student's discourse competence and is important in terms of academic success. An analytical taxonomy of coherence breaks {both topic-related and cohesion-related), based on Wikborg (1985; 1990), was used to determine the frequency of coherence breaks in essays written by first-year English Second Language (ESL) students. A subset of these essays was selected for assessment of their holistic coherence (HCR) by raters. The major finding of the statistical tests is that there is a significant relationship between the frequency of coherence breaks, particularly topic-related coherence breaks, and holistic coherence. Furthermore, the relationship between the coherence of essays and marks awarded them was established. Tutor intervention was also found to have had a positive impact when draft and final versions were compared: in general, there was a decrease in the frequency of coherence breaks, and a greater perception of coherence in the final versions. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (Linguistics)

Teaching ESL continues to pose a big challenge in most schools in Zambia. This is due to the paucity of teaching resources. While the number of schools has increased, there has not been a corresponding increase in funding due to economic reasons. This study arose from the desire to find alternative resources to teach English as a second language effectively within the communicative language teaching (CLT) framework. A review of available literature has shown that literature can help students to acquire the four language skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking. / English Studies / M. A.

This dissertation examines effects of globalization on language, identity, and education through the case of four Korean jogi yuhak (early study abroad) students attending Toronto high schools. Resulting from a 2.4-year sociolinguistic ethnography on the language learning experiences of these students, the thesis explores how globalization--and the commodification of language and corporatization of education in the new economy, in particular--has transformed ideas of language, bilingualism, and language learning with respect to the transnational circulation of linguistic and symbolic resources in today‘s world. This thesis incorporates insights from critical social theories, linguistic anthropology, globalization studies, and sociolinguistics, and aims to propose a "globalization sensitive" Second Language Acquisition (SLA) theory. To better grasp the ways in which language learning is socially and politically embedded in new conditions generated by globalization, this new SLA theory conceives of language as a set of resources and bilingualism as a social construct, and examines language learning as an economic activity, shaped through encounters with the transnational language education industry. The analysis examines new transnational subjectivities of yuhaksaeng (visa students), which index hybrid identities that are simultaneously global and Korean. In their construction of themselves as "Cools" who are wealthy and cosmopolitan, yuhaksaeng deployed newly-valued varieties of Korean language and culture as resources in the globalized new economy. This practice, however, resulted in limits to their acquisition of forms of English capital valued in the Canadian market. As a Korean middle class strategy for acquiring valuable forms of English capital, jogi yuhak is caught in tension: while the ideology of language as a skill and capital to help an individual‘s social mobility drives the jogi yuhak movement, the essentialist ideology of "authentic" English makes it impossible for Koreans to work it to their advantage. The thesis argues that in multilingual societies, ethnic/racial/linguistic minorities‘ limited access to the acquisition of linguistic competence is produced by existing inequality, rather than their limited linguistic proficiency contributing to their marginal position. To counter naturalized social inequality seemingly linguistic in nature, language education in globalization should move away from essentialism toward process- and practice-oriented approaches to language, community, and identity.

Second language (L2) learners are a growing population in Canadian school systems, and acquisition of literacy skills is critical to their success in Canadian society. While much research has been devoted to writing development in first language (L1) learners, text-level writing remains relatively underexplored in L2 populations. The present study sought to address this gap by considering the relative contributions of component oral language and word-level literacy skills to writing in elementary students speaking English as a first (EL1) or second (EL2) language. A sample of 124 kindergarten students (56 EL1, 68 EL2) and 112 grade three students (51 EL1, 61 EL2) completed a battery of standardized measures assessing oral language, word-level literacy, and writing skills. An ordinary least squares (OLS) regression-based mediation path analysis was used to test associations among oral language, word-level literacy, and writing skills in each group. Results indicated that word-level literacy skills had a significant direct effect on writing in all groups, but that oral language had no significant direct effect on writing in any groups. Instead, the effect of oral language on writing was significantly mediated by word-level skills in the kindergarten EL1 and EL2 groups, and the grade three EL1 group. The indirect effect of oral language on writing through word-level skills was not significant in the grade three EL2 group. Despite this, no significant differences in variable associations were found between EL1 and EL2 groups in either grade. Oral language skills were additionally found to have a significant effect on word-level literacy skills in the kindergarten EL1 and EL2 groups and the grade three EL1 group; the significance of this effect in the grade three EL2 group was unclear. Results of this study are discussed in relation to existing literature, and existing theories of L1 and L2 writing. / Graduate

Despite a growing body of research on trainee teachers’ learning during pre-service programs, intensive introductory TESL training courses are still designed to instruct a “standard” type of trainee teacher. This research study investigates the factors that mediate trainee teachers’ learning process as well as the interaction between these factors, which either facilitate and/or hinder trainee teachers’ success during an intensive introductory TESL training course. Using a qualitative holistic single-case study, informed by an interpretivist perspective, this study explores how three trainee teachers learned how to teach during a course in Southern Ontario, Canada. An integrated conceptual framework, formed by a sociocultural perspective of teacher learning, a holistic view of curriculum, and transformative pedagogy was employed and the findings include four major factors that mediated trainee teachers’ teacher learning process and three types of interaction that facilitated and/or hindered their success during the program.