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This thesis investigates changes in Chinese undergraduate students’ language learning motivation during the transition from their home cultural setting to the host cultural setting, while studying on a China-UK 2+1 collaborative programme at the University of Bedfordshire. Since the 1990s, there has been growing attention to research on L2 motivation in classroom or other educational settings. To bridge the gap between general and L2 motivational theories, a number of theoretical frameworks have been developed. The most comprehensive of these is Dörnyei’s (1994a) three-level motivational framework. However, there is as yet little empirical evidence to verify this. The study employed mixed methods. Firstly, in order to identify whether these students’ language learning motivation changed over time, a two stage questionnaire survey was carried out with 158 students. Questionnaires were first administered in October shortly after students arrived in the UK to begin their courses and again in May when they were close to completing their degrees. Factor analysis was used to verify the structure of the questionnaire. Paired t-tests were used to evaluate whether significant changes had occurred in each of the motivational dimensions addressed. Secondly, in-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted with 14 of the questionnaire respondents. The interviews explored motivational change in more open-ended fashion and in greater depth. Students’ comments were transcribed, translated and categorised on the basis of Dörnyei’s (1994a) framework. The conclusions, triangulated by both the key findings and the interview results, indicate that Chinese students have strong instrumental orientations and that their language learning motivation changes significantly at the Learner Level and Language Learning Situation Level of the framework. Some patterns underlying these changes were also discovered. The research findings additionally served to support the applicability of the Dörnyei (1994a) framework. Based on the empirical research findings, some practical recommendations are offered respectively for Chinese students and academic staff. These include: 1) The university should provide more information, or relevant training, about the British academic system and culture. 2) Academic staff need to understand Chinese students more fully and might adjust their teaching style to accommodate them. 3) There is a need for the university to redesign the academic English module to help students efficiently cope with their studies in the UK.

This study has been undertaken using an interpretive methodology in order to examine the socially constructed views of Saudi EFL teachers and their decision-making with regards to the appropriate cultural models for EFL textbooks in Saudi public schools. The study also examines the factors affecting the teachers’ views and how they apply their beliefs in their classrooms. In addition, the study will also examine if the Saudi EFL teachers have any concerns about what they have been through and examined and accordingly investigates how they address their pedagogical decision-making in the classroom. Moreover, this study is interested in looking at EFL teachers as local teachers teaching a global language. In view of the exploratory nature of this study and its context-specificity, the naturalistic orientation of interpretive and social constructivism as an epistemological stance were selected. The research design employed a concurrent mixed methods design using an adapted version of Cresswell (1996). In this study, the participants were Saudi Arabian EFL teachers from one city in Saudi Arabia teaching in all of the three public education levels (primary, intermediate and secondary). The data collected were both qualitative (interviews and open-ended questionnaires) and quantitative (close-ended questionnaires). For the interviews, 14 male and female teachers equally interviewed, whereas for the questionnaires 280 male and female participated. The data collection of both data qualitative and quantitative occurred at the same time during my field journey in 2009 in Saudi Arabia. I used the SPSS descriptive statistics for the analysing the quantitative data and used exploratory content analysis for the qualitative data. The study findings revealed that the Saudi EFL teachers were not satisfied with the cultural content currently promoted in the Textbooks as they inappropriately contradict the local cultural values. Thus, they believe that for a better cultural content, the textbooks should therefore include a mixture of different cultures that do not mismatch with the local. And as they are controlled by some educational and social factors, they are limited to practice what they think is appropriate to apply in the classroom, therefore, their decision-making in this regards to some extent are to be controlled. In addition, the findings of the current study revealed that the Saudi EFL teachers show their openness to other cultures based on their glocal position as local Saudis teaching a global language. The conclusion of the study has some suggestion and implications to improve the cultural content of the EFL textbooks as well as implications for the EFL teachers in general and their practices and decision-making with regards to the textbook. Furthermore, the study proposed a model for the appropriate EFL textbooks for each educational level and can be applied locally in the Saudi context and globally for other similar context around the world.

In Second Language Acquisition (SLA)literature there has been a considerable theoretical debate over the issue of teachers’ use of the students’ first language, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as ‘code-switching’. Yet to date there has been little study of the effect of teachers’ use of code-switching (CS) on the second language learning itself. Therefore the aim of this research was to study the effect of teachers’ CS on the learning of English word meanings by two age groups – 19- and 12-year–old EFL students in Korea. To this end, this study implemented a quasi-experimental design but conducive to ecological validity, drawing on intact EFL classrooms of two kinds: one with monolingual English teachers (English-only condition) and the other with bilingual teachers who speak mainly English but occasionally switch to Korean to explain unknown English words (CS condition). Under these two different instructional types, the participants – 286 adult and 443 young learners – were encouraged to learn previously unknown English words, drawn from reading texts, through their teachers’ explanations. The study also employed a participant questionnaire and follow-up interviews, so as to shed light on the issue of teacher CS from the learners’ perspective. The results reveal that, for both age groups, the teachers’ CS by and large yielded better learning results, in terms of vocabulary gains, than English-only instruction. However, an inspection of the effect sizes further shows that young learners, compared with adult ones, might benefit from the CS environment to an even greater degree in the learning of vocabulary. The findings from the questionnaire and interviews further suggest that this differential effect of teachers’ CS might be due to the young learners’ overwhelming preference for teachers’ CS in learning English. These differences both in results and learner perceptions are explained as resulting from proficiency levels on the one hand and levels of learning experience on the other. Having discovered these differential effects of teachers’ CS on the two age groups, the findings of the present thesis call for a reconsideration of pedagogical decisions regarding L2-only instruction, in particular for young L2 learners.

Title: The Use of Media in the EFL Classrooms at Secondary Schools in the 21st Century Author: Bc. Lucie Slavíková Department: Department of English Language and Literature Supervisor: PhDr. Radek Vít, Ph.D. Abstract The aim of this diploma thesis is to explore and compare various types of the old and the new media, which are commonly used in the EFL classrooms at the Czech secondary schools in the 21st century. The key question is to what extent are the new media implemented into the English lessons at the Czech grammar and secondary technical and vocational schools. The findings of the online questionnaire survey, which was conducted on the random sample of the Czech secondary school teachers of English and on the sample of the 15 or 16 years old first grade secondary school students of English proved that both the old and the new media are commonly used in the English lessons. However, despite the fact that the lives of the 21st century students are largely influenced by the new media, the English teachers use the old media more often. It is recommended that more initiatives and programmes should be directed at the promotion of the implementation of the new media into the English lessons and also at the training of the teachers in using them effectively. Key words English language teaching, media...

Orientador: Solange Aranha / Banca: Ana Mariza Benedetti / Banca: Rita de Cássia Barbirato / Resumo: A presente pesquisa, qualitativa e de base etnográfica, tem como objetivo geral analisar como se dá a interação dos aprendizes em pares ou grupos maiores em um processo de ensino/aprendizagem de língua inglesa por meio de aulas que se pautam pelo uso de tarefas comunicativas e pré-comunicativas em uma faculdade particular do noroeste paulista. Também será investigada, neste trabalho, a melhora da proficiência na língua-alvo dos aprendizes após o processo. Para a coleta de dados foram utilizados diários de pesquisa do professor pesquisador, gravações em áudio e vídeo da sala de aula, gravações apenas em áudio das interações dos alunos trabalhando em pares ou grupos maiores, questionários aplicados aos discentes e um teste de proficiência que foi aplicado no início e final do ano letivo de 2007, ano em que se deu a coleta de dados para esta pesquisa. O arcabouço teórico se fundamenta em estudos sobre tarefas de autores como Prabhu (1987), Nunan (1992) Candlin (1987), Barbirato (1999, 2005) entre outros. A análise panorâmica dos resultados demonstrou que o trabalho em que coexistiram tarefas comunicativas e pré-comunicativas pôde ser alternativa para o ensino/aprendizagem de língua inglesa no contexto investigado, onde havia limitação linguístico-comunicativa prévia na língua-alvo detectada na maioria dos participantes. Também foi possível averiguar que o trabalho com tarefas possibilitou esforço colaborativo entre os aprendizes, momentos de explicitação da forma, léxico ou pronúncia da língua-alvo, geradas a partir da própria interação proposta pela tarefa e imediatamente inseridos na negociação da mesma. Também foi percebido, a partir dos dados, que houve considerável melhora da proficiência auditiva, lexical e gramatical dos alunos na língua-alvo após o trabalho do ano letivo de 2007, ano em que foram inseridas as tarefas investigadas... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This qualitative and ethnographic research aims at analyzing how is the interaction of the learners working in pairs or bigger groups happens in a process of English teaching/learning process through classes based on the use of communicative and pré-communicative tasks in a private college situated in the northeast of the state of São Paulo. We also investigate, in this research, the improvement of the learners' proficiency in the target language after the process. In order to collect the data we used audio-visual records of the classroom, audio records of learners working in pairs or bigger groups, questionnaires applied to the learners and a proficiency test applied to the students in the beginning and in the end of the year of 2007, period when the data were collected. The theoretical framework is based on the studies about tasks of Prabhu (1987), Nunan (1992), Candlin (1987), Barbirato (1999, 2005) among others. The panoramic analysis of the results demonstrated that the co-existence of communicative and pre-communicative tasks could be an alternative to the English language teaching/learning in the studied context, where there was prior linguisticcommunicative limitation of the research participants. It was also possible to check that the task work promoted collaborative effort among the learners, form, lexical and pronunciation explanation moments, created by the task interaction and immediately included in the negotiation of the task. We could also realize, by the data, that there was a considerable improvement of the listening, lexical and grammatical proficiency in the learners after the work in the year of 2007, when the tasks and other activities that were analyzed in this research were included. / Mestre

Esta pesquisa lançou mão da autoetnografia, viés metodológico que transita entre a etnografia e a autobiografia, por meio de observações e auto-observações, para investigar em que medida as teorias de Letramentos (KALANTZIS; COPE 2000, 2008a, LANKSHEAR; KNOBEL, 2003, 2006, 2013, KRESS, 2003, 2010, GEE, 2004) se adequam ou não ao ensino de inglês nos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental-I público, em uma escola da periferia do município de Osasco, na grande São Paulo. Buscou-se, assim, analisar uma proposta pedagógico-educacional orientada pelas referidas teorias, elaborada pelo pesquisador e implementada na escola investigada. O foco de observação e análise foi o desenvolvimento do senso crítico, no que tange aos alunos, e também as estratégias para o ensino de inglês e a atuação do professor-pesquisador nesta proposta. Objetivou-se examinar as epistemologias relacionadas às visões de ensino de língua deste contexto, bem como problematizar outras maneiras de se abordar o ensino da língua inglesa de forma crítica que levassem em conta as características específicas dos indivíduos e do contexto investigado. Considerando-se a existência de graves problemas, tais como a escassez de recursos didáticos e tecnológicos, a falta de espaços adequados para as práticas pedagógicas, o número excessivo de alunos por sala de aula e diversas outras questões de ordem econômica e social, a hipótese levantada é que tais fatores não seriam impedimentos para o desenvolvimento de práticas com um enfoque mais situado, promovendo um ensino plural, pautado na diversidade presente na escola pública, a fim de promover a agência dos alunos e uma educação mais crítica. Constatou-se, a partir da literatura consultada e da análise das orientações curriculares municipais, que as habilidades tradicionalmente trabalhadas no Ensino Fundamental-I público não levam em conta os novos paradigmas da comunicação e da educação. Além disso, a análise dos dados demonstrou haver certa desatualização pedagógica no campo investigado, bem como uma distância entre as práticas observadas e as orientações curriculares que existem atualmente. Finalmente, a tese defendida neste trabalho é a de que, para o desenvolvimento de propostas pedagógico-educacionais orientadas pelas teorias de Letramentos no Ensino Fundamental-I público, é importante considerar, sobretudo, o contexto dos sujeitos, da escola e da comunidade em que as práticas ocorrem. Acrescenta-se que o emprego de recursos de tecnologia digital não é imprescindível para o desenvolvimento da cidadania, da agência e da diversidade no contexto investigado. / This research resorted to autoethnography as a methodological perspective that transits across the ethnography and the biography, through observations and selfobservations, in order to investigate to what extent Literacies theories (KALANTZIS; COPE 2000, 2008a, LANKSHEAR; KNOBEL, 2003, 2006, 2013, KRESS, 2003, 2010, GEE, 2004) suit or not the teaching of English in the early years of Elementary School, in a school located in the outskirts of Osasco, in São Paulo. The study looked at a pedagogical/educational proposal guided by the referred theories, developed by the researcher and implemented in the aforementioned school. The focus of the analysis was the development of the critical sense, as regards the students; the strategies for the teaching of English; and the performance of the teacher/researcher in this proposal. Some of the main objectives were to examine the epistemologies related to the conceptions of language teaching in this context and to problematize other manners to approach the English language teaching in a critical way in view of the peculiar characteristics of the individuals and the field. Considering the existence of serious issues, such as the lack of didactical and technological resources, the lack of suitable spaces for the pedagogical practices, the large number of students per class and several other economic and social problems, the working hypothesis assumes that these issues do not impede the development of situated practices. These practices aimed to develop a plural teaching based on the diversity that takes place in the public school in order to promote the students\' agency and a critical education. Based on the theoretical framework consulted and the municipal curricular guidelines, the study verified that the skills traditionally worked in Elementary School do not take into account the new paradigms of communication and education. The data analysis demonstrated that the field was pedagogically outdated. Besides, there was a certain distance between the observed practices and the current curricular guidelines. Finally, we came to the conclusion that in order to develop pedagogical/educational proposals guided by Literacy theories in public Elementary School it is important to consider the context of the individuals as well as the context of the school and the community where the practices occur. Also, in the context investigated the use of digital technologies is not indispensable in order to develop concepts such as citizenship, agency and diversity.

Este trabalho buscou investigar os usos do Caderno do Aluno de Língua Inglesa, material impresso de apoio, semelhante a um livro didático, veiculado pela recente Proposta Curricular (2008), para as escolas públicas do Estado de São Paulo, disponível nas escolas a partir de 2009. Para tal, foi realizada uma pesquisa de cunho qualitativo e inspiração etnográfica, na qual foram entrevistados dez professores de língua inglesa de Rede Pública Estadual com o objetivo de conhecermos algumas de suas percepções referentes ao uso do Caderno do Aluno, com base nas considerações delineadas por Lefebvre (1980;1981) e Penin (1989;1995), a respeito do estudo da das representações e da vida cotidiana. Foi acompanhado, também, um professor da disciplina durante o segundo semestre de 2009 e primeiro de 2010 para que fossem observadas suas aulas nas classes de 5ª à 8ª séries. As observações, registros, transcrições e análises foram realizadas com base nas diretrizes enunciadas por Rockwell (1987), que descreve as características e procedimentos da pesquisa etnográfica. O estudo indica que a nova organização curricular e o instrumento impresso trouxeram mudanças positivas para a rotinas das aulas de inglês. No entanto, observamos que não houve alterações substancias na rotina das aulas em relação à concepção de ensino da disciplina, historicamente focada no estudo das estruturas da língua. Finalmente, é apresentada uma reflexão acerca das características que envolvem o estudo qualitativo, à luz das proposições de Hammersley (1989, 1993). Objetivamos assim, promover uma discussão sobre a metodologia para que esta seja novamente utilizada em outros estudos, referentes à mesma temática, ampliando o escopo de pesquisas sobre o ensino de língua inglesa na escola pública no futuro. / The objective of this work was to investigate the uses of the Caderno do Aluno de Lingua Inglesa (Student\'s English Notebook), the recently printed school material, similar to a school book , created and distributed due by the new Proposta Curricular (2008) and meant to be used in the public schools of São Paulo state. In order to do so, qualitative research was conducted, inspired by the ethnographic approach and ten English language teachers were interviewed, so that we could observe their perceptions and representations towards the use of the Notebook, based on the considerations placed by Lefebvfre (1980,1981) and Penin (1989, 1995). Also, a state school teacher was observed while dealing with his ten to fifteen- year-old students during the second semester of 2009 and first of 2010. The observation register and data analyses were based on Rockwell´s description and definition of the ethnographic procedures. The study indicates that the new curriculum and the printed tool, the notebook have brought positive changes to the routine of teachers and students. However, it was observed that there were no deeper changes into the teaching routine of the subject, historically focused on the study of the language structures. Finally, we provide the reader with some reflexions over qualitative study based on the proposition stated by Hammersley (1989, 1993) so that we can help spreading the approach in a sense that it might inspire and broaden the range of studies about the teaching English as a Foreign Language in public schools in the future.

This diploma thesis deals with teaching English to children with specific learning disabilities and educational problems. The theoretical part describes the most frequent educational problems of children and adolescents. Further attention is paid to the problems of specific learning difficulties, the causes of their origin and their manifestations in teaching English at middle school. Finally, the thesis deals with the methodological principles for foreign language teaching of children with specific learning disabilities. The research part is based on the case studies of children placed in specialized facilities due to their educational problems. I participated in individual assistance to two concrete children and I worked out case studies based on our cooperation. The aim of the empirical part is to choose a suitable individual approach to two concrete children, realize it, and reflect it in depth.

A presente pesquisa de natureza qualitativa com características colaborativa e etnográfica crítica buscou investigar a formação de professores de língua inglesa via dois documentos oficiais voltados para o segmento do ensino Médio (as Orientações Curriculares para o Ensino Médio Língua Inglesa e o Referencial Curricular para o Ensino de Língua Inglesa do Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul). O trabalho fundamentou-se principalmente nos estudos sobre globalização, educação, letramentos, linguística aplicada, políticas linguísticas e filosofia. Por meio de um trabalho colaborativo de três anos com três professoras de inglês, os dados foram coletados de gravações em áudio dos momentos de interação entre o pesquisador e as professoras colaboradoras na fase de discussão dos documentos oficiais. Foram ainda utilizados nas análises dos dados um palestra proferida pelas professoras, entrevista, diário de campo gravação dos depoimentos dos alunos, bem como o depoimento da diretora da escola. A análise fundamenta-se principalmente nos seguintes enfoques abordados neste trabalho: a descrição do contexto de ensino aprendizagem na escola participante; a verificação do que a discussão dos documentos oficiais pode informar sobre a prática das professoras; a discussão do ensino da língua inglesa em uma sociedade globalizada; a verificação sobre o conhecimento local e reconstrução deste a partir de um trabalho colaborativo entre escola pública e universidade e, por fim, o debate sobe a lógica de emancipação revisitada na formação de professores. / The current research of qualitative nature with collaborative and critical etnography characteristics aimed at investigating teacher education based on two official documents both addressed to the high school segment (Orientações Curriculares para o Ensino Médio Língua Inglesa; Referencial Curricular para o Ensino de Língua Inglesa do Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul). The work particularly focused on globalization, education, literacies, applied linguistics, language policy and philosophy. Under a three year collaborative work with three English teachers, data were gathered from audio recordings during the moments of interactions between the researcher and the teachers in the phase of document discussion. Furthermore, analyses have relied on lecturers delivered by the teachers, interviews, diaries and recordings of students´ reports as well as the school principal´s recorded reports. Analyses have addressed the following aspects raised in this study: Description of school teaching and learning contexts; investigation of what discussion of official documents can inform about teachers´ practices; discussion of English language teaching in a globalized society; local knowledge reconstruction through the collaboration between public school and university and, lastly, the logic of emancipation was revisited in the analysis of teacher education.