Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Debbie K. Mercer / Fostering student engagement in classes aligns with requirements from the latest national college English curriculum issued in 2015 in China. However, abundant research has identified that both intrinsic and extrinsic obstacles impede the creation of an authentic student-centered learning environment. Meanwhile, limited research studies have evaluated instructors’ perspectives toward student engagement at the undergraduate level embedded in the Chinese examination-oriented educational system. Therefore, this qualitative study investigated four English instructors’ experiences in student engagement and relationship building with their students in postsecondary English classes. This study was confined to English education to non-English major students in the context of Chinese higher education. Research questions were answered through a multiple case study approach guided by Self-Determination Theory, emphasizing the uniqueness of each participant’s experiences and construction of meaning. Triangulation, participants’ member check, and peer debriefing achieved the trustworthiness and rigor of the findings of this study. Results indicate that the four participants appreciated student engagement and confirmed including group class activities and fostering rapport with students as effective ways to increase student engagement. Accordingly, participants viewed themselves as organizers, facilitators, counselors, and resources. Instructors’ beliefs and students’ motivation in English teaching and learning influenced the level of student engagement. Participants struggled with constraints from large class sizes, limited pedagogical knowledge, and shortage of educational technology support. On this basis, a reformation in English curriculum and teacher credentialing is recommended to enhance student engagement. For future studies, empirical research should examine the correlational relationship between engaged pedagogies and academic performance. Further exploration of student engagement from the student perspective is also recommended to identify the most engaging pedagogical practices.

Concerned to comprehend the teaching efficacy of English teachers in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, this thesis investigated contentions by principals, retired teachers and resource personnel that Sri Lankan teachers’ lack of teaching effectiveness (teaching behaviours that influence student learning) accounted for students’ low English attainment; and counter claims by English teachers that their teaching efficacy (beliefs in their abilities to affect student learning) was undermined by classroom and other-related problems. This mixed-method research comprised two stages. In a preliminary study, 298 students and twenty-four teachers from twelve secondary schools participated in a survey designed to understand challenges encountered in the teaching and learning of English. With a similar purpose, thirty-four English lessons involving 320 students and ten teachers were observed. Interviews concerning the aspects underpinning effective English teaching were conducted with five principals, three English resource personnel and three retired teachers. In the main study, sixty-two teachers from thirty-five secondary schools were surveyed and twenty interviewed to identify factors which affected the teaching efficacy of English teachers. Participating schools were categorized vis-à-vis their students’ performance: low-performing and high-performing. Findings support English teachers’ views concerning their teaching efficacy. Teacher perception revealed associations between the lack of teaching efficacy of English teachers in low and high-performing schools, and teacher background/parental duties/self-development, classroom problems and inadequate educational resources. No explicit evidence was found that students’ poor English attainment in low-performing schools was due to their teachers’ lack of teaching effectiveness. Observations showed that students were deprived of external resources which assisted students in high-performing schools to become proficient in English. New insights about Jaffna teachers’ efficacy indicate the need for a more context-specific English language curriculum in Sri Lanka, informed by teachers’ knowledge of their students’ English learning needs at a local level if teaching efficacy and English attainment are to be enhanced.

The Aspect Hypothesis (Andersen & Shirai, 1994; 1996) proposes that the inherent lexical aspect of verbs plays a major role in the acquisition of tense-aspect (TA) morphology in both first and second language. This has been attested in most studies on TA morphology conducted with past and present TA markers. The present study examined the acquisition of Present Perfect, a rather insufficiently studied TA form from a Prototype Account, in two of its four functions, Experiential Past and Persistent Situation. The subjects were 85 L1-Spanish English language learners at intermediate and advanced levels. All participants had received formal instruction in English grammar as part of their curriculum. The data was collected through a forced-choice task with 16 situations equally distributed between the two Present Perfect functions and between telic and atelic verbs of four semantic categories: stative, activities, achievements, and accomplishments. Participants had to choose the correct verb form out of three options (Present, Past or Present Perfect) that would best complete the sentences given. The results showed evidence of clear developmental stages in the acquisition of the Present Perfect. The stages were characterized by an important role of proficiency level and lexical aspect as the more proficient participants showed a more accurate use of the target form. In addition, both the intermediate and advanced groups showed a tendency towards employing Persistent Situation with atelic verb types, whereas they used Experiential Past with telic verbs. Contrary to the predictions of the AH, the use that seemed to be first acquired and easier to learn was Persistent Situation, which obtained higher correctness rates in both groups than Experiential Past. When the results were analyzed across each aspectual verb type, the pattern of acquisition was less clear and thereby partly met the claims of the AH. This irregular trend attested in the data encouraged the argument that the acquisition of the functions of the Present Perfect may not be solely influenced by lexical aspect and verb prototypicality but several other factors may be at stake, such as sentence-type effect, input distribution, L1 transfer and rote-learned forms. Therefore, developmental stages in the acquisition of the Present Perfect should be examined in view of an interplay of "multiple factors" as already proposed by Sugaya and Shirai (2007), which work simultaneously and in a complementary fashion in the acquisitional process of TA morphology.

The globalization of the English language has rendered both positive and negative impacts to countries around the world. With the ever-increasing pervasiveness of the English language, many non-native-English-speaking (NNES hereafter) people and countries have shown growing interests in teaching and learning English. Some governments of these NNES countries have decided to implement “English” as a mandatory school subject into their compulsory curriculum in order to “connect with the world” and/or to increase their nation’s international image. However, in these NNES countries, English often does not hold official capacity and is taught as a foreign language (EFL). Although English (language) education can bring positive changes to a nation, it is not free of problems. Essentially, English education influences many NNES countries and their citizens in sociocultural, economic, and educational arenas. Some scholars, such as Tsuda (2008), assert that the “problems” and impacts are inseparable from “English language hegemony.” My country of origin, Taiwan, is one of the EFL and NNES countries that implements English education in our nation’s compulsory education. In recent decades, communicative-based English educational approaches have received great support from the Taiwanese Ministry of Education. In an EFL setting, such as that in Taiwan, the said educational approaches have complicated English education even further. In particular, the communicative-based approaches focus on teaching and practicing English oral proficiency, which average Taiwanese citizens do not need in their daily lives. Many Taiwanese people experience identity struggles and self-esteem issues because of their less-than-desirable English oral proficiency. In addition to Taiwanese, native-English-speaking (NES) teachers who are recruited to teach English in Taiwan are an integral part of the Taiwanese English education. As a Taiwanese citizen and an intercultural communication scholar, I recognize the intricate complexity of Taiwanese English education and am compelled to examine it in this dissertation as it has not received much attention in the discipline of Communication Studies. In this dissertation, I employ Identity Management Theory (IMT) (Cupach & Imahori, 1993; Imahori & Cupach, 2005) as the primary theoretical framework to examine Taiwanese English education. Particularly, I utilize IMT to study the identity construction and management (such as identity freezing), facework strategies, and intercultural relationship development among NES teachers, Taiwanese English teachers, and Taiwanese students. To carry out this research, I employ critical complete-member ethnography (CCME) (Toyosaki, 2011) as the central research methodology, because I see myself as a complete-member researcher with my research participants. I share complete-memberships with them in nuanced, complex, and contextual manners. Methodologically, CCME entails ethnography of communication, autoethnography, and critical ethnography; all are informative of my data collection methods, including ethnographic participant observation, ethnographic interview, and autoethnographic journaling inside and outside of English classes at different Taiwanese universities. These three methods helped me gather rich data for this research. To analyze and discuss the data, I employed thematic analysis (Owen, 1984) and critical examinations of consensual and conflictual theorization (Fiske, 1991; Toyosaki, 2011). Both methods render complex findings. In particular, the analysis and discussion reveal and explain (a) how the research participants manage cultural identities through marking scope, salience, and intensity with different English educational participants, (b) how they apply facework strategies to cope with identity freezing experiences, and (c) how they establish and maintain intercultural relationships with other English educational participants as they transition across different relational phases of their relationships. I deliver the findings thematically in an analytical and narrative-like manner, as I layer and weave together the field notes, the interview responses, and my autoethnographic journaling. Ultimately, I argue that English hegemony has glocalized in Taiwanese English education and is manifested through research participants’ identity management politics and their intercultural relationships. Essentially, my research shows that identity management politics is inseparable from the power differentials and inequalities imbued in Taiwanese English education. Voluntarily and/or involuntarily, the research participants and I have normalized English hegemony, embodied its presence in our knowledge production and consumption, and given English/Western ideologies consent to dominate our communicative choices, our (sub)consciousness, and our intercultural relationships. Aside from perpetuating English hegemony, I have also observed resistance against the said hegemonic impacts inside and outside of the English classrooms. In a power-laden intercultural communication context, such as Taiwanese English education, critical analyses and examinations play essential roles in revealing the identity management politics and power differentials embedded in the (mythically) “innocent” English classrooms. I further recognize how this research serves as an example to other EFL and NNES countries. In due course, I conclude that my research makes contributions to the scholarships of intercultural communication and to English education in Taiwan and beyond.

Esta tese investiga, sob a perspectiva da Linguística Sistêmico-Funcional (HALLIDAY e MATTHIESSEN, 2004,2014), os processos de retextualização empregados por estudantes de inglês como língua estrangeira na produção de textos em contextos acadêmicos. O conceito retextualização (MARCUSCHI, 2001) constitui-se na produção de um novo texto a partir de um ou mais texto(s)-fonte e trata-se de prática comum em contextos acadêmicos. Tem-se como objetivo verificar as operações de retextualização relacionadas às metafunções da linguagem – ideacional, interpessoal e textual - e como essas se materializam nos respectivos sistemas léxico-gramaticais e no gênero específico no qual se enquadram. O corpus constituise de retextualizações produzidas a partir de diferentes texto(s)-fonte. Os resultados indicam que as estratégias de retextualização estão intimamente relacionadas ao conhecimento da função que etapas e fases dos gêneros desempenham na construção de significados. Procurase contribuir para as práticas de escrita em ILE em contextos acadêmicos, oferecendo uma abordagem sistêmico-funcional dos processos de retextualização envolvidos no desenvolvimento dessa habilidade. / This study investigates, under the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistics (HALLIDAY and MATTHIESSEN, 2004, 2014), the retextualization processes learners of English as a Foreign Language use when writing texts in academic contexts. Retextualization (MARCUSCHI, 2001) is understood as the production of a new text based on one or more source-texts and is a recurrent practice in academic contexts. The study investigated the processes of retextualization related to the metafunctions of language –ideational, experiential and textual- and their realization in the respective lexicogrammar structures as well as in the specific genre to which they are related. The corpus comprises retextualizations produced from different source-texts. The results indicate that the retextualization strategies are intimately connected to the knowledge of the function the stages and phases of the genres play in the construction of meaning. The purpose of the study is to contribute to writing practices of English as a Foreign Language in academic contexts, putting forward a systemic-functional approach to the retextualization processes involved in the development of writing skills.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:25:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2771.pdf: 10882459 bytes, checksum: 801d88f64d272c2fa1574fb040c74758 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-08-31 / This research was motivated by debates against and in support of grammar instruction in English as Foreign Language (EFL)/ English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching. Some studies, opposed to explicit grammatical instruction, do not believe that formal grammar lessons can develop the ability of using the target-language into spontaneous communication. They also advocate that grammar instruction can only develop short term declarative knowledge of grammar. On the other hand, this investigation aimed to observe the results of a one semester EFL course focused on form, whose purpose was to evaluate participants ability to use target language in communicative activities. The study is based on Batstone s (1994) noticing activities, which means attention to and manipulation of form. We also proposed meaning-focused communicative tasks. It is a qualitative study based on observing the process of accuracy development through multiple tests: before, during and after the grammar-focused intervention. According to Ortega & Iberri-Shea (2005), a 6 month period is enough to classify it as a longitudinal research. The study was developed into a high school first grade classroom of a semi-private school. The 20 participants, aged between 14 and 16, were exposed to grammar as Batstone suggests. The target-language item was the simple present, defined after a diagnostic test. / Este estudo partiu da discussão acerca da inclusão/ exclusão da gramática no currículo de ensino de línguas estrangeiras ou de segunda língua (doravante LE e L2). Algumas propostas, contrárias a qualquer foco consciente na forma, negam a possibilidade de que a atenção à estrutura da língua possa resultar em uso de formas-alvo em situações espontâneas de comunicação. Afirmam ainda que resultados positivos do ensino da gramática só podem ser observados em avaliações que meçam conhecimento metalinguístico em curto prazo. Na contramão a essas afirmações, o objetivo desse estudo foi observar os resultados obtidos em um semestre de um curso de inglês como LE com foco na forma, cuja avaliação mediu a automatização de formas linguísticas específicas, em um contexto de comunicação que requereu, não explicitamente, seu uso. Para tal, seguimos, sobretudo, a proposta de Batstone (1994), denominada pelo autor de noticing, que prevê a atenção à forma e sua manipulação ativa. Além desse enfoque, a intervenção foi organizada a partir da discussão de temas e foram propostas atividades comunicativas, com foco no sentido. Trata-se de um estudo qualitativo, que observou o processo de desenvolvimento da acuidade linguística em avaliações múltiplas, ou seja, com a coleta de dados em diferentes momentos desse desenvolvimento, a saber: antes, durante e após o período de intervenção, que foi de 6 meses. De acordo com Ortega e Iberri-Shea (2005), esse período de observação parece ser suficiente para caracterizar a pesquisa como longitudinal. O contexto da pesquisa foi o ambiente instrucional de uma sala de aula do primeiro ano do ensino médio de uma escola semiprivada. Os participantes, 20 alunos cuja idade varia entre 14 e 16 anos, foram expostos à estrutura-alvo segundo a proposta de Batstone. Essa estrutura foi o presente simples, estrutura definida como necessária após a aplicação de avaliação diagnóstica.

This essay examines whether a group of adult students of upper secondary school level are instrumentally and/or integratively motivated to learn English as a foreign language. The study also examines if there are any similarities/differences between the students in the different motivation categories classroom experience. This essay is based on a quantitative questionnaire. The questionnaire was answered by adult students who were studying English 5 at upper secondary level in Sweden. The results show that some of the students were instrumentally motivated by factors such as their desire to enter university or get a good job. They were also motivated by the notion that the English language is useful when working abroad. Furthermore, some of the students were integratively motivated by factors such as their desire to develop their language skills so they would be able to use them abroad when travelling. Some of the students, however, were both instrumentally and integratively motivated and the key factors which motivated them were combinations of instrumental and integrative elements. The instrumentally and the integratively motivated students’ classroom experiences were overall positive where the teachers were described in a positive light. The students who were both instrumentally and integratively motivated, however, were less positive than the other students regarding their classroom experiences and their descriptions of their teachers.

This study is an investigation of Libyan English language novice teachers' experiences during their first three years after qualifying. Its aim is to inform the development of an induction framework for supporting newcomers to the profession in secondary schools. In this mixed methods study I employed a two-pronged approach: quantitative methods for mapping the territory and to see the wider picture, and qualitative methods to gain an in-depth understanding of the teachers' experiences and thoughts during their first three years of teaching. Quantitative data were generated by a survey questionnaire, while qualitative data were derived from open-ended questionnaire items and interviews. The vast majority of novice teachers in this study reported serious shortcomings in the quality of their induction. Two hundred and twenty-seven teachers from Alzawia and Al-Niqat Al-Khams districts were surveyed, including 21 teachers who participated in interviews. One hundred and ten had graduated from Faculties of Arts in universities where the main focus of study was to develop research. One hundred and seventeen had completed a degree at a teacher training institution. Findings from this research indicate that they encountered diverse challenges in relation to curriculum delivery, integration into the school community and communication with students’ parents, as well as financial difficulties. The key issues that emerged from this research were:• Support for novice teachers is limited, inconsistent and inadequate.• Teacher professionalism requires further development.• The concept of mentoring warrants further consideration to be of benefit to novice teachers and their pupils. This study provided evidence that support at school and district level is essential in order to assist novice teachers of English as a foreign language in their transition from student teacher to professional practitioner. With the aim of enhancing the quality of teacher induction in Libyan secondary schools, the findings of this study have been used to inform the development of a set of recommendations for novice teachers, school principals, mentors and senior staff in district education departments.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / O presente estudo tem por objetivos compilar e analisar percepções sobre o uso de ferramentas web 2.0 no ensino de inglês como língua estrangeira e aliar a análise de atitudes à teoria da Andragogia, que trata do aprendizado de adultos, proposta por Knowles (1973, 1975, 1984, 1990). O assunto parece não contar com estudos coordenados, visto que Thomas (2010) apenas muito recentemente editou um compêndio com trabalhos envolvendo as possíveis aplicações de recursos da web 2.0 no estudo de uma língua estrangeira e as percepções de alunos, embora outros estudos, como os de Rosell-Aguilar (2004), Conole (2008), Kárpáti (2009) e Jarvis e Szymczyk (2010) tenham discutido o assunto isoladamente. Neste trabalho é realizada a compilação das opiniões de alunos adultos e de professores de inglês como língua estrangeira. Como instrumento de coleta de dados optou-se pela utilização de questionários fechados. Tal abordagem possivelmente dá a esta pesquisa um caráter inédito, ao menos no que se refere à coleta de atitudes de alunos adultos e professores brasileiros de um curso de idiomas quanto ao uso de ferramentas web 2.0 no ensino de uma língua estrangeira. A análise dos dados mostrou que aprendizes adultos e professores têm atitudes positivas e estão preparados para a utilização de recursos web 2.0 em sala de aula. Conclui-se, entretanto, que embora a maioria dos participantes desta pesquisa concorde que o uso de tais ferramentas contribui para o ensino de inglês como língua estrangeira, alguns ajustes e procedimentos ainda devem ser implementados para que as ferramentas web 2.0 se tornem não apenas um acessório, mas parte integrante do processo de aquisição do idioma / This study aims to compile and analyse the perceptions of the use of web 2.0 tools in English Language Teaching and associate the analysis of attitude to the Andragogy theory, which deals with how adults learn, advanced by Knowles (1973, 1975, 1984, 1990). This topic does not appear to have a coordination of studies, since Thomas (2010) has only recently edited a handbook with works involving the possible applications of web 2.0 resources in the process of foreign language acquisition and students perceptions, although other works, as those by Rosell-Aguilar (2004), Conole (2008), Kárpáti (2009) and Jarvis & Szymczyk (2010) have discussed the topic isolatedly. This work compiles the opinions of adult learners and teachers of English as a foreign language. Data was collected through closed questionnaires. This approach may provide this research with novelty, at least with as regards the collection of Brazilian adult learners and teachers attitudes towards using web 2.0 in foreign language acquisition in a language school. Data analysis showed adult learners and teachers have positive attitude and are ready to use web 2.0 resources in the language classroom. Nonetheless, albeit most of the participants of this research agree the use of such tools contribute to teaching English as a foreign language, some adjustments and procedures should be implemented so that web 2.0 tools do not become mere accessories, but rather an integral part of the of the language acquisition process

Esta tese investiga, sob a perspectiva da Linguística Sistêmico-Funcional (HALLIDAY e MATTHIESSEN, 2004,2014), os processos de retextualização empregados por estudantes de inglês como língua estrangeira na produção de textos em contextos acadêmicos. O conceito retextualização (MARCUSCHI, 2001) constitui-se na produção de um novo texto a partir de um ou mais texto(s)-fonte e trata-se de prática comum em contextos acadêmicos. Tem-se como objetivo verificar as operações de retextualização relacionadas às metafunções da linguagem – ideacional, interpessoal e textual - e como essas se materializam nos respectivos sistemas léxico-gramaticais e no gênero específico no qual se enquadram. O corpus constituise de retextualizações produzidas a partir de diferentes texto(s)-fonte. Os resultados indicam que as estratégias de retextualização estão intimamente relacionadas ao conhecimento da função que etapas e fases dos gêneros desempenham na construção de significados. Procurase contribuir para as práticas de escrita em ILE em contextos acadêmicos, oferecendo uma abordagem sistêmico-funcional dos processos de retextualização envolvidos no desenvolvimento dessa habilidade. / This study investigates, under the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistics (HALLIDAY and MATTHIESSEN, 2004, 2014), the retextualization processes learners of English as a Foreign Language use when writing texts in academic contexts. Retextualization (MARCUSCHI, 2001) is understood as the production of a new text based on one or more source-texts and is a recurrent practice in academic contexts. The study investigated the processes of retextualization related to the metafunctions of language –ideational, experiential and textual- and their realization in the respective lexicogrammar structures as well as in the specific genre to which they are related. The corpus comprises retextualizations produced from different source-texts. The results indicate that the retextualization strategies are intimately connected to the knowledge of the function the stages and phases of the genres play in the construction of meaning. The purpose of the study is to contribute to writing practices of English as a Foreign Language in academic contexts, putting forward a systemic-functional approach to the retextualization processes involved in the development of writing skills.