ABSTRACT AN EVALUATION OF TIME FOR ENGLISH 4, THE 4TH GRADE ENGLISH COURSEBOOK FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS &Ouml / zdemir, Fatma Esra M.A., Department of English Language Teaching Supervisor : Prof. Dr. H&uuml / sn&uuml / Enginarlar September 2007, 119 pages The purpose of this study was to find out the how the fourth grade students in public schools and the fourth grade English teachers evaluated the English coursebook Time for English 4 in terms of purpose, approach, visual design, presentation of vocabulary and language, practice activities and exercises, supporting sources, and supporting materials. To fulfill this aim, a teacher questionnaire, a student questionnaire and a teacher interview was prepared by the researcher. The questionnaires were administered face to face to 102 randomly selected fourth grade students in Beypazari and 15 English teachers in the districts of Altindag, Beypazari, Ke&ccedil / i&ouml / ren, and Mamak. Six of the English teachers were also interviewed in order to obtain qualitative data. The interviews were recorded on a tape recorder and then transcribed. Quantitative data was analyzed by calculating the frequency counts, percentages, arithmetic means, and the standard deviations of the responses given to the questionnaires. Qualitative data obtained from the interviews was analyzed by using content analysis. According to the results of the study, both the teachers and the students were content with the coursebook. The level of satisfaction was higher among the students. Students identified two problems about the instructions and the songs in the coursebook. Teachers identified four more problems about the teacher&rsquo / s book, the number of vocabulary items, the number of units, and the presentation of the language items. Necessary suggestions were made for the solution of the problems to the relevant parties.

The aim of this study was to gain an insight into how teachers work practically with the Communicative Oriented Curriculum in English and what factors that could influence the teachers’ methodology. The investigation partially replicated a study by Kırkgöz (2008). The study was conducted at three state elementary schools in Turkey by using multidimensional qualitative research procedures, including classroom observations and interviews. Results demonstrated that all participants showed attributes identified to an Eclectic-Oriented teaching approach placing them in the middle of a continuum from Transmission to Interpretation-Oriented teachers. The results were later compared with the original study displaying both a satisfying and unsatisfying outcome depending on a qualitative or quantitative comparison. Findings also indicated that a holistic perspective must be considered in order to interpret and understand the results.

Abstract Since 2005, it has been government policy in Taiwan to introduce English in Grade 3 of primary schooling (when learners are generally age 9). The overall aim of this research project was to investigate some of the problems associated with the implementation of this policy by combining research involving teacher cognition with research involving the criterion-referenced analysis of a sample of textbooks produced in Taiwan for young learners and a sample of lessons taught in Taiwanese primary schools. A questionnaire-based survey of a sample of teachers of English in Taiwanese primary schools (166 respondents) was conducted, focusing on teacher background and training, views about national and local policies, approaches to course content, methodology and teaching resources, and perceptions of their own proficiency in English and of their own training needs. Only 46 (27%) of the respondents reported that they had a qualification specific to the teaching of English and 41 (25%) reported that they had neither a qualification in teaching English nor a general primary teaching qualification. Many expressed dissatisfaction with the implementation of policies relating to the teaching of English at national level (46/ 29%), local level (39/24%) and in their own school (28/17%). Although many reported that the availability of resources (125/ 75%) and/ or student interest (101/ 61%) played a role in determining what they taught, none reported that the national curriculum guidelines did so. Although official policy in Taiwan endorses the use of 'communicative language teaching', only 103 (62%) of respondents reported that their own approach was communicatively-oriented, with 18 (11%) observing that they preferred grammar-translation. A more in-depth survey relating to teacher perception of pre- and in-service training was conducted using a questionnaire and semi-structured interview. Although all 10 participants in this survey are officially classified as being trained to teach English in Taiwanese primary schools, the type and extent of their training varied widely and all of them expressed dissatisfaction with that training, noting that they had no confidence in the trainers' own competence in teaching English to young learners. All claimed that critical issues were either omitted altogether or dealt with in a superficial way. One contextual factor that has a significant impact on teacher performance in Taiwan is the quality of the textbooks that are generally available. A sample of textbooks (3 different series) produced in Taiwan was analysed and evaluated, the analysis revealing that the materials were often poorly organised, inappropriately selected and illustrated, contextually inappropriate. Finally, from a sample of twenty videotaped English lessons taught to students in primary schools in Taiwan, six that were considered to be typical were transcribed, analysed and evaluated in relation to criteria derived from a review of literature on teaching effectiveness. All of these lessons were found to be characterised by problems in a number of areas, including lesson focus, lesson staging, concept introduction, concept checking, and the setting up and conducting activities. It is concluded that the implementation of official policy on the teaching of English in primary schools in Taiwan is fraught with problems, problems that are evident at every stage in the process, from teacher education, through materials design to lesson planning and delivery.

O objetivo desta dissertação é compreender de que maneira o olhar do formador influencia nas práticas e contribui para as aprendizagens de professores de inglês dentro de um contexto de formação em que o diálogo entre esses agentes é parte das premissas do programa de formação. Trata-se de pesquisa qualitativa, de natureza descritiva e exploratória (COHEN, MANION, 2002). Utiliza-se dos procedimentos delineados pela metodologia de análise de conteúdo (MORAES, 1999) para encontrar e compreender as mudanças e permanências de ações dos professores após a participação em Oficinas de Formação e durante as sessões de Acompanhamento (Feedback). Apoia-se, principalmente, nos conceitos de desenvolvimento profissional (OLIVEIRA-FORMOSINHO, 2009), nos saberes docentes (TARDIF, 2012) e nos modelos de formação de professores com perspectiva crítico-reflexiva (NUNES e NUNES, 2013). Reflete sobre a formação inicial do professor de inglês e a valorização das línguas estrangeiras nas escolas públicas brasileiras (FERRO,1998; DINIZ-PEREIRA, 1999; LEFFA, 2001; PAIVA, 1997, 2003; BUSNARDI e FERNANDES, 2010) e consequentemente sobre os desafios para a formação contínua de professores de inglês para crianças (ROCHA, 2007; IALAOGA e DURAN, 2008; SEGANFREDO e BENEDETTTI, 2009). Conclui que um olhar que integra os conhecimentos dos agentes da formação (professor e formador) aos conhecimentos da formação promove mais aprendizagens, contudo, não é determinante, há mais o que se considerar. Finalmente, aponta para a necessidade de valorização dos saberes da prática e das concepções de ensino-aprendizagem, não só dos saberes disciplinares, para a criação de programas de formação de formadores. / This dissertation aims to understand how the vision of the education influences and contributes to teacher development in a context where dialogue between them is part of the premise of the teacher educator program. It is a qualitative research of exploratory and descriptive nature (COHEN, MANION, 2002). It relies on procedures from content analysis (MORAES, 1999) to search and comprehend changes or stagnation of teachers action after the course of workshops and during feedback meetings. The text is mainly grounded in the concepts of professional development (OLIVEIRA-FORMOSINHO, 2009) and teacher knowledge (TARDIF, 2012) as well as model for teacher development based on a critical-reflective perspective (NUNES e NUNES, 2013). It discusses under-graduation courses for English teachers and the value or not - of foreign languages in Brazilian public schools (FERRO, 1998; DINIZ-PEREIRA, 1999; LEFFA, 2001; PAIVA, 1997, 2003; BUSNARDI e FERNANDES, 2010); therefore, it brings out the challenges for English teachers when they attend in-service courses for teaching children (ROCHA, 2007; IALAOGA e DURAN, 2008; SEGANFREDO e BENEDETTTI, 2009). It concludes that if the trainer looks at the teacher and his/her knowledge in an integrative way, the teacher is more likely to gain new knowledge. However, the look is not determining, there is more to it. Finally, this dissertation suggests the need to value not only teacher educators academic knowledge, but experience and learning and teaching concepts as principles for being a teacher educator, among other criteria.

As the English language holds the status of a Lingua Franca, being able to master it has become necessary in our globalised society. In Sweden, the English subject has been assigned a place along with Swedish and Mathematics as a core subject. However, of these three subjects, only English does not have specified knowledge requirements at the end of third grade. This has led to the start of English instruction varying around the nation. This thesis investigates the factors involved in the decision-making processes regarding the start of English instruction and what attitudes lower primary school teachers have regarding the age at which the English instruction should start. An empirical study was carried out by interviewing a few stakeholders in the context of schools and sending out questionnaires to lower primary school teachers. The results indicate that a large majority of the participants were in favour for early English instruction, as according to many of them, an early start results almost exclusively in advantages for the young children. However, the results also imply that the English subject, in some cases, might be less prioritised, due to the lack of specified knowledge requirements. Based on these results, further research on how different schools interpret these non-specified knowledge requirements is suggested. / <p>Engelska</p>

O objetivo desta dissertação é compreender de que maneira o olhar do formador influencia nas práticas e contribui para as aprendizagens de professores de inglês dentro de um contexto de formação em que o diálogo entre esses agentes é parte das premissas do programa de formação. Trata-se de pesquisa qualitativa, de natureza descritiva e exploratória (COHEN, MANION, 2002). Utiliza-se dos procedimentos delineados pela metodologia de análise de conteúdo (MORAES, 1999) para encontrar e compreender as mudanças e permanências de ações dos professores após a participação em Oficinas de Formação e durante as sessões de Acompanhamento (Feedback). Apoia-se, principalmente, nos conceitos de desenvolvimento profissional (OLIVEIRA-FORMOSINHO, 2009), nos saberes docentes (TARDIF, 2012) e nos modelos de formação de professores com perspectiva crítico-reflexiva (NUNES e NUNES, 2013). Reflete sobre a formação inicial do professor de inglês e a valorização das línguas estrangeiras nas escolas públicas brasileiras (FERRO,1998; DINIZ-PEREIRA, 1999; LEFFA, 2001; PAIVA, 1997, 2003; BUSNARDI e FERNANDES, 2010) e consequentemente sobre os desafios para a formação contínua de professores de inglês para crianças (ROCHA, 2007; IALAOGA e DURAN, 2008; SEGANFREDO e BENEDETTTI, 2009). Conclui que um olhar que integra os conhecimentos dos agentes da formação (professor e formador) aos conhecimentos da formação promove mais aprendizagens, contudo, não é determinante, há mais o que se considerar. Finalmente, aponta para a necessidade de valorização dos saberes da prática e das concepções de ensino-aprendizagem, não só dos saberes disciplinares, para a criação de programas de formação de formadores. / This dissertation aims to understand how the vision of the education influences and contributes to teacher development in a context where dialogue between them is part of the premise of the teacher educator program. It is a qualitative research of exploratory and descriptive nature (COHEN, MANION, 2002). It relies on procedures from content analysis (MORAES, 1999) to search and comprehend changes or stagnation of teachers action after the course of workshops and during feedback meetings. The text is mainly grounded in the concepts of professional development (OLIVEIRA-FORMOSINHO, 2009) and teacher knowledge (TARDIF, 2012) as well as model for teacher development based on a critical-reflective perspective (NUNES e NUNES, 2013). It discusses under-graduation courses for English teachers and the value or not - of foreign languages in Brazilian public schools (FERRO, 1998; DINIZ-PEREIRA, 1999; LEFFA, 2001; PAIVA, 1997, 2003; BUSNARDI e FERNANDES, 2010); therefore, it brings out the challenges for English teachers when they attend in-service courses for teaching children (ROCHA, 2007; IALAOGA e DURAN, 2008; SEGANFREDO e BENEDETTTI, 2009). It concludes that if the trainer looks at the teacher and his/her knowledge in an integrative way, the teacher is more likely to gain new knowledge. However, the look is not determining, there is more to it. Finally, this dissertation suggests the need to value not only teacher educators academic knowledge, but experience and learning and teaching concepts as principles for being a teacher educator, among other criteria.