Master of Arts / Department of Modern Languages / Young-Ok Yum / Writing well, especially in English, is an asset to anyone who aspires to succeed in the academic or other professional fields in this age of English as a lingua franca. Numerous scholars have investigated errors committed by English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners. However, to date there is no empirical study on the error patterns displayed in native Dari speakers’ EFL writing in English and in Dari. The present study investigates error occurrences in 20 native Dari speakers’ English and Dari writing. These participants were English majors attending Balkh University, in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan. Most of the participants self-identified their English proficiency levels as “advanced.” The data were collected through convenience sampling of the students enrolled in EFL writing courses who voluntarily participated in two writing tasks of different levels of difficulty; they completed these first in English and then a week later in Dari. In order to observe any patterns, all spelling and word choice errors were identified by three independent judges (one Dari instructor at BU, one native-American-English-speaking graduate student in the English Department, and the author who is bilingual and works as an English instructor). All three worked separately initially and then discussed any discrepancies together in person (English) or via Skype (Dari), until they reached consensus. The analysis, concerning the three research hypotheses, supported these findings: (1) as predicted, the native Dari speakers committed a variety of errors similar to learners from previous studies; (2) as predicted, the participants made fewer errors in English than in Dari; and (3) counter to the hypothesis, the results indicated that the participants, when writing in Dari, demonstrated more errors in the simpler tasks; yet, the participants committed more errors in the more complex (versus simpler) English writing task, consistent with this hypothesis.

There are many different perceptions when it comes to teachers’ instructional language choice in the EFL classroom. Some argue for maximum use of the target language while others believe that judicious use of the L1 can benefit the students’ second language learning. The aim of this study is to investigate what research says about teachers’ target language use and first language use in upper level EFL classrooms, as well as teachers’ attitudes and beliefs regarding the choice of instructional language. The findings from this systematic literature review show that teachers mainly used L1 to save time, to explain grammar and vocabulary and to create a positive classroom atmosphere. Furthermore, the results also showed that teachers’ choice to use L1 heavily depended on students’ level of proficiency. Lastly, the results indicate that teachers not always use the L1 for pedagogical reasons, but in many cases for pragmatical reasons, individual beliefs and out of concern for students’ well-being.

Due to the fact that adolescents are familiar with so many different media and technology resources today, learning in a conventional way is no longer effective. The aim for this literature review was to analyse what research shows about the use of film as a teaching tool in English to develop students’ linguistic and critical thinking skills in upper secondary EFL classrooms. The results disclosed that film can improve students’ linguistic skills and critical thinking. One reason for this is that film is already such a large part of students’ lives and provides a meaningful and familiar context for them and that film offers visual support. Studentsʼ felt motivated to see and experience “real-life” situations as opposed to reading the conventional textbook. Interaction between the students also proved to be vital in developing their language skills. Results also showed that it is imperative that teachers present film not only as a tool of entertainment, but one for teaching as well. This can be done by creating contextualized assignments related to the film. The literature review concluded that there are gaps in knowledge of this subject and that further research is desirable.

<p>In Brazil, English is studied from first grade of elementary school. For some reason after eleven years of study, students in general have problems communicating orally and in writing. Swedish students, on the other hand, seem to be able to communicate quite proficiently in English, even though it is also considered to be foreign language learning. The purpose of this comparative study is to discover what differs in the Brazilian and Swedish learning and teaching that makes the Swedish results superior. The purpose was to compare English learning as a foreign language in Sweden and in Brazil, and questionnaires were distributed to teacher and students. Of the many possibilities raised as hypotheses for the effective English learning in Sweden, teacher’s educational background, working hours per week, number of students per teacher, were found to be more problematic in Brazil, according to the teachers’ questionnaire. When it comes to students, it appears that Brazilian students show a lack of commitment to their learning tasks and awareness of the importance of learning English. In addition, several social aspects have to be taken into account when judging the educational situation of a country, but the importance of a good education can never be overlooked.</p>

This dissertation investigates the relationship between Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) and language-learning approaches. In this sense, Language Learning Autonomy (LLA) seems to be the most preferred candidate by researchers in order to become the suitable approach in order to make the most out of technology (Blin, 1999; Little, 2001; Littlemore, 2003; The European Directorate General of Education and Culture, 2003; sanz, 2003; Villanueva, 2003). The increasing research on this specific field and the theoretical reflections derived from it over the last decade constitutes the framework of our study. Following previous studies (Beatty, 2003; Chapelle, 2003; Alessi, 2001; Marqués, 1995, 2001; Rushby, 1997; Shin and Wastell, 1998; Blin, 1999; Holliday, 1999; Hoven, 1997, 1999; Murray, 1998; Sanz, 2003), the aim of the present study is to examine to what extent an approach to language learning autonomy from a socioconstructivist perspective can effectively inform the design of a specific language learning package taht promotes both autonomising behaviours and positive attitudes in learners. With these reflections in mind, three aspects underline the present study, namely 1) the need to carry out qualitative studies in order to inform a theoretical framework for CALL development, 2) the need to focus on the relationship between CALL and LLA and 3) the need to examine the "teachibility"of learner autonomy by means of a language learning package designed for this specific purpose. This context motivated the following actions: 1) to design a pilot application based upon autonomising criteria (TADLA: Technology Applied to the Development of Learner Autonomy); 2) to test this design with learners with a specific learner style regarding their learner autonomy degree. And finally 3) to compare the results obtained in the tests of other language learning package (Communicate and Connect, 2003).The results obtained in the case-study confirm that the criteria upon which the design of TADLA is based could be considered the requirements that enable the integration of autonomising strategies within the learning activities. In this sense, attention to learning styles, implementation of authentic materials, the possibility of transfer and a discursive approach among others are suitable criteria for the development of attitudes that could lead to a later development of learner autonomy.

This qualitative study aims to investigate how teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) work to develop their students’ oral proficiency. The study analyses interviews and pedagogical materials to elucidate how the interviewed teachers regard their students’ oral proficiency, what kind of activities they use for teaching speaking and how they assess oral proficiency. The participants were two licensed English teachers of higher upper secondary education, and different materials that the teachers used were analysed, including a textbook. The teachers regarded their students’ oral proficiency as generally good or very good but noted that significant differences existed in most groups regarding proficiency and that certain students who were less proficient showed an unwillingness to use the target language, which indicates a need of better strategies to involve these students in the learning process. The findings of this study suggest that the interviewed EFL teachers teach speaking according to the communicative approach and that the activities they use more frequently for teaching speaking were discussions, followed by presentations, speeches, role-playing and debates. However, the interviews and the pedagogical materials reflected a lack of focus on the features of spoken language, the importance of which has been proven by findings in corpus linguistics and conversation analysis. These findings indicate a need to raise awareness among teachers about the benefits of focusing on the features of spoken language. Regarding assessment, informal formative assessment in the form of direct observation was the most common form, while formal assessment was used in presentations and examinations in the form of group discussions. The teachers acknowledged some confusion regarding assessment due to the lack of clear guidelines from Skolverket. Moreover, they regarded speaking as being more important than other skills, which indicates the possibility of redefining the value of speaking in the course evaluation.

This ethnographically informed, qualitative study aims to investigate English teacher candidates’ attitudes towards multilingualism and translanguaging in English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms and in the school environment. More specifically, the study intends to identify potential contributing factors to the formation of said attitudes, such as the influence of policy documents and of the teacher training program on the perception of the future working environment. The data was collected with semi-structured interviews; the participants were four teacher candidates, two females and two males, enrolled in the teacher education program in a Swedish university. In addition, at the time of data collection, all participants had completed most of the teacher education program, an aspect that increased the relevance of their responses, since they would soon be active teachers in the Swedish school system. Overall, the participants expressed positive attitudes towards multilingualism and translanguaging in a school environment. However, some hesitation in their answers was detected when they are asked how they would work with multilingual students in their future practice. These findings suggest that, if teacher candidates receive adequate education to approach their future working environment with confidence they would be better equipped to provide adequate pedagogical support to students whose L1 is other than Swedish. This would foster positive attitudes towards multilingualism and translanguaging and would, consequently, lead to an improvement in the academic results of multilingual students. The teacher candidates’ increased awareness of the benefits and challenges of multilingualism and their ability to put into practice the general principles they learn at university would benefit from changes in the teacher training program, in the curriculum compiled by the National Agency of Education, and in the national pedagogical approach to language learning.

In Brazil, English is studied from first grade of elementary school. For some reason after eleven years of study, students in general have problems communicating orally and in writing. Swedish students, on the other hand, seem to be able to communicate quite proficiently in English, even though it is also considered to be foreign language learning. The purpose of this comparative study is to discover what differs in the Brazilian and Swedish learning and teaching that makes the Swedish results superior. The purpose was to compare English learning as a foreign language in Sweden and in Brazil, and questionnaires were distributed to teacher and students. Of the many possibilities raised as hypotheses for the effective English learning in Sweden, teacher’s educational background, working hours per week, number of students per teacher, were found to be more problematic in Brazil, according to the teachers’ questionnaire. When it comes to students, it appears that Brazilian students show a lack of commitment to their learning tasks and awareness of the importance of learning English. In addition, several social aspects have to be taken into account when judging the educational situation of a country, but the importance of a good education can never be overlooked.

The importance of extensive literature reading in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context has been given increasing attention in recent research. Literature reading is also a required part of the national syllabi of the (EFL) courses offered to both adolescents and adults at Upper Secondary level in Sweden. This thesis aims to investigate the teachers’ process of making literature choices for extensive reading in upper secondary EFL courses in Sweden. Eight teachers of three different student groups took part in the study, representing adolescent university preparatory programs and vocational programs, as well as programs for adult students. Questionnaires were used and the data was analyzed for patterns revealing three main factors affecting teachers’ literature choice: language proficiency, reading experience and contextual factors. These three factors were fitted into the theoretical framework of psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic reading models, with the addition of a perspective of motivational research. The results of this survey underline the importance of extensive reading, according to teachers, and that motivation for literature choice can be primarily related to factors associated with psycholinguistic reading models. The survey also points to the need for further investigating of teachers’ own experiences of literature reading, searching for deeper motivational factors which influence teaching choices. Another future field of research is the choice of reading activities assigned together with the chosen literature, which probably also influence teachers’ choices in the Swedish EFL classroom.

For this study, two groups of native Icelandic speakers were compared in terms of the acoustic properties of their English pronunciation of two phonetic phenomena, plosives and pre-aspiration. In English, plosives with the same manner and place of articulation are distinguished by means of a voicing contrast, whereas in Icelandic, plosives are distinguished by means of an aspiration contrast. This study examines whether participants exhibit interlanguage features in their plosive contrasts in English, substituting unaspirated voiceless plosives for voiced counterparts. Furthermore, this study looks at pre-aspiration, a phonetic feature of Icelandic, characterized by glottal friction following a short vowel preceding a fortis plosive (VhC). Pre-aspiration is not a feature of standard English varieties such as general American (GA) or received pronunciation (RP), and as such this study examines whether participants retain pre-aspiration in their English pronunciation or not. Participants numbered 16 in total, and were all L1 speakers of Icelandic, with eight in each group, four male and four female. The groups were divided by means of age differences, with the first group consisting of participants aged 20-26, and the second group of participants aged 44-50. Participants were asked to partake in a short informal interview, to read a short written passage, and to read a word list. The interview and readings were recorded and analysed using spectrograms and waveforms, and subsequently compared with English and Icelandic reference values for voice onset time (VOT), which vary between the two languages, and pre-aspiration duration in Icelandic. The two groups were also compared to determine whether there were any lingering differences between them. The conclusions drawn are that VOT in English and Icelandic may be more similar than assumed, and that participants shorten pre-aspiration duration or neutralize pre-aspiration when speaking English. However, the English production of the features are more similar to Icelandic than English. Furthermore, the results do not indicate any differences between the two age groups in terms of English pronunciation.