O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar a problemática da fala do aluno em aula de Inglês como Língua Estrangeira, por meio das opiniões de alunos e professores. O principal aspecto analisado foi o processo motivacional dos alunos para falar inglês em aula. As respostas foram divididas em oito categorias: o professor, as atividades, os outros alunos, o material didático, a própria personalidade do aluno, a avaliação, o ambiente de aula, a falta de conhecimento da língua estrangeira e outros fatores. No entanto, as razões por que o aluno estuda inglês, as opiniões sobre a distribuição da fala em aula entre alunos e professores e as possibilidades de intervenções que estes utilizam de maneira consciente para estimular os alunos a falar em inglês durante a aula também foram analisadas. Para tanto, foram desenvolvidos e aplicados questionários em 125 alunos, jovens e adultos, que estudavam em Cursos Livres em um Centro de Idiomas da cidade de São Paulo. Ao mesmo tempo, 4 professores da mesma instituição também responderam questionários similares, desenvolvidos de maneira específica para esta pesquisa. Os resultados principais foram a grande diversidade de possibilidades para o processo motivacional do aluno e a importância atribuída ao professor como um estímulo para eles falarem em aula. Conseqüentemente, é necessário que o professor conheça seus alunos (interesses, objetivos, gostos, experiências) por meio de uma comunicação significativa em sala de aula, de modo a compreender o seu processo motivacional. Além de conhecer os alunos, os professores de Inglês devem utilizar estratégias específicas com o objetivo de incentivá-los a falar em aula. A maioria dos professores estudados afirmou utilizar o estímulo direto por meio de questões e debates e a conscientização do aluno sobre o processo de ensino-aprendizagem como estratégias de estímulo à fala. Quanto aos obstáculos para falar em aula, a personalidade do aluno foi o fator mais citado, devido à timidez e ao medo de errar. Além disso, todos concordaram com a idéia de que os alunos devem falar uma quantidade de tempo ligeiramente superior à dos professores durante a aula. Por fim, foi observada na população pesquisada uma clara predominância da motivação instrumental. / This dissertation analyses the students speech in English as a Foreign Language classes, according to the opinions of students and teachers. The main analyzed aspect was the students motivational process to speak English during the class. The answers were divided in eight categories: the teacher, the class activities, the other students, the course material, the students own personality, the assessment, the class environment, the lack of knowledge about the foreign language and other factors. However, the English students learning goals, the opinions about class speech distribution among teachers and students and the strategies intentionally used by teachers to encourage their pupils to speak English during the class were also studied. For that, self-report questionnaires were developed and applied to 125 young adult and adult students in eligible EFL programs in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Also, 4 teachers from the same institution answered similar questionnaires, specifically developed for this study. The main results were the huge diversity in the students motivational process and the importance attributed to the teacher as an encouragement for them to speak during the class. Consequently, it is necessary for teachers to know their students (interests, goals, likes and dislikes, experiences) through meaningful interaction in the classroom in order to understand their motivational process. Besides knowing their students, the teachers used specific strategies to encourage them to speak during the class. Most teachers surveyed said they used direct stimulation through questions and class discussions and tried to make students aware of their learning process as strategies for speech encouragement. The students shyness and fear of making mistakes were regarded as the most frequent obstacles to speak during the EFL class. Besides that, everybody agreed that the students should speak a little more than the teachers in the class. Finally, the instrumental motivation was predominant among the studied population.

Este trabalho se insere na tendência transdisciplinar que vem marcando as pesquisas em lingüística aplicada nos últimos anos. Ele tem como principal objetivo inserir o corpo nos debates sobre interação e aprendizagem de línguas estrangeiras. A relação do sujeito com o corpo, sua constituição pela interação são também parte deste estudo. Em um primeiro momento, procuramos refletir sobre o lugar que o corpo ocupa na história, sua importância nos dias de hoje e sua inclusão nos estudos discursivos, o corpo formatado pelo o outro, não apenas em língua materna, mas também em língua estrangeira. No segundo capítulo trabalhamos com a idéia de alteridade corporal em língua estrangeira junto com alguns conceitos da Análise do Discurso, como a noção de sujeito descentrado, formações discursivas, o interdiscurso, tudo isto associado ao corpo na interação. Na terceira parte procuramos inserir o estudo do corpo no processo de aprendizagem de uma língua estrangeira dentro do campo de pesquisas que versam sobre a complexidade. Em seguida apresentamos a noção de intercorpo que procura mostrar que aprender uma língua estrangeira é estranhar o corpo da língua materna, penetrando sensorialmente no corpo da outra língua. Por fim, no ultimo capítulo, expomos nossas reflexões sobre as implicações didáticas do corpo na aprendizagem de uma língua estrangeira. Apresentamos ainda uma proposta de aprendizagem de uma língua estrangeira partindo da experiência de Berltolt Brecht com a peça didática como modelo de aprendizagem. Procuramos, através desta experiência, esboçar um plano de atividades centradas na participação do corpo no processo de aprendizagem de uma língua estrangeira. Acreditamos que o trabalho apresentado nesta dissertação será útil tanto aos formadores quanto aos professores de língua estrangeira, pois ele permite descrever alguns parâmetros importantes de uma situação de aprendizagem, apontando em particular, a constituição do sujeito e sua relação com o corpo na interação. Nós esperamos que o professor encontre neste trabalho a possibilidade de melhor compreender a interação em sala de aula em função da relação do aluno com o espaço, com o outro e com o papel do corpo na produção discursiva. / This work is within the recent transdisciplinary tendency in applied linguistic researches that has been developed in the last few years. It aims to insert the body in the debates about interaction and the learning of foreign languages. The relation between man and his body considering the interaction is also studied. First, it was observed the position the body occupies in History, nowadays, and how it is included in the discourse studies concerning the body formatted by the other, not only in mother tongue but also in foreign language. Second it is discussed the idea of body alterity in foreign language together with the concept of decentred subject, discourse formation and inter-discourse associated to the body within the interaction. Third, there was an attempt to insert the study of the body in the process of foreign language learning into the area of the research on complexity. Then it is presented the notion about inter-body trying to show that learning a foreign language is to ....the body of the mother tongue, sensory penetrating in the body of another language. Finally, it is exposed some reflections about the pedagogical/didactical implications of the body in the learning of a foreign language. Yet, it is presented some suggestions of how to use Berltolt Brecht´s didactical plays as a model for the learning of a foreign language. Through this experience a draft for a lesson plan based on the body participation in the process of learning a foreign language was designed. I believe that the work presented here may be helpful for both field, teacher formation as well as foreign language teaching since it allows to describe some important parameters for learning situation, pointing out particularly to the constitution of the subject and its relation with the body within interaction. It is expected that the teacher finds, in this dissertation, the possibility to better understand the students interaction with the classroom space, with the other and with the role of the body to the discursive production .

Partindo da afirmação segundo a qual as tecnologias da informação e da comunicação (TIC) podem fornecer importantes ferramentas para professores de línguas estrangeiras e trazer benefícios para os alunos, o presente trabalho propõe uma utilização pertinente e coerente de um dos recursos disponíveis pela Internet: a plataforma de ensino COL (Cursos on-Line) desenvolvida e disponibilizada pela Universidade de São Paulo. A partir da aplicação dessa ferramenta em um curso presencial de francês língua estrangeira, pudemos observar as vantagens que a mesma oferece 1) para uma melhor organização e disponibilização do material e do conteúdo pedagógicos, 2) para uma maior interação entre professor e alunos, bem como entre os próprios alunos e o material didático disponibilizado, 3) para o desenvolvimento da autonomia de estudo e de aprendizagem dos alunos envolvidos, e 4) para o oferecimento de um espaço complementar ao da sala da aula para o contato com a língua e a cultura francesa. Apesar das grandes vantagens que traz, uma plataforma de ensino apresenta algumas restrições e problemas sobre as quais oferecemos elementos de reflexão para professores e pesquisadores que desejam utilizar esse tipo de recurso no ensino/aprendizagem de línguas estrangeiras. / Working on the principle that information and communication technologies (ICT) can provide important tools for foreign language teachers and bring benefits to the students, the present study proposes a relevant and coherent use of the one of the resources available on the internet: the teaching platform CoL (on-line courses), that was developed and put at the users disposal by the University of Sao Paulo. On applying this tool in a French as a Foreign Language attending course, we were able to see that this application offers lots of advantages such as 1) a better organization and availability of the pedagogical material and content, 2) a better interaction between teachers and students, as well as between the same students and the didactic material available, 3) the development of self-study and learning by the students involved, and 4) the disposal of a space, complementary to the classroom, that gives the possibility of contact with the French language and culture. Despite the great advantages that it brings, a teaching platform shows some restrictions and problems to which we offer elements of reflection to teachers and researchers that wish to use this kind of resource in teaching/learning foreign languages.

This naturalistic exploratory multiple case study of the academic writing activity of L2 writers enrolled in an introductory Spanish literature course reveals the complex dynamicity of intertextual activity and L2 development. The writing tasks, designed for communicative practice rather than for mastery of a genre, required students to upload Microsoft Word documents to the learning management software’s dropbox, thus necessitating their engagement with multiple digitally mediated resources. Participants completed the assignment outside of class in a computer lab, where data were collected, including observational field notes, screen recordings, and stimulated recall, and semi-structured interviews about the participants’ use and perception of digital resources. Findings show that these students employed many strategies with a variety of resources, including online dictionaries, translators, and original and translated texts, when experiencing a lexical gap while writing. A close examination of second language writers’ intertextual engagement with the affordances provided by these digitally mediated resources through an analytical frame informed by dynamic systems theory (Larsen-Freeman & Cameron, 2008a) reveals idiosyncratic use and evidence of emergent word and strategy learning. Pedagogical implications, including the need to start where students are, are discussed.

This study aims to study how teachers of English, in years 7-9 focus on various language skills in their lessons. To do this it is necessary to answer several questions. The first question is what language skills are the most important, according to research and steering documents. The second question is what language skills the teachers see as the most important and whether these are the same skills that they focus their teaching on. The third question is what reason the teachers have to focus on certain language skills. The fourth question is what methods the teachers use to teach these language skills. These questions are answered through theories of English foreign language teaching, especially the communicative approach. Previous research shows that all skills are important for English language proficiency. However, the results from the interviews show that the teachers tend to focus on reading, writing and to a lesser extent listening. This is according to the teachers because it is the skills that the students are least proficient in. Furthermore, there are several methods presented that explain how certain language skills may be taught. The language skills studied are reading, writing, speaking and listening. The results have been reached through semi-structured qualitative interviews with teachers working at a single school. The teachers’ answers, together with the theoretical background, have given several results. A result that emerged in this study was that there is a dissonance between what language skills teachers consider the most important and what language skills they teach in their classrooms.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att se vad forskningen om språkängslan säger om vad språklärare kan göra för att skapa en låg nivå av ängslan och därmed ett bättre klimat för språkinlärning i ett kommunikativt klassrum. Uppsatsen är forskningskonsumerande och bygger på tidigare forskning om språkängslan i främmandespråksinlärning. Avstamp tas i det kommunikativa klassrummet, som förespråkas i styrdokumenten för dagens svenska skola, och som bygger på kommunikation. Sedan presenteras olika affektiva faktorer som kan påverka främmandespråksinlärningen i denna kontext. Därifrån belyses vad språkängslan (language anxiety) är samt vilka metoder som använts för att mäta det. Dessutom ges olika perspektiv på relationen mellan språkängslan och främmandespråksinlärning samt vilka konsekvenser språkängslan har för elever i främmandespråksklassrummet. Utifrån forskningen presenteras även en, av författaren till uppsatsen skapad, modell för hur man som språklärare kan minska och hantera elevers språkängslan i främmandespråksklassrummet. Modellen bygger på tips för att minska och hantera språkängslan som forskningen om språkängslan förespråkar, grupperade i sex olika kategorier. Som språklärare kan man exempelvis tänka på att lägga upp undervisningen på ett sätt som minskar språkängslan, eller direkt diskutera språkängslan med eleverna. Studien visar att elever som känner språkängslan i främmandespråksklassrummet får sämre förutsättningar och därför är det något som språklärare måste ta hänsyn till i undervisningen. Avslutningsvis diskuteras relationen mellan tipsen för att minska språkängslan och fördelarna med det kommunikativa klassrummet. Till exempel är risktagande i språket något som värdesätts i det kommunikativa klassrummet såväl som av forskningen för att minska språkängslan. Kontentan i uppsatsen är att inlärare är personer som inte bara kan tänka, utan också känna, och därför måste språkängslan tas hänsyn till i ett kommunikativt främmandespråksklassrum.

English is taught as a compulsory second language in Swedish schools and is one of three core subjects needed to be passed in order to receive a leaving certificate. Statistics show that 6.9% of the students do not aquire proficiency enough to receive a G (pass) in English in grade nine. The aim of this study is to investigate to what extent weak language learners are considered in the English classroom and if compensatory aids are used to further support their learning conditions. The method used for the study is qualitative interviews which were semi-structured. Four interviews with English teachers were conducted within the same municipality. The result shows that there are aspects that can be considered in order to provide better opportunities for weak language learners within the English classroom as well as outside the English classroom. Some teachers find it difficult to separate lack of motivation from lack of knowledge which makes discovering the students as early as possible important. In the English classroom weak language learners can be supported by smaller discussion groups since one problem seems to be oral skills. A connection to Swedish can be observed and students with difficulties in reading and writing in their native language experience more problems when learning English. The interviewees state the importance of first focusing on oral skills in the target language, before introducing written skills. Regarding support outside the English classroom the investigation shows that optional English, parents and homework are important features. In the optional English class weaker language learners get an opportunity to speak and revise previous blanks of knowledge. Parents are important for showing their children that they find English important but also for supporting the children while doing homework. Concerning compensatory aids, most teachers did not use them nor had they knowledge enough about available aids. The most frequently used aid was a CD where texts are recorded.

<p>English is taught as a compulsory second language in Swedish schools and is one of three core subjects needed to be passed in order to receive a leaving certificate. Statistics show that 6.9% of the students do not aquire proficiency enough to receive a G (pass) in English in grade nine. The aim of this study is to investigate to what extent weak language learners are considered in the English classroom and if compensatory aids are used to further support their learning conditions. The method used for the study is qualitative interviews which were semi-structured. Four interviews with English teachers were conducted within the same municipality.</p><p>The result shows that there are aspects that can be considered in order to provide better opportunities for weak language learners within the English classroom as well as outside the English classroom. Some teachers find it difficult to separate lack of motivation from lack of knowledge which makes discovering the students as early as possible important. In the English classroom weak language learners can be supported by smaller discussion groups since one problem seems to be oral skills. A connection to Swedish can be observed and students with difficulties in reading and writing in their native language experience more problems when learning English. The interviewees state the importance of first focusing on oral skills in the target language, before introducing written skills.</p><p>Regarding support outside the English classroom the investigation shows that optional English, parents and homework are important features. In the optional English class weaker language learners get an opportunity to speak and revise previous blanks of knowledge. Parents are important for showing their children that they find English important but also for supporting the children while doing homework.</p><p>Concerning compensatory aids, most teachers did not use them nor had they knowledge enough about available aids. The most frequently used aid was a CD where texts are recorded.</p>

The purpose of this classroom-based study was to create a variation of the Dictogloss that is successful in teaching target grammar within a meaningful context in beginning level secondary foreign language classrooms. Specifically, the study aimed to find out if there were differences in the amount of target grammar (demonstrative adjectives and the imperfect tense) noticed, learned and used by students in the three treatment groups: Treatment Group 1 completed a traditional Dictogloss with the last phase being a self-reflection activity, Group 2 was the same as Group 1, except the learners saw a written version of the text during the first reading in addition to hearing the text. Both the written text and a whole class discussion during the last stage of the Dictogloss were added to the lessons completed by Group 3. Differing from traditional DG studies that tend to examine Language Related Episodes, quantitative data was collected via pre, immediate post and delayed post-tests which consisted of multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions. Although there were significant within-group differences for all three groups, indicating that the participants in all groups noticed and began learning the target grammar, there were no significant between-groups differences, suggesting that the addition of the written text and class discussion did not increase the amount of target grammar learned by the students. While the test scores showed that the participants’ knowledge of the TG did improve, the fact that many participants never scored above chance level shows that the Dictogloss is not an effective stand-alone activity for teaching TG. Qualitative data was also collected via student surveys and the written metatalk produced during self-reflection activities. The participants were asked what they liked, did not like and what they learned during the Dictogloss lesson. The data was analyzed using Content Analysis which revealed three themes: organization and administration of the Dictogloss based on the theoretical framework of the Dictogloss, issues regarding the texts and the Dictogloss and learning. The collaborating classroom teacher was interviewed two times in order to further analyze the effectiveness of using the variations of the Dictogloss with beginning Spanish FL learners. / text

In recent years, a number of empirical and conceptual studies about Project-Based Learning (PBL) have presented consistent arguments rationalizing this approach to language learning and teaching. The most common benefits attributed to project work in the second- and foreign-language settings have been located and described in recent research. However, only a few empirical studies have been conducted to evaluate the effect of project work on language learning, and even fewer on specific language skills. This dissertation presents the results of a quasi-experimental research study that investigates the effect of incorporating a semester-long reading project into a third-semester Russian classroom and reports the measured effects of this experimental treatment on students’ reading comprehension, their reading habits and beliefs, perceived reading skills, and overall language proficiency. The dissertation provides data on a semester-long project allowing students to research a topic of their interest through a set of readings (which substituted for the textbook texts) with an ultimate goal of reporting their findings in the form of a newsletter article. The project entailed interconnected sets of sequenced tasks during which students are actively engaged in information gathering, processing, and reporting, with the ultimate goal of increased content knowledge and language mastery. The context for this project was primarily text-based (extensive readings served as a base for all activities and assignments), task-driven (creating an end-product in written form), collaborative, technology-enhanced (extensive use of the Internet), and individualized (students researched topics they were interested in). The results of the study demonstrate that students’ reading comprehension increased by using an integrated methodology where reading was taught through maximizing students’ previous knowledge of a subject matter of their interest and following the procedural model for interactive reading. Additionally, the results suggest that the project implementation had a positive effect on some reading habits and beliefs regarding foreign language (FL) learning, while no significant shifts were found in students’ perceived reading skills, or their overall language proficiency. / text