This study has as its objectives: (1) the determination of the degree of relationship between achievement in the study of English as measured by a standardized English achievement test and achievement in the study of foreign languages as measured by teacher's grades; (2) the determination of the amount of contribution to such a relationship of the achievement in various functional areas in the study of English as measured by the subtests of the English achievement test.

This thesis...

No description available.

This field study is aimed at establishing criteria for an appropriate syllabus for the first-year students of English at the Hanoi Foreign Languages Teachers' College. Following an overview of the past and present English language teaching in North Vietnam and at the Hanoi Foreign Languages Teachers' College, the students and their learning problems are analyzed with a view to determining student needs. Such needs should be taken into account when selecting appropriate syllabus content. The relative advantages and disadvantages of language syllabus and teaching methods are discussed. The types of syllabus analyzed are : the structural syllabus, the situational syllabus, and the functional syllabus. The methods considered are:the grammar translation method, the direct method, the audio-lingual method and the communicative approach. The study next identifies the constraints in designing the first year syllabus for the Hanoi Foreign Languages Teachers' College. The things to be considered are the desired qualifications of the language teacher and the program for teacher-training at the college. At the same time, the first year students of English are studied in terms of previous learning experience and motivation. The next stage brings together institutional needs and methodological options in a discussion of an appropriate syllabus for the first year. 1 . The syllabus aims and objectives : that is, the production of proficiency in the four language skills, especially the oral skills of speaking and listening. 2. The syllabus content : the general principles as well as the actual selection of various functions and topics. 3. The method : examination of an eclectic method and the teacher's roles in the classroom as well as the guidelines for more effective teaching. 4. Evaluation: the functions of and the techniques for evaluation. A sample of a language unit of the syllabus follows the discussion of constraints. After a general discussion of the teaching of each of the four skills, the study comes to some of the techniques for developing the oral skills of speaking and listening, the main objectives of the first year syllabus. It is intended that this field study will contribute a small part to the growing understanding of the syllabus design which, for a long time, has been so controversal an issue at the Hanoi Foreign Languages Teachers' College.

No description available.

This thesis explores issues in the development of foreign language writing abilities in a Portuguese setting. The study is based on a research project carried out in 1993 in three University classrooms, where the author was teaching. It investigates what happens when educational drama is brought into the EFL classroom as part of a teaching programme with a view to improving writing abilities. Set in a Vygotskian framework, educational drama is used as a mediating device to attend to a whole set of factors not usually salient in L2 writing. The study covers all 108 students majoring in EFL at that time. The students were proficient in both oral work and grammar exercises but had difficulties writing in English. Two obligatory drama workshops were carried out in English with each group of students during their second term of study and all written work carried out during the term stemmed from the workshops. Large amounts of data were analysed by qualitative and quantitative methods. Writing assignments pre/post drama workshops were collected. Drama workshops were monitored via audio and video recording. Questionnaires were given to the students during the pre and post data collection periods to measure writing apprehension. Student writing was found to improve significantly in both content and grammatical fluency in a relatively short period of time. Drawing on linguistic and social semiotic analyses, the project examines the nature of the different written texts produced in this particular educational environment and the interaction between the use of drama and the writing process itself through the concept of transformation. In terms of a larger Vygotskian framework it looks at the role of thinking in learning, development and instruction in a way which bridges difficult conceptual phases in foreign language teaching. Key words: EFL, foreign languages, writing, Vygotsky, drama, Social Semiotics, transformation.

No description available.

Thesis (MPhil (Afrikaans and Dutch))—University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / This study contributes to the growing field of CALL. The Authorware programme focus on postbeginner students’ listening skills in an attempt to increase the number of students that complete their studies at Stellenbosch University. The study investigates different types of listening, which forms the backbone for the accompanying programme.

Thesis (DLitt (Modern Foreign Languages))--University of Stellenbosch, 1996. / Objective: This study presents a conception for compiling a monolingual German learner's dictionary. It is a theoretical blueprint which formulates guidelines regarding the choice and treatment ofinformation types suited for inclusion in such a dictionary. The conception is ''user oriented". In other words, its main focus is on the target users: nonnative speakers ofGerman who have reached an intermediate level of proficiency in their active and passive usage ofthe language. The deciding factor when suggestions are made regarding the selection, arrangement and typographical appearance of all lexicographical information is its relevance for this target group. In order for it to be an aid to foreign language learners while reading, writing and translating texts, information is presented in a simple and an easily retrievable way. The conception also aspires to help learners overcome their communicative problems and needs as well as to improve their linguistic competence. However, the ultimate aim ofthis dissertation is not only to provide a theoretical blueprint for a German learner's dictionary, but to have some practical significance as well. It is hoped that these recommendations will go some way towards stimulating the presently underdeveloped German pedagogical lexicographical practice. Contents: The study is structured to include all the vital aspects that are ofsignificance for the compilation of a learner's dictionary. It begins with a discussion of a number of pedagogical-lexicographical issues, such as the role of a learner's dictionary as a means of improving communicative proficiency in language teaching. The focus then moves on to the main objective, namely concrete proposals for the dictionary blueprint. While these proposals are based on up-to-date metalexicographical and linguistic theoretical conclusions, the deciding factor is that they must be practically applicable. First, the draft dictionary is typologically characterised by means of a precise and detailed description of the target user profile and potential usage situation~. Secondly, a discussion of general criteria, mainly aimed at improving the quick and easy retrieval of linguistic information, follows. Then, the contents and form ofthose texts that are not within the central alphabetical wordlist, such as the user's guide and grammar, as well as the internal reference structure ofthe dictionary (mediostructure) are highlighted. Subsequently, the selection of information in the draft dictionary is examined. This includes both the choice oflemmas (macrostructural selection) and the collection of linguistic information types suited for inclusion (microstructural selection). Not only does the conception recommend a relatively small number oflemmas (15 000), exclusively retrieved from the most common and frequently used standardised High German, but the number of information types is also restricted. This results is a low information density which in tum allows for a low text density and a high degree of accessiblity. Although decisions regarding the presentation ofvarious lexicographical information categories are linguistically motivated, linguistic comprehensiveness must occasionally bow the knee before pragmatic considerations. These improve the reception and retrievablitiy of data and enhance the user's chances of a sound understanding. A favourable visual presentation, including a low information density and transparent typographical layout, are also emphasised throughout. Finally, suggestions for the organisation and presentation oflemmas on the one hand and individual information types within the dictionary article on the other are presented. Sample entries provide a clear demonstration of all suggestions. In conclusion, the wider aspects ofhow the dictionary conceptualised in this thesis can be adapted to compile specialist pedagogical dictionaries, such as a production dictionary and a bilingual learner's dictionary which incorporates mother-tongue elements, are presented.

No description available.