This systematic literature review examines the language use in the EFL classroom in lower secondary school. It aims to investigate how the target language, English, and local languages are used. Furthermore, teachers’ as well as students’ views on the language use in the classroom were investigated. This was done by compiling and comparing the findings of eight peer- reviewed research articles about the topic. The results show that language practices as well as views differ between teachers and their pupils. However, the general picture shows that, although English is the main language in the EFL classroom, there are contexts in which the pupil’s native language can be used beneficially.

Syntactic complexity has been an area of significant interest in L2 writing development studies over the past 45 years. Despite the regularity in which syntactic complexity measures have been employed, the construct is still relatively under-developed, and, as a result, the cumulative results of syntactic complexity studies can appear opaque. At least three reasons exist for the current state of affairs, namely the lack of consistency and clarity by which indices of syntactic complexity have been described, the overly broad nature of the indices that have been regularly employed, and the omission of indices that focus on usage-based perspectives. This study seeks to address these three gaps through the development and validation of the Tool for the Automatic Assessment of Syntactic Sophistication and Complexity (TAASSC). TAASSC measures large and fined grained clausal and phrasal indices of syntactic complexity and usage-based frequency/contingency indices of syntactic sophistication. Using TAASSC, this study will address L2 writing development in two main ways: through the examination of syntactic development longitudinally and through the examination of human judgments of writing proficiency (e.g., expert ratings of TOEFL essays). This study will have important implications for second language acquisition, second language writing, and language assessment.

The goal of the current study was to investigate the social skills of a community sample of children that would vary in their level of ADHD symptomatology (e.g., inattention and hyperactivity), with a specific focus on their communication patterns and pragmatic language use (PLU). The study explored whether PLU was associated with, and perhaps accounted for, the social skills problems children with different degrees of ADHD symptomatology experience. Pragmatic language use, ADHD symptomatology, and social skills were examined with traditional standardized measures as well as a detailed investigation of communication patterns and PLU obtained from sampling behaviors from a semi-structured dyadic communication task. A community sample of 54 children between the ages of 9 and 11 years participated. Pragmatic language use partially mediated the relation between ADHD symptomatology and social skills. These results indicate that although the correlation between ADHD and social skills drops from r = -.649, p < .01 to r = -.478, p < .01, when PLU is entered in the model, the correlation between ADHD and social skills still remains significant. Further, ADHD symptomatology and PLU both predicted social skills scores, and although ADHD symptomatology and PLU were related to one another, PLU provided a unique contribution in the estimate of children’s social skills of 10.5% above and beyond the contribution of ADHD symptomatology. However, ADHD symptomatology was the most influential predictor in uniquely accounting for approximately 19% of the differences in social skills outcomes above and beyond the contribution of PLU. Possible explanations as to why PLU mediates the relation between ADHD symptomatology and social skills are discussed. Implications and future research are discussed in terms of children with ADHD and peer relations.

This thesis is a study of proverbs and their use in dialogue. Proverbs have a long history but have not been the subject of much linguistic research in Sweden. The purpose of the study is to examine how proverbs are used, who uses them and to what extent they are used. The focus is on the communicative functions of the proverb and on how information is disseminated through proverbs. The theoretical basis of the study is systemic-functional linguistics and its view of language use, with focus on the interpersonal metafunction. A qualitative analysis has been performed using the principles and perspectives of conversation analysis. The source material consists of 45 Swedish plays published between 1700 and 2000, which form part of the corpus Svensk dramadialog (Swedish drama dialogue). Proverbs are used among other things to argue, criticise, comment, comfort, defend, object or explain. Their use varies over time in terms of frequency as well as to which speech functions are expressed, but they are predominantly used in much the same way today as 300 years ago. The results of the study show a clear decline in use over time in the number of proverbs in the material. They are used most frequently in the 18th century to argue and object, while in the 20th century they tend to be used to criticise. Their most common function in all periods is to comment. Older people use proverbs in speech more than younger people, and there is a frequent tendency for proverbs to be aimed at other people of the same generation. Equally as many women as men use proverbs in speech in relation to their speaking space in the corpus. Proverbs are frequently multifunctional and act as a linguistic resource in the dialogue.

There are different ideas when it comes to the use of either Swedish or English during EFL lessons. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate teachers’ choice of language in the upper elementary EFL classroom in Swedish schools and their arguments for the use of one or the other. In order to find out which language different teachers use and why, semi-structured interviews with six different teachers were carried out. All respondents were currently teaching English in grade 4-6. The results of the study show that the teachers’ most commonly used language in the EFL classroom is English. However, several of the teachers mention that they also use Swedish, for example when it comes to explaining difficult instructions or grammar. All teachers participating in this study mention the importance of hearing and using English in order for the pupils to learn English and therefore they try to use mostly English. Nevertheless, this study only has six participants, all living in the same county and working at schools with many similarities, which makes it difficult to draw any generalizable conclusions. To be able to draw better conclusions, a study would have to be conducted with more participants within a larger area. / <p>Engelska</p>

Code-Switching (CS) is a world-wide phenomenon, allowing bilinguals across the globe to alternate effortlessly between their languages. As interesting as it sounds, code-switching can be used for a number of reasons, and there are different linguistic contexts in which this phenomenon occurs. Umeå is a very multinational city in northern Sweden, and this paper will present the results from interviewing a group of three (a) Arabic-Swedish speakers and a group of three (b) English-Swedish speakers on their use of language and code-switching. The results show that group a and group b both use CS as a tool to express themselves better, and also to feel a sense of belonging in their different surroundings. Being a bilingual usually comes with two cultures, and this includes many different situations in which these bilinguals use CS.

Contemporary studies of media Arabic often pass over issues of media form and the broader relevance of language use. The present thesis addresses these issues directly by examining the language used in Jordanian non-government radio programmes. It examines recordings and transcriptions of a range of programme genres - primarily, morning talk shows and 'service programmes' (barāmiž ḳadamātiyya), and Islamic advice programmes, both of which feature significant audience input via call-ins. The data are examined through an interpretive form of discourse analysis, drawing on linguistic anthropological theory that analyses language as a form of performance, through comparison of radio programmes as 'units of interaction'. This is supported by sociolinguistic data obtained from the recordings, including phoneme frequency analysis, in addition to the author's experience of 6 months of fieldwork in Jordan in 2014-15. The analysis focuses on four major themes: (1) the influence of media context, specifically the sonic exclusivity and temporal evanescence of radio, on language use, as well as the impact of digital media; (2) the indexicality of certain locally salient sociolinguistic variables, and the use to which they are put in radio talk; (3) the role of language in constructing the identity, or persona, of broadcasters; and (4) the role of language in constructing and validating authoritative discourse, in particular that of Islamic texts and scripture in religious programming. Through its analysis of these themes, using selected recording excerpts as demonstrative case studies, this thesis shows that specific strategies of Arabic use in the radio setting crucially affect both the publics - the addressed audiences - of radio talk, as well as the frameworks of participation in this talk - how and to what extent broadcasters and members of the public can participate in mediated discourse. The results demonstrate the unique value of an interpretive study of linguistic performance for highlighting broader social issues, including the inclusion and exclusion of particular segments of the society through linguistic strategies - Jordanians versus non-Jordanians, Ammanis versus non-Ammanis, and pious Muslims versus non-believers; and the use of language to reassert, or occasionally challenge, dominant ideologies and discourses, such as those of gender, nationalism, and religion. This study thus contributes an examination of contemporary Jordanian non-government radio language in its social and political context - something which has not been attempted before, and which provides important insights regarding both the nature of contemporary Arabic media language and its broader social and cultural import.

Thesis (M.A. (Linguistics)) --University of Limpopo, 2015 / This study is a qualitative descriptive study which analyses the words that the respondents used to provide their answers. The study is on language policy which should be available in each institution and it must also be implemented. Questionnaire and interviews were used to collect data. The questionnaires were distributed to the officials of SASSA and the beneficiaries were interviewed in all six languages that are found in Limpopo province. Data was presented and interpreted in this study. The SPSS software has been used as it does not consume time in analysing data. The main issue was to get the opinions that the officials and beneficiaries has on the absence of language policy in SASSA. The importance of language policy is to control on how language should be used in a particular institution. Language unit are responsible for establishing language policy as they will find facts on how many languages are used by the beneficiaries, how many speakers of each language, within the particular geographical area. When language policy has been established, it has to be implemented to start working. Most institutions have language policy for submission to the government but it cannot be implemented as they mention impossible statements which cannot be implemented. When institutions establish language policy for submission they tend to make vague declarations which are impossible to implement. They are just statements which are kept in offices but are never used.

Master of Philosophy in Education / Literacy skills include expressive language, oral and written, and receptive language, comprehension. This study explores both aspects of language in six Kindergarten children differing in early literacy development- three judged by teacher assessment to be 'at risk', and three acquiring Kindergarten skills as expected. Oral retellings of a familiar narrative and an unfamiliar story just heard, and a personal recount were taped and analysed using Halliday's Systemic Functional Grammar. Comprehension responses to individually shared narratives were also collected and analysed. The children's use of language and comprehension responses varied significantly. Those 'at risk' were unable to retell narratives, needed high levels of support to comprehend texts and produced less cohesive personal recounts. The linguistic analysis revealed vocabulary and rhetorical organisation affected the reconstruction of oral narratives. These children also seemed to find comprehending difficult when questions or recall involved following reference, negotiating marked Theme or drawing inferences. The study was designed as a series of one to one literacy experiences. A listening comprehension test showed that all children except one benefitted from the experience. The findings underline the importance of oral language development and the value of interactive teaching experiences to the attainment of sophisticated literacy skills.

Master of Philosophy in Education / Literacy skills include expressive language, oral and written, and receptive language, comprehension. This study explores both aspects of language in six Kindergarten children differing in early literacy development-three judged by teacher assessment to be 'at risk', and three acquiring Kindergarten literacy skills as expected. Oral retellings of a familiar narrative and an unfamiliar story just heard, and a personal recount were taped and analysed using Halliday's Systemic Functional Grammar. Comprehension responses to individually shared narratives were also collected and analysed. The children's use of language and comprehension responses varied significantly. Those 'at risk' were unable to retell narratives, needed high levels of support to comprehend texts and produced less cohesive personal recounts. The linguistic analysis revealed vocabulary and rhetorical organisation affected the reconstruction of oral narratives. These children also seemed to find comprehending difficult when questions or recall involved following reference, negotiating marked Theme or drawing inferences. The study was designed as a series of one to one literacy experiences. A listening comprehension test showed that all children except one benefitted from the experience. The findings underline the importance of oral language development and the value of interactive teaching experiences to the attainment of sophisticated literacy skills.