Submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of African Languages at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2012. / This study explores developing learner‟s language competence through literary and non-literary texts. The topic of the study: “Developing learner‟s language competence through literary and non-literary analysis is introduced. It is maintained that language educators‟ focus is on analyzing literary texts: poetry, novel, drama, folklore/folktale, short story and essay but not on designing their own texts. The learners should be encouraged to produce their own authentic texts. It is also assumed that non-literary texts are not analysed or developed. There is lack of emphasis on language: sentence construction, for when learners produce their own texts they should know how to construct a sentence. It is also maintained that language usage should also be emphasized because texts are assumed to have figures of speech, idiomatic expressions and proverbs. Learners should be encouraged to create their own texts and present them. Therefore the language competence through isiZulu literary and non-literary texts analysis should be developed. This discussion includes ways learners can develop their language competence through literary and non-literary texts analysis and the ways the language educators can teach learners language competence through literary and non-literary texts analysis. The research analyses different types of isiZulu literary texts to show how language competence can be developed through literary texts analysis. The novel, “Insila KaShaka,” poetry, short story, “Intando Kamufi,” essay, “Izifungo,” folktales and the drama, “Kudela Owaziyo” are analysed.

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Este trabalho originou-se da necessidade de elaborar e complementar atividades que promovam o ensino e a aprendizagem do francês com objetivos específicos para o curso de Secretariado Executivo Trilíngue da Universidade Estadual de Maringá-PR. Durante o andamento do curso, percebemos que as tarefas de produção escrita poderiam ser potencializadas se tivessem como origem um texto oral, pois os alunos mobilizariam de forma mais proveitosa suas estratégias de compreensão. Para comprovar nossa hipótese, elaboramos uma tarefa na qual os alunos devessem passar uma mensagem gravada na secretária eletrônica para uma nota de serviço, que são situações de comunicação muito correntes no ofício do secretariado. Nossa previsão era que ao conhecer o formato do texto de destino, o aluno selecionaria com mais agilidade as informações necessárias no texto fonte, comprovando o movimento de reciprocidade entre os saberes profissionais (estrutura do texto, contexto de emprego, etc.) e os saberes linguísticos. De fato, após quase um ano de trabalho, nossos alunos foram capazes de compor a nota de serviço a partir de uma gravação na secretária eletrônica, pois utilizaram estratégias de mediação para ligar a compreensão do texto fonte à produção do texto de destino. O resultado do uso dessas estratégias foi um texto de destino que obedeceu às normas de composição esperadas e cumpriu sua função comunicativa, comprovando o papel das estratégias de mediação na aprendizagem do francês com objetivos específicos para o curso de Secretariado Executivo Trilíngue. / The aim of this work was to develop and supplement activities in order to promote the teaching and learning of French focusing the Trilingual Executive Secretariat Course of Universidade Estadual de Maringá state of Paraná Brazil. It was observed during the classes that the written production tasks could be improved if the oral text were taken into account, since the students would be able to mobilize the comprehension strategies in a more profitable way. To try the hypothesis, a communicative situation task was chosen among the most current of Secretariat work. For the elaborated task students should deliver a recorded message from an electronic machine into a memo. Our assumption was that students should select more accurately the necessary information of the source text, once they knew the format of the target text, confirming thus the exchange movement between their professional knowledge (text structure, job context, etc) and their linguistic knowledge. In fact, after almost one year of work, students were able to build up the memo, based in an electronic machine recording, by using mediation strategies to link the source text comprehension to the target text production. The use of such strategies showed that the target text followed the composition rules and accomplished its communicative function, proving the role of the mediation strategies in the learning of specific purpose French for the Executive Secretariat Course.

Este trabalho originou-se da necessidade de elaborar e complementar atividades que promovam o ensino e a aprendizagem do francês com objetivos específicos para o curso de Secretariado Executivo Trilíngue da Universidade Estadual de Maringá-PR. Durante o andamento do curso, percebemos que as tarefas de produção escrita poderiam ser potencializadas se tivessem como origem um texto oral, pois os alunos mobilizariam de forma mais proveitosa suas estratégias de compreensão. Para comprovar nossa hipótese, elaboramos uma tarefa na qual os alunos devessem passar uma mensagem gravada na secretária eletrônica para uma nota de serviço, que são situações de comunicação muito correntes no ofício do secretariado. Nossa previsão era que ao conhecer o formato do texto de destino, o aluno selecionaria com mais agilidade as informações necessárias no texto fonte, comprovando o movimento de reciprocidade entre os saberes profissionais (estrutura do texto, contexto de emprego, etc.) e os saberes linguísticos. De fato, após quase um ano de trabalho, nossos alunos foram capazes de compor a nota de serviço a partir de uma gravação na secretária eletrônica, pois utilizaram estratégias de mediação para ligar a compreensão do texto fonte à produção do texto de destino. O resultado do uso dessas estratégias foi um texto de destino que obedeceu às normas de composição esperadas e cumpriu sua função comunicativa, comprovando o papel das estratégias de mediação na aprendizagem do francês com objetivos específicos para o curso de Secretariado Executivo Trilíngue. / The aim of this work was to develop and supplement activities in order to promote the teaching and learning of French focusing the Trilingual Executive Secretariat Course of Universidade Estadual de Maringá state of Paraná Brazil. It was observed during the classes that the written production tasks could be improved if the oral text were taken into account, since the students would be able to mobilize the comprehension strategies in a more profitable way. To try the hypothesis, a communicative situation task was chosen among the most current of Secretariat work. For the elaborated task students should deliver a recorded message from an electronic machine into a memo. Our assumption was that students should select more accurately the necessary information of the source text, once they knew the format of the target text, confirming thus the exchange movement between their professional knowledge (text structure, job context, etc) and their linguistic knowledge. In fact, after almost one year of work, students were able to build up the memo, based in an electronic machine recording, by using mediation strategies to link the source text comprehension to the target text production. The use of such strategies showed that the target text followed the composition rules and accomplished its communicative function, proving the role of the mediation strategies in the learning of specific purpose French for the Executive Secretariat Course.

Chinese international students represent one sixth of the international post-secondary student population present in Anglophone Canada. A popular field of study for this demographic is engineering. Considering differences in cultural background and English language barriers, Chinese international students face their own unique set of challenges in university classrooms where collaborative work has become a standard measure to instruct and assess material. Four face-to-face focus groups with fourteen Chinese international students examined how collaborative work with non-Chinese peers shapes the self-perceptions of English language skills by Chinese international students. Using Saldaña’s approach to coding as the selected method, the data generated categories, a concept and a key assertion. Participants’ perceptions of English language are shaped by efficiency, embarrassment and confidence. A desired goal of Chinese international students, which is only achieved by very few, is English language fluency. Suggesting an interrelated relationship, the key assertion proposes that language competence and perceptions develop in four stages. Perceptions and language competence transition through a non-linear process, which ranges from Shock, to the Brutal Upward Learning Curve, Acceptance and eventually Confident Mastery. Focus group participants demonstrated a high level of accurate self-assessment and are forced to adopt a dismissive attitude which allows them to move past negative experiences and perceptions and develop a strong sense of confidence which is necessary for survival.

Kompendien und Einführungen zur Fachdidaktik des Englischen, Französischen oder auch des Deutschen sind schon lange eine Selbstverständlichkeit. Für das Russische gilt das im deutschsprachigen Raum leider nicht. Die vorliegende Publikation ist deshalb sehr zu begrüßen, und ganz zurecht stellt die Herausgeberin Anka Bergmann im Vorwort fest, dass mit diesem von namhaften Fachdidaktikerinnen und Fachdidaktikern des Russischen gemeinschaftlich erstellten Band ein echtes Desiderat im deutschsprachigen Raum beseitigt wurde. Neben zahlreichen allgemeinfachdidaktischen Fragestellungen, wie sie besonders im Teil II behandelt werden, werden Spezifika des Russischunterrichts angesprochen wie etwa die Integration von Schülern mit russischsprachigem Hintergrund im Russischunterricht oder die Geschichte und der gegenwärtige Status des Russischunterrichts im deutschsprachigen Raum.

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2015-03-24T20:47:44Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ElianeMouraLinguisticaAplicada.pdf: 493838 bytes, checksum: 3fe76a63d9cf523e88d4fb73fffe32a4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-24T20:47:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ElianeMouraLinguisticaAplicada.pdf: 493838 bytes, checksum: 3fe76a63d9cf523e88d4fb73fffe32a4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Nenhuma / Esta dissertação tem como objetivo demonstrar a complexidade de fatores envolvidos na produção e na leitura de textos de divulgação científica (doravante textos DC). O corpus da pesquisa é constituído por textos DC veiculados pela revista Ciência Hoje on - line. A metodologia utilizada está baseada na teoria semio lingüística de Patrick Charaudeau (200 8). A análise se centra não só no modelo de competência da linguagem idealizado pelo lingüista, mas também nas características do contrato de comunicação em que se situam os textos estudados. Assim, foi possível compreender que a leitura de textos DC depende de um conjunto de estratégias de reconhecimento de que o leitor desses textos precisa dispor para a produção do sentido. O estudo permitiu fundamentar a crítica de que a dimensão lingüística da alfabetização científica requer muito mais do que o domínio de um vocabulário básico da ciência. A relevância deste estudo está em contribuir, no que diz respeito à linguagem, tanto para a leitura de textos DC quanto para o cumprimento das orientações dos PCNs para o ensino da Língua Portuguesa. / This paper aims at demonstrating complexity of factors engaged on the production and reading of Scientific Publicizing texts (from now on SP texts). Corpus for this study is made up of SP texts published in online magazine Ciência Hoje . Method applied is grounded on Semiolinguistic theory, by Patrick Charaudeau (2008). Analysis focuses not only on language competence model conceived by this linguist, but also on characteristics of the communication contract within which studied texts occur. Thus, it has been possible to realize that reading SP texts depends on a set of recognition strategies the reader of these texts needs to apply for making sense. This study allowed to ground the criticism according to which linguistic dimension of scientific literacy demands much more than knowing basic scientific vocabulary. Relevance of this study lies on contributing, as far as language is concerned, both to reading SP texts and to complying with PCNs instructions for Portuguese Language teaching.

<p>The present thesis deals with Åland, i.e. the Åland Islands, as a language environment. Its main focus is on the language attitudes of adolescents. The status, role and use of Swedish, Finnish and English are topical. Its main part consists of an empirical study, which is based on an extensive questionnaire answered by students in grade 9 of primary school and in the second grade of the (theoretical) secondary school in Åland.</p><p>The thesis includes a description of Åland as a language environment. The legal framework making Åland an autonomous region in Finland with Swedish as the only official language is presented. Language policies in Åland are compared with those of Sweden and Finland (outside of Åland). Special treatment is given to the school as a linguistic environment and recent language related debate in Åland.</p><p>The central questions in the questionnaire relate to language choice, media habits, subjective estimations of the respondents’ own language competence and language attitudes in a broad sense.</p><p>Six hypotheses based on a model of secure and insecure majorities and minorities as well as the Interactive Acculturation Model are postulated and treated.</p><p>The results of the empirical study reveal very strong feelings of affinity towards Åland. Attitudes towards English and English-speakers are in general positive. The results reveal somewhat ambivalent attitudes towards Finnish and Finland. Many variables show a tendency among the respondents to favour Sweden ahead of Finland and negative attitudes towards Finnish but there are also other conflicting results. The respondents who have parents who speak Finnish to them display more positive attitudes towards Finnish and Finland. These differences between the groups are statistically significant. However, the group with a Finnish language background also displays its strongest feelings of affinity towards Åland.</p>

The present thesis deals with Åland, i.e. the Åland Islands, as a language environment. Its main focus is on the language attitudes of adolescents. The status, role and use of Swedish, Finnish and English are topical. Its main part consists of an empirical study, which is based on an extensive questionnaire answered by students in grade 9 of primary school and in the second grade of the (theoretical) secondary school in Åland. The thesis includes a description of Åland as a language environment. The legal framework making Åland an autonomous region in Finland with Swedish as the only official language is presented. Language policies in Åland are compared with those of Sweden and Finland (outside of Åland). Special treatment is given to the school as a linguistic environment and recent language related debate in Åland. The central questions in the questionnaire relate to language choice, media habits, subjective estimations of the respondents’ own language competence and language attitudes in a broad sense. Six hypotheses based on a model of secure and insecure majorities and minorities as well as the Interactive Acculturation Model are postulated and treated. The results of the empirical study reveal very strong feelings of affinity towards Åland. Attitudes towards English and English-speakers are in general positive. The results reveal somewhat ambivalent attitudes towards Finnish and Finland. Many variables show a tendency among the respondents to favour Sweden ahead of Finland and negative attitudes towards Finnish but there are also other conflicting results. The respondents who have parents who speak Finnish to them display more positive attitudes towards Finnish and Finland. These differences between the groups are statistically significant. However, the group with a Finnish language background also displays its strongest feelings of affinity towards Åland.

Language competence is decisively important in international business and could increase efficacy, efficiency, sales and profits. Language is an underresearched area in business studies though language constitutes management and the managers building structures, processes, cultures and personalities being the most vital working tool to get things done and make them understandable. Since 1970 Swedish companies lose market shares globally and in Europe. In an era requiring better foreign language skills there is a declining trend among young Swedish business people and students in other languages than English. The aim of this study is to investigate and analyse the role of language in intercultural business communication between Swedish expatriates and locals in Serbia, The Czech Republic, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria and indirectly also Russia and Poland. To understand the business culture in these countries the author has learned the local language in these seven countries taking 3687 private language lessons. This improves the researcher’s understanding of the culture and its people giving directness and depth in communication, independence and receptivity. This ethnographically inspired hermeneutic study holds semi-structured interviews with expatriates. Better language skills among expatriates – particularly in the local language - could make them more self-dependent and win contracts and it strengthens closeness to customers, relationship and trust, strategic view and ability and also operational effectiveness and efficiency enabling their companies to gain market shares. Using Weber’s ideal types the cultural significance structures emerge featuring the cultures in these countries showing that expatriates have to strengthen the ability of the locals in the areas of trust, responsibility and initiative, independent thinking, holistic view, win-win thinking and reduce fear while the expatriates’ own abilities in these areas are strengthened if they speak the local language. Language strategies permitting the expatriate to be more communicatively and linguistically self-dependent are having a common company language, using multilingualism or having the expatriate speak or learn to speak the local language where the advantages, disadvantages and characteristics of these and other aspects of the role of language are given in ideal types.