Esta pesquisa, realizada no período 2012-2016, investigou as possíveis razões para o crescente desinteresse pela profissão docente, especificamente no que se refere ao ensino de língua inglesa (LI) na educação básica brasileira, sobretudo aquela pública; e o fez a partir do posicionamento de licenciandos em LI de uma universidade pública acerca do que para eles significava ser professor. O estudo se valeu de contribuições de teorias pósmodernas, baseando-se, principalmente, em conceitos pós-estruturalistas e decoloniais relacionados às concepções de língua, discurso, epistemologia e identidade, no intuito de melhor compreender as influências modernas sobre a construção histórica da docência e da identidade docente. Identificar os princípios que fundamentam o ensino de LI e a formação docente nessa área; investigar os discursos que perpassam a construção da identidade docente e em que se fundamentam; e compreender em que medida tais princípios e discursos impactam o (des)interesse pela profissão eram alguns dos principais objetivos propostos. Permeados pela análise dos dados gerados, os capítulos que compõem esta pesquisa se organizam da seguinte forma: a introdução localiza este estudo no cenário educacional brasileiro, apresenta seus objetivos gerais e específicos, o seu contexto de realização, as perguntas de pesquisa, a metodologia utilizada e o perfil dos participantes e da pesquisadora; o Capítulo 01 apresenta um panorama histórico da educação brasileira desde a implantação do sistema educacional jesuíta, em 1549, até a promulgação da LDB de 1996, procurando focar no ensino e na formação de professores de LI; o Capítulo 02 trata do papel do discurso na construção da realidade e na invenção da tradição, da ideia de desenvolvimento e civilização que permearam a colonização de terras e povos e resultaram na invenção da História ocidental; o Capítulo 03 dedica-se à invenção das línguas inclusive a LI e o inglês como língua internacional (ILI) e à construção histórica da identidade com base nas ideias de fixidez, permanência e normalidade, negando seu caráter fluido e nômade; as considerações finais apresentam acontecimentos políticos atuais e discorrem sobre as implicações do caráter circular da História sobre a construção da identidade docente e do estatuto negativo da profissão, além de reafirmar a necessidade de uma formação docente pautada no letramento crítico, como forma de promover mudança. / This research developed between the year 2012 and the year 2016 investigated the increasing lack of interest in the teaching profession, including English language teaching (ELT), in Brazilian (public) basic education. This study was developed mainly on the basis of post-modern theories, related mainly to post-structuralist and decolonial concepts concerning language, discourse, epistemology and identity, used in order to better understand the influences of Modernity on the historical construction of the teacher identity and the teaching profession status. Some of the main objectives of this research were to identify the principles that ground ELT and EL teacher education in Brazil; examine the discourses that influence the construction of teacher identity and the basis of such discourses; and understanding to what extent such principles and discourses affect the (dis)interest in the teaching profession. The introduction situates this study in the Brazilian educational setting, and it presents the general and specific objectives that guided the development of this research, as well as the research questions, methodology and participants. Chapter 01 presents a historical overview of Brazilian education, starting from the Jesuit educational system implemented in 1549 and ending after the promulgation of the Brazilian National Law on Education (LDB) in 1996. Chapter 02 focuses on the role of discourse in the construction of reality, in the invention of tradition, and in the creation of the ideas of development and progress, which explained the need for civilization. This justified the colonization of lands and peoples and served as the basis for the invention of Western History. Chapter 03 refers to the invention of languages including English language, and English as an international language (EIL) and to the historical construction of identity based on the ideas of fixity and normality, denying its fluid and nomadic nature. The concluding chapter elicits current political events, addresses the implications of the circular nature of History on the construction of teacher identity and the negative status of the teaching profession, and also reiterates the need for a critical literacy-guided English language teacher education as a way of promoting changes.

With the demands of the No Child Left Behind legislation to utilize research-based instructional practices and teach all children to read by the end of third grade, teachers find themselves going beyond teachers' editions and curriculum guides to the research on best reading practices. The purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental cross-sectional correlational study was to examine the strength and direction of the relationship between motivation to read, oral reading fluency, and demographics for third-grade elementary students (N=112). An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to quantitatively analyze archival data to assess the relationship between motivation to read, oral reading fluency, and demographics. Motivation to read, which was reported as MRP scores, includes the dimensions of self-concept as a reader and value of reading, and was measured using the Motivation to Read Profile (MRP) Reading Survey. Oral reading fluency, which was reported as Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) rates, was measured using the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS). Results showed a significant relationship between motivation to read, oral reading fluency, and demographics for all three dimensions of motivation. Findings from the study may contribute to social change by influencing educators' uses of oral reading fluency data and interventions that employ improving motivation to read in an attempt to improve reading achievement for third-grade elementary students. Suggestions for further research include examining the relationship between motivation to read and oral reading fluency.

Despite the current emphasis on differentiating instruction to accommodate individual student learning needs, most reading instruction is taught primarily in static small groups or whole group settings. However, the use of flexible reading groups for reading instruction allows students to be appropriately challenged and avoids labeling a student's reading readiness as stagnant. This study examines the relationship between flexible reading groups and reading achievement of 130 fifth grade students in one elementary school. The theoretical base for the research is grounded in the constructivist theory as supported by Vygotsky and Bruner. In this quasi-experimental quantitative research study, the effect of flexible reading groups on reading achievement was examined using a within-subject pretest and posttest single group design to compare gain scores using the Standardized Test of Achievement in Reading. The scores compared an eight week period of whole group instruction to an eight week period of flexible group instruction on the reading assessment. Data from the gain scores of the groups were statistically analyzed using a paired samples t test to determine whether or not the flexible reading groups had a positive effect on reading achievement. Statistical analysis yielded a statistically significant difference t(129) = 3.82, p < .05 which was interpreted to mean that flexible reading groups significantly enhanced student learning. This study will contribute to the most recent research on flexible grouping and reading instruction by focusing on the implementation of flexible reading groups and establishing data to support the research on flexible group instruction. This study contributes to social change by providing educators with knowledge on differentiated instruction through the implementation of flexible groups as it relates to reading achievement.

Effective teaching strategies that improve the development of phonemic awareness are important to ensure students are fluent readers by third grade. The use of handheld devices to improve phonemic awareness with kindergarten students may be such a strategy, but no research exists that evaluates the use of these devices. This study explored the effectiveness of Bee-Bot handheld devices in kindergarten classrooms to teach phonemic awareness. A 4-month sequential mixed-methods study was conducted in four classrooms: two that used Bee-Bot handheld devices in phonemic awareness lessons and two that never used the devices. The score gain (Fall 2009 to Winter 2010) for initial sound fluency (ISF) on the DIBELS assessment was analyzed for between-group effects using ANCOVA, controlling for Fall 2009 letter naming fluency (LNF) scores. No significant difference was found between ISF scores of students using the Bee-Bots and those not using them. Interviews of the 4 classroom teachers determined their perceptions of the ways handheld devices supported phonemic awareness. Interviews were coded for (a) assessments, (b) engagement, (c) strategies, (d) social growth and (e) technology standards. Teachers reported that students using Bee-Bot handheld devices remained on task longer, increased motivation, developed leadership skills, and students enjoyed learning with the devices. Findings suggest that handheld devices used to enhance phonemic awareness in kindergarten may offer an engaging way to enhance social skills while providing technology integration. This study contributes to social change by improving teacher knowledge of technology-assisted strategies for social and literacy skills among less advantaged populations.

<p>Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is a relatively new method for learning a foreign language. CLIL programs are growing in popularity and more and more schools are adopting it all around the world. There is still no special education for the teachers working with CLIL, though research suggests it may be an effective method for achieving good results.To get a realistic view of the work of a CLIL teacher, I have interviewed four different mathematic teachers who work at CLIL international schools in Spain with English as the foreign language. I have compared their methods and experiences with the main ideas of current research in this particular field.The survey shows that the teachers’ views about how CLIL is to be used do not completely correspond to that of the research. My conclusion is therefore that training in CLIL is needed.</p> / <p>Språk och ämnesintegrerad inlärning (SPRINT) är ett relativt nytt sätt att lära sig språk på. SPRINT har växt sig allt starkare och fler och fler skolor satsar på denna metod världen över. Det finns ännu ingen specialiserad utbildning för lärare som arbetar med SPRINT -metoden, men många SPRINT - forskare menar att det vore nödvändigt med en sådan för att man skall uppnå goda resultat. För att göra mig en bild av hur SPRINT- lärare i verkligheten arbetar, har jag genomfört intervjuer med fyra matematiklärare som arbetar med SPRINT i Spanien på internationella skolor med engelska som inriktning. Jag har sedan jämfört dessa lärares metod och erfarenhet med vad forskningen säger.Undersökningen har visat att lärares uppfattning om hur SPRINT är menat att användas inte alltid stämmer överens med SPRINT – forskarnas.  Min slutsats blir därför att det skulle behövas en utbildning i denna metod.</p>

<p>South Africa&rsquo / s Language-in-Education Policy is one of additive multilingualism, but in reality this policy is not adhered to, in that most black children are being educated through the medium of English from Grade 4. This type of instruction affects the development of academic language proficiency in their primary language, as these children are not engaging in cognitively demanding tasks in their primary or first language. The Woodcock Mu&ntilde / oz Language Survey (WMLS) is a test to assess academic language proficiency in Additive Bilingual Education, and is extensively used in the United States of America (USA) for this purpose. It is important to note that the proposed study is a sub-study of a larger study, in which the original WMLS (American-English version) was adapted into English and Xhosa, to be used in South Africa to assess additive bilingual programmes. For this sub-study, the researcher was interested in examining the overall equivalence of the adapted English version of the WMLS. Owing to insufficient tests evaluating academic language proficiency in the South African context, the significance, as well as the overall aim, of the study is to ensure that the issues of group difference and item bias have been assessed to ensure that the adapted English version of the WMLS is suitable to be used across English first-language and Xhosa first-language speakers. Because this is a sub-study, the researcher (of the sub-study) has conducted an exploratory quantitative study with the use of Secondary Data. The researcher has used the framework of equivalence as a theoretical framework in order to examine the research question. Given the use of existing data, the procedures of the collection of the data by the researcher of the larger study have been outlined in the Methodology section of the present study. The sample consisted of 198 English and 197 Xhosa first-language speakers...</p>

This thesis consists of three empirical studies. The first study, Rationales to Language-in-Education Policies in Postcolonial Africa: Towards a Holistic Approach, considers two issues. First, it explores the factors affecting the choice of an LiE policy in 35 African countries. The results show that the countries adopting a unilingual education system put different weights on the influential parameters than countries adopting a bilingual education system. Second, the study investigates how decision makers can ensure the optimal choice of language(s) of instruction by developing a non-cooperative game theoretic model with network externalities. The model shows that it is never optimal for two countries to become bilingual, or for the majority linguistic group to learn the language of the minority group, unless there is minimum cooperation to ensure an equitable redistribution of payoffs. The second study, The Role of Language in Learning Achievement: A Namibian Case Study, investigates the role played by home language and language proficiency on SACMEQ II mathematics scores of Namibian Grade-6 learners. HLM is used to partition the total variance in mathematics achievement into its within- and between-school components. Results show that although home language plays a limited role in explaining within- and between-school variations in mathematics achievement, language proficiency (proxied by reading scores) plays a significant role in the heterogeneity of results. Finally, the third study, Language Skills and Economic Returns, investigates the economic returns to language skills, assuming that language competencies constitute key components of human capital. It presents results from eight IALS countries. The study finds that in each country, skills in a second language are a significant factor that constrains wage opportunities positively.

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is a relatively new method for learning a foreign language. CLIL programs are growing in popularity and more and more schools are adopting it all around the world. There is still no special education for the teachers working with CLIL, though research suggests it may be an effective method for achieving good results.To get a realistic view of the work of a CLIL teacher, I have interviewed four different mathematic teachers who work at CLIL international schools in Spain with English as the foreign language. I have compared their methods and experiences with the main ideas of current research in this particular field.The survey shows that the teachers’ views about how CLIL is to be used do not completely correspond to that of the research. My conclusion is therefore that training in CLIL is needed. / Språk och ämnesintegrerad inlärning (SPRINT) är ett relativt nytt sätt att lära sig språk på. SPRINT har växt sig allt starkare och fler och fler skolor satsar på denna metod världen över. Det finns ännu ingen specialiserad utbildning för lärare som arbetar med SPRINT -metoden, men många SPRINT - forskare menar att det vore nödvändigt med en sådan för att man skall uppnå goda resultat. För att göra mig en bild av hur SPRINT- lärare i verkligheten arbetar, har jag genomfört intervjuer med fyra matematiklärare som arbetar med SPRINT i Spanien på internationella skolor med engelska som inriktning. Jag har sedan jämfört dessa lärares metod och erfarenhet med vad forskningen säger.Undersökningen har visat att lärares uppfattning om hur SPRINT är menat att användas inte alltid stämmer överens med SPRINT – forskarnas.  Min slutsats blir därför att det skulle behövas en utbildning i denna metod.

Researchers have explored second language (L2) teachers' knowledge focusing not only on their prior language learning experience, previous L2 teacher education, and teaching practices, but also on specific curricular areas, such as teaching L2 grammar, teaching L2 reading, and teaching L2 writing. This line of research has contributed to L2 teacher education, particularly how to develop an effective knowledge base for teacher candidates. This dissertation was conducted to investigate English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers' knowledge of vocabulary instruction. Specifically, employing three qualitative techniques for data collection (i.e., interviews, classroom observations, and stimulated recall), the study examined seven Chinese EFL university teachers'knowledge of vocabulary instruction from four dimensions: their beliefs about vocabulary learning, their understandings about vocabulary teaching, the relationship between their knowledge of vocabulary instruction and vocabulary teaching practices, and the sources of their knowledge about vocabulary instruction. The findings of the study indicate that Chinese EFL teachers have well-developed content knowledge of EFL vocabulary. They also have well-established belief systems about how to learn and teach vocabulary. Moreover, their beliefs about vocabulary teaching tend to be consistent with their vocabulary teaching practices though some inconsistencies have been identified as well. It was also found that Chinese EFL teachers¡¯ knowledge of vocabulary instruction is derived from a variety of sources, of which formal EFL education and teaching practices are considered as the two most influential. EFL teachers' individual differences were also identified to impact their beliefs about vocabulary instruction. This dissertation has at least three potential contributions. As one of the first attempts to investigate teacher knowledge of vocabulary instruction in the field of L2 teacher education, this research expands studies on L2 teachers' knowledge base. It also provides information about L2 teachers' knowledge in one less studied context, i.e., Chinese EFL vocabulary teaching. Finally, the use of observations, interviews, and stimulated recall to collect data in this study serves as an impetus for enriching techniques to examine Chinese EFL teacher knowledge.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of English