This thesis reports a study of a group of Iranian young learners, their parents and language teachers on their perceptions of the characteristics of effective language teachers in public schools. The research methodology adopted was a mixed method and therefore, the first part of the study was conducted through a questionnaire survey of 190 students studying in the 8th grade of public schools in Iran. This was followed by interviews with a sample of these learners, their parents and their teachers. The data emerging from the study demonstrates that the stakeholders involved in this study hold perceptions across a wide range of areas concerning language teacher effectiveness including teachers’ language proficiency, class management and affective factors. There was some general agreement within and among the stakeholders’ views; however, at times the dimensions slightly varied. On the whole, the main concerns were related to teachers’ knowledge and ability to speak English and teachers’ willingness to insert activities beyond the prescribed syllabus in particular activities related to speaking skill, and also additional activities that would prepare the students for their exams. Teachers’ ability to build the right rapport with the students was also very much in demand. An unanticipated finding of this study was the perceived connection between teachers’ appearance and in particular the way they dressed and their effectiveness. Some discrepancies relating to how these should be actually practised in the class do exist. Finally, this thesis goes on to discuss some of the implications of these findings both for English language teaching in Iran and for future research. Although the findings of this study are not conclusive and not prescriptive, they reveal the importance of exploring the views of stakeholders to make language teaching a more pleasant experience for all, which can in turn lead to a more effective teaching and learning.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 1981. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2813.

Two key methods of perceptually training difficult L2 contrasts are the perceptual fading (PF) technique and the high variability phonetic training (HVPT) technique, and perceptual benefits from using both of these methods have also been found to transfer to pronunciation. However, these techniques have not been compared in their classic forms (PF with one speaker vs. HVPT with multiple speakers) with regard to perceptual gains, nor have they been compared with regard to gains in pronunciation accuracy or how any improvement is retained in the long term. Furthermore, whilst a number of studies suggest that motivation, the concern for L2 pronunciation accuracy aspect in particular, along with perception and/or pronunciation training may contribute to more nativelike pronunciation in late L2 learners, this has not been examined with specific reference to these training techniques. The present work compares these techniques for training native English speaking learners of French on difficult L2 French contrasts (/u/ vs. /y/ and /ɑ˜/vs./ɔ˜/),and assesses participant concern for pronunciation accuracy in order to ascertain an optimal training technique to improve the perception and pronunciation of less able learners. Experiment 1 of this thesis compares HVPT and PF using multiple and single speakers and found that the single speaker HVPT technique was significantly less effective than the others immediately after training. Testing again after at least one month suggested that training was best retained either through using PF with one speaker or HVPT with multiple speakers, that is, the techniques in their classic forms. Experiment 2 examines the benefits of these perceptual training techniques vs. pronunciation training vs. perception AND pronunciation training for both perceptual and pronunciation improvement. Undergoing multiple speaker HVPT + pronunciation training (over the same timescale as training in a single modality) appeared to be most beneficial for perception and pronunciation. Experiment 3 examines the relationship between average pronunciation improvement and participant concern for pronunciation accuracy as measured Elliott’s (1995) Pronunciation Attitude Inventory and found that a high concern for pronunciation accuracy is only related to greater improvements when specific, perhaps more monotonous, training techniques (using only one modality and speaker) are used. Overall, the present results provided no evidence of transfer of perceptual training benefits to pronunciation, and only slight evidence of transfer of pronunciation training benefits to perception, although there was a clear link between participant perception and pronunciation ability before training commenced. This is likely to be at least partly why some training in both modalities emerged as most successful in terms of improvements in both domains. It was therefore suggested that it may be prudent to consider the relationship between perceptual and production learning as distinct from any links between perception and production in general.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 1998. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--West Virginia University, 2000. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 58 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 42-44).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 1991. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-89). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Delaware, 2009. / Principal faculty advisor: Barbara Curry, School of Education. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 26-31).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xviii, 197 p.; also includes graphics Includes bibliographical references (p. 188-197). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.