In our ever more international world, the English language plays an important role. This is also reflected in its prominent position as a core subject in the Swedish school system. It is therefore important that English teachers offer students an environment in which they have the best possible opportunities to be successful in reaching the goals specified in the syllabuses. One variable in a successful foreign language classroom is the teacher's usage ofthe target language. This study is about English teachers' views on the issue of target language usage in the classroom, versus usage of the mother tongue. In this study, at Upper Secondary level, the interviews show that the teachers are, more or less, in agreement that the target language should be used all the time in the classroom. There are, however, occasions in which the interviewed teachers do not work according to their own beliefs and methods and revert to using Swedish. The main such occasions can briefly be said to be: explanation of grammar, non-subject related "mentor's issues" and classroom management issues. In addition, this study argues that the governing documents, previous research, as well as well-known theories on the subject support a high usage of the target language by the teacher.

With the newly designed curricula, the preparatory year of the Anatolian High Schools (AHS) was terminated while expanding its English program to four years. Within that context, utilizing semi-structured interview protocols this descriptive study aimed to bring an insight into the perceptions of parents, students, and teachers about the new AHS English program. Moreover, the perceptions of the participants on the materials provided by MONE and European Language Portfolio were also aimed to be revealed. Additionally, it was targeted to bring out what participants think about the applicability of the communicative language teaching, student-centered approach, and multiple intelligences, since they were stated in the foreign language curricula. While the population consisted of AHSs in Ankara, the sample of the study made up of 4 groups of parents, students, and teachers from 4 AHSs in Ankara. Each group consisted of 12 interviewees, which makes 36 participants in total. In selecting students and parents convenience sampling, and in selecting teachers purposive sampling was utilized. Analyzing the data collected using content analysis the findings revealed that parents, students, and teachers do not favor the current English language practice in AHSs where preparatory class is terminated. Additionally, the findings showed that in order to learn English, preparatory class is a necessity either after 5-year or after8-year elementary education. Results also showed that all groups perceive English positively and support teaching and learning of the language. As for the perceptions of the participants on the materials, they expressed how insufficient they are in terms of teaching the language and in terms of practicing the language teaching approaches stated in the curriculum. Moreover, it was found that most of the participants did not know about the European Language Portfolio. Lastly, according to the answers, the English language teaching approaches stressed in the curriculum were difficult to be practiced in classes.

This degree project aims to yield new knowledge about oral communication in English classes by investigating whether and to what extent students are given opportunities to develop their communicative abilities. A socio-cultural and pragmatic perspective was adopted and previous research was thoroughly examined. The study rests on the scientific approaches hermeneutics and phenomenography, which also influenced the methods used to collect data, that is, interviews and observations. This study includes four informants who are teachers in years 3–6. These teachers were interviewed and observed during one English class each, which means that their respective groups of students also participated in the study. The results show that English was the language used most frequently in the observed classrooms. The teachers in the study describe problems with using English Only in their classrooms as the students are on different levels of English proficiency. Furthermore, the results show that collegial cooperation is necessary if an expanded and comprehensive view of English teaching in years 1–6 is to be achieved. Finally, the participating teachers expressed a need to develop their own knowledge in teaching English in order to meet the requirements of communicative language teaching expressed in the curriculum. / Mitt arbete syftar till att bidra med ny kunskap om muntlig kommunikation under engelsklektioner genom att undersöka huruvida elever ges möjlighet till att utveckla sina kommunikativa förmågor. Genom ett sociokulturellt och pragmatiskt teoretiskt perspektiv samt en genomlysning av tidigare forskning som rör ämnet söker jag förståelse för hur muntlig kommunikation ter sig i engelskundervisningen. Vetenskapliga förhållningssätt som studien har utgått från är hermeneutik och fenomenografi, vilka även påverkade studiens datainsamlingsmetoder nämligen intervjuer och observationer. De fyra informanter som deltog i studien är verksamma lärare i årskurserna 3-6. Dessa lärare intervjuades samt observerades under en lektion vardera, således deltog även informanternas klasser i observationerna. Resultaten visar att muntlig engelska får stor plats i de observerade klassrummen. Lärarna som deltog i studien beskriver en problematik där en undervisning som huvudsakligen sker på målspråket (English Only) inte fungerar när eleverna är på så många olika nivåer. Vidare visar resultaten att ett kollegialt samarbete anses nödvändigt, dels för att kunna utveckla och strukturera engelskämnet bättre, dels för att skapa en helhetssyn över årskurserna 1–6. Slutligen uttrycker lärarna i studien ett behov av kompetensutveckling där de önskar få tillgång till verktyg för att kunna undervisa i linje med kursplanens kommunikativa inriktning och funktionella språksyn.

The diploma thesis deals with one of the most important parts of the concept of the Czech educational system - with so-called key competencies. It is focused on two key competencies - the personal and social competencies. In the theoretical part, it deals with notions of the personal and social competence in general - it is focused on the meaning of these two competencies and on the individual areas which they contain. In case of the social competence, the thesis focuses mainly on areas of social communication, social skills, social intelligence and so-called pro-social behaviour. In connection with the personal competence, it deals mainly with areas of self-knowledge, self-conception, self-evaluation, self- organization or self-regulation, as well as with the area of psychohygiene. Theoretical information about personal and social competencies is explicitly linked with language teaching. The practical part analyses four chosen French textbooks and evaluates them in terms of their potentiality to develop both competencies. It evaluates whether the chosen textbooks develop personal and social competencies and if so - to which extent.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T16:15:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JulianaRubio.pdf: 1573615 bytes, checksum: a82c89cc007d0f3462bf2b6071c9c294 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-09-18 / Languages are phenomena connected with the human being and abilities created by the human societies. According to the American linguist, Noam Chomsky, when we study human language, we are approaching what some might call the human essence, the distinctive qualities of mind that are, so far as we know, unique to man. As well as Chomsky, the thinker Lev Vygotsky, supported the idea that languages serve essentially for the expression of thought. This study discusses the language teaching through a perspective that exceeds the simple learning (pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar etc), and also involves the analysis of cultural and anthropological factors as indicated by the philosopher Josef Pieper and the linguist David Crystal. After a theoretical analysis, the English language and its duality are analyzed. / Línguas são fenômenos ligados ao ser humano e são habilidades criadas pelas sociedades humanas. Segundo o linguista norte-americano, Noam Chomsky, quando estudamos a linguagem humana, aproximamo-nos do que poderíamos chamar de essência humana - as distintivas qualidades do pensamento que são únicas para os homens. Assim como Chomsky, o pensador Lev Vygotsky, também sustentou a ideia de que a linguagem serve essencialmente para a expressão do pensamento. Considerando tais pressupostos, este trabalho aborda as razões da língua e busca demonstrar como a Língua Inglesa não só envolve conhecimentos de pronúncia, vocabulário, gramática etc., como abrange a discussão de fatores culturais e antropológicos como indica o filósofo Josef Pieper e o linguista David Crystal. Após uma discussão teórica, analisa-se o caso do inglês e de sua dualidade.

This thesis deals with the description of the contemporary situation in the French language teaching in the Czech Republic with a view to the comparison of traditional and alternative teaching methods. The first part of the thesis consists of the description of the historical development of the teaching methods and their characteristics. Then I point out the problems related to the classification of the teaching methods and their division into two main groups of traditional and alternative methods. The comparison of the two groups of methods is included in the third chapter of the thesis. In the last part a questionnaire was used to find out the opinions of teachers and students and I also show selected data concerning the contemporary situation in foreign languages teaching in the school year 2005/ 2006.

O presente estudo se propõe a apresentar um panorama do ensino de língua japonesa no mundo através dos dados estatísticos produzidos pela Fundação Japão, e situar o ensino de língua japonesa no Brasil dentro do contexto mundial. Serão apresentados também dados de acesso às novas tecnologias de informação e comunicação, base para o acesso aos instrumentos de ensino-aprendizagem da língua. Tanto os dados de ensino como os de acesso serão correlacionados a dados de base econômica, pois esta ainda é a peça fundamental para a tomada de decisões nas sociedades contemporâneas. Em seguida será feita uma breve exposição sobre os recursos (físicos, digitais, humanos e sociais) necessários para o acesso e uso significativo da rede e sobre o e-learning e os mitos relacionados à sua aplicação e função. Também será apresentado o quadro de macroestratégias que propõe práticas de ensino-aprendizagem que valorizem sobretudo as experiências locais engajadas e emancipadoras. Por fim, pretende-se esboçar algumas sugestões de como a tecnologia poderia ser empregada no ensino de língua japonesa dentro do contexto brasileiro, para o estabelecimento de uma rede colaborativa de criação e compartilhamento de conteúdo e desenvolvimento de habilidades que respeite as diferenças individuais de estudantes e professores e que possam emancipá-los para novos tipos de interações sociais/virtuais mais significativas e prazerosas, o que não quer dizer que sejam menos trabalhosas. / This study aims to present a panorama of Japanese language teaching around the world through the statistical data, produced by the Japan Foundation, and to place Japanese language teaching in Brazil within the world context. Data on access to new information and communication technologies will also be presented, which is the basis for access to language teaching and learning instruments. Both teaching and access data will be correlated with data of economic base, since this is still the fundamental piece for decision making in contemporary societies. Afterwards, a brief presentation will be made on the resources (physical, digital, human and social), necessary for access and significant use of the network and on e-learning, and the myths related to its application and function. It will also be presented the framework of macrostrategies that proposes practices of teaching and learning that value especially the local experiences engaged and emancipating. Finally, it is intended to outline some suggestions of how technology could be used in Japanese language teaching within the Brazilian context, for the establishment of a collaborative network for the creation and sharing of content and skills development that respects students and teachers individual differences, and that can emancipate them to new types of social and virtual interactions that are more meaningful and enjoyable, which is not to say less laborious.

Le monde, depuis des millénaires, est bâti sur les fondations de sociétés bilingues. Or, ce « parler multiple » semble depuis toujours être source de conflit. Loin d’être considéré comme une richesse, le bilinguisme (ou plurilinguisme) semble plutôt représenter un problème auquel on tâcherait de trouver une solution. « La multiplicité » dit Louis-Jean Calvet (1999), « est chose mauvaise, on lui préfère de façon toute jacobine un bon gros Etat monolingue bien cerné dans ses frontières politiques et linguistiques ».La région caraïbe occupe une place tout à fait intéressante sur cette scène en perpétuel mouvement qu’est la mondialisation. Ces pays/îles doivent continuellement chercher l’équilibre entre appartenance locale, régionale et internationale, grand nombre d’entre eux luttant toujours aujourd’hui pour concilier leur statut d’anciennes colonies et le rythme rapide de la mondialisation. Cette thèse porte sur la place des langues vivantes dans les écoles du premier degré à la Martinique et à la Dominique et sur les enjeux d’un enseignement bilingue pour ces deux îles qui appartiennent à la fois à la Caraïbe et au monde. Nous proposons, dans un premier temps, une étude de la situation actuelle de l’enseignement des langues dans les deux îles : quelles sont les politiques linguistiques dans les deux contextes? Dans quelle mesure sont-elles mises en œuvre? L’enseignement des langues répond-il aux exigences des textes officiels ? Les politiques linguistiques sont-elles adaptées aux réalités sociolinguistiques de ces îles ? Dans un deuxième temps, nous interrogeons la possibilité d’un enseignement bilingue dès l’école préélémentaire dans les îles de la Martinique et de la Dominique et nous expérimentons des approches d’enseignement des langues en milieu institutionnel et en contexte périscolaire. Nous nous interrogeons sur des modes de fonctionnement différents : ne pourrait-on pas imaginer d’autres manières de faire ? Que pouvons-nous proposer comme solutions complémentaires et/ou alternatives à l’existant ?Enfin, dans un troisième temps, dans une perspective plus globale, nous posons la question de l’éducation bilingue, par une approche comparée, en analysant les faits éducatifs dans deux systèmes différents et en nous intéressant à la question de l’altérité. La compréhension de l’Autre peut-elle améliorer l’existant dans le cas de la Martinique et de la Dominique ? Nous revenons ainsi à la question de l’intérêt et des enjeux d’une comparaison de l’enseignement des langues dans ces deux systèmes, en prenant en compte les identités locales, régionales et internationales à travers des analyses historiques et sociolinguistiques. A la suite de cette analyse, nous faisons des propositions concrètes en faveur d’un enseignement bilingue intégré dans ces deux îles. Ces propositions concernent les domaines tels que la didactique, la planification en éducation et le curriculum bilingue, la formation des enseignants et la politique linguistique de la Caraïbe. Notre question centrale est la suivante : comment enseigner aujourd’hui pour mieux préparer les citoyens caribéens au monde de demain ? / The Caribbean region occupies an interesting space in the perpetually changing scene of globalisation. Caribbean countries or islands must continually seek to balance their sense of belonging to a local, regional and international community. This is sometimes a difficult task as any of them are still fighting to balance their evolution as old colonies with the fast pace of globalisation in a new world.This thesis focuses on language teaching at primary level in the islands of Martinique and Dominica. It examines the many issues surrounding language teaching and questions the role of bilingual education in the development of these two Caribbean islands as they evolve within the Caribbean and the world. Firstly, we propose a careful study of the current situation of language teaching in Martinique and Dominica. What are the language policies of these islands? How and to what extent are they implemented? Does language teaching truly reflect the objectives of official texts? Are the present language policies adapted to the sociolinguistic reality of each island?Secondly, we raise the question as to the possibility of the implementation of bilingual education at the pre-primary level in the islands of Martinique and Dominica. We examine the question through the experimenting of different language teaching methods within a school setting and as part of an extracurricular bilingual program. Can we envision alternative approaches to the present situation? What complementary or alternative solutions can we propose to improve on what already exists?Lastly, we look at the subject from an overall perspective and we address the question of bilingual education. We analyse how comparative education, the study of other education systems and the understanding of others play a major role in developing solutions to present day situations. This analysis takes into account issues relating to local, regional and international identities through a study of the historical and sociolinguistic context of the islands of Dominica and Martinique.Based on our analysis and on the literature, we put forward concrete proposals for holistic bilingual education on the islands of Martinique and Dominica. These proposals focus on areas such as language teaching pedagogy, education planning, the bilingual curriculum, teacher training, and language policy for the Caribbean. The main question underlying this thesis is: how do we teach today to better prepare Caribbean citizens for the world of tomorrow?

Workplace English skills for Grade 9 languages in C21 argues that a most valuable contribution of any educational programme in a developing country is the imparting of (English) workplace skills to school-leavers. The Introduction ascribes, in part, the current lack of these skills in school-leavers to (British) colonial education policy which was perpetuated and aggravated by the National Party during the apartheid era and which distinguished, on racial grounds, between mental and manual labour. During South Africa’s international isolation – imposed because of its policy of apartheid and leaving it unprepared for major global economic changes – globalisation became a significant force in international commerce, creating an increased demand for workplace skills (in English) that could attract foreign capital and direct investment. The newly elected ruling party’s answer to both the socio-political and educational legacy of apartheid education was Curriculum 2005. In contrast to the National Party’s content-based curriculum, the newer outcomes-based approach to education, revised as C21, initially failed because of poor management and not because of any inherent conceptual flaws. The research methodology that Chapter One outlines is essentially traditional in its use of the scientific method although it reflects the changing face of contemporary research that is often transdisciplinary, heterogeneous, heterarchical, organisationally transient, socially accountable and reflexive. This approach enlists input from many fields and subject experts in the hope of addressing a problem in the community in which the research is conducted. The literature survey shows that this thesis contributes to the corpus of research by exploring the need and relevance of workplace skills in the context of Curriculum 2005 – an approach hitherto not explored in the context of secondary education. Chapter One also outlines the theoretical base of this study. Chapter Two focuses on resolving conceptual obstacles to integrating workplace skills into the outcomes-based language teaching context. Work is described as a phenomenon that comprises both process and product, thus bridging the conceptual chasm that traditionally separates the classroom from the workplace. A brief overview of the structure of Curriculum 2005/C21 shows that this curriculum does not conflict, conceptually, with the teaching of workplace skills. The focus then shifts to the identification of those workplace and workplace literacy skills that are currently in demand and that are in harmony with the fundamental principles of this curriculum design. Chapter Three illustrates the fact that workplace skills do not conflict with generally accepted communicative principles of language teaching. A tentative theory of workplace skills that comprises the principles of the newest curriculum, Curriculum 2005, workplace skills and communicative and task-based English language teaching is proposed. Chapter Four offers a model that can be used to design workplace literacy activities for the language classroom. Two tasks are designed according to this model, then tested in the classroom and, finally, subjected to analysis. The data analysis reveals certain weaknesses in the model. Changes to the model are proposed. The study closes with a synopsis of the argument in each chapter. Finally, the evaluation also briefly describes alternative research avenues. / Thesis (Doctor Litterarum (English))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / English / unrestricted

The present study examines and classifies learning activities found in teaching materials of Spanish as a foreign language produced for a Swedish context with the aim of determining to what extent they conform to the functional, action-oriented language view advocated by the Swedish curriculum. Both the distribution of learning activities within receptive, productive and interactive skills, the activity types within each skill, and the theoretical underpinnings of the activities have been studied in four popular coursebooks and two websites for teaching Spanish as a foreign language. The activities analyzed have shown a dominance of the written language even in oral activities. The results have also shown a bias towards more controlled, non-communicative activities with an explicit focus on forms at the expense of freer communicative activities with a primary focus on meaning, known to support language acquisition.