The main goal of this thesis is to find and describe the evidence of bilingual communication of English language among Czech users of the social network Facebook. A qualitative method of both text document and semi-structured interviews with six active users was used to describe the type of bilingualism which occurs in the social media environment, in what situations and what is the user's motivation behind it. Therefore the main theoretical approaches I focus on are bilingualism and its place in the Czech Republic and the role of the English language in this socio-culture context. Furthermore I study the communication in an online environment: what are the specifications and what role does the CMC (computer-mediated-communication) play in relationship of the language and the user. Finally, I search for previous studies in the field of online bilingualism, social media preferably. The results show not only the Czech users are well situated within the discourse of English as (online) lingua franca, moreover they seem to be very active in self-imposed code-switching into the English language. The data acquired through the interviews helped to identify bilingualism occurs on both levels of code-switching and code-mixing. Additionally, Anglicism's in the Czech language were reported widely.

In my doctoral thesis, which I have elaborated on the basis of my diploma thesis Doubled Identity of Crew Members on Cruise Ships as the Instrument of Cultural Adaptation, supervised by Mgr. Helena Tužinská, PhD., I have analysed the way of life of crew members sharing the multiethnical territory of cruise ships. Crew members working there come from over 50 different countries. In spite of their different origins and cultures which have been forming their behaviour and way of thinking, they share small space without any conflicts. My goal is to sum up the basic conditions which should be met in any multiethnical society to ensure that there would not be any conflicts between its habitants. According to my hypothesis there is a need of other than ethnical identity which could unify them on other than ethnical basis. In the territory of cruise ships it is the socio-professional identity of 'crew member '. I found out that there are two main factors responsible for successful co-existence of people from different cultures here - communication and the system of values. That is why from all factors in which we can observe socio-professional identity of crew members I preferably analyse rules and norms established by crew members and lingua franca used on cruise ships called 'ship language'. The specific...

Linguistic fossilization is a prevalent phenomenon in adult ESLA and presents a perpetual pedagogical challenge to teachers. Despite controversy about the theoretical concept, research is increasingly showing that persistent erroneousness cannot be attributed to single causal factors. This single case study examines controversial aspects surrounding the concept and formulates criteria for identifying fossilization. The study investigates the conversational output of an independent adult learner over a period of nine months and presents a holistic exploration of causal influences. The findings substantiate that fossilization arises from changing combinations of factors, and that such combinations are unique to the situation of each adult learner. The key to the successful treatment of fossilized errors may lie in identifying their roots, which can be achieved by analyzing output and through discussion with learners in order to gain insight into their experience of the learning process. Results also suggest that a critical perspective on the theoretical construct is needed in order to investigate the phenomenon in adult second language acquisition. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL))

This paper aims to explore Swedish students’ experiences of English-medium instruction (EMI) in Swedish higher education. Previous research shows that students’ experiences of EMI in higher education are closely related to attitudes towards the proficiencies of lecturers and peers, which in turn are based on students’ conceptualisations of English. Through the use of semi-structured interviews, three interrelated themes are explored: (1) how prepared students felt they were to use English in higher education (2) students’ experiences of acquiring content through English and (3) students’ underlying conceptualisations of English. Three Swedish students at different institutions and programs were interviewed. Findings show that the students had varied views of what it was to be prepared for EMI as well as how prepared they felt they were according to their own definitions. Students also had differing experiences of acquiring content through English. All three students conceptualised English as a standard, native variety. Their conceptualisations of English as a standard had implications on student-student and teacher-student interactions, which was evidenced especially in regard to international non-native speakers of English. Findings are discussed in relation to relevant previous research on EMI and the Swedish context. Finally, suggestions are made for Upper Secondary school in-class practices, for the benefit of better preparing Swedish students for higher education in Sweden by implementing an English as a lingua franca (ELF-) perspective on English spoken interaction.

The aim of this study was to identify if digital games could be used as a method to study Cosmopolitan Democracy. Using a mixed methods approach, players of the Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV) community were asked to answer a questionnaire concerning the importance of age, gender and nationality of other players, in order to see if their values aligned with those of Cosmopolitan Democracy. The questionnaire also investigated the use of the Auto-Translate feature in FFXIV to examine its usefulness as a lingua franca to bridge gaps in language equality. Furthermore a literature review on the use of digital games in education and ideologies was conducted. The results showed that the values of the FFXIV community do align with those of Cosmopolitan Democracy, that Auto-Translate successfully acts as a lingua franca, and that games have a history of teaching players about differing ideologies. The conclusions advocated the creation of a game based on Cosmopolitan Democracy, allowing for players to experience the democratic model and for researchers to gather data on its functionality.

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Innerhalb des Faches ‚Auslandsgermanistik‘ existieren bislang keine einheitlichen überschaubaren Richtlinien und Handlungsschritte für die Lehre des berufsorientierten Übersetzens auf allen sprachlichen Leistungsniveaus in Fremdsprachenstudien. Trotz der Einbeziehung der Sprachmittlung in den Gemeinsamen Europäischen Referenzrahmen (GER), ist hier ein professioneller Gebrauch der sprachmittlerischen Fertigkeiten in der Auslandsgermanistik nicht einbezogen (Fitzpatrick 1997:66). Daraus folgt die noch existierende Trennung der Fertigkeiten, die in den Fächern Übersetzungswissenschaft und Fremdsprachenstudien (im konkreten Fall hier: Auslandsgermanistik) zu trainieren sind. Weitere Folgen solcher Abgrenzungen lassen sich in einem sich noch entwickelnden Land wie Nigeria finden. In diesem Land gibt es aufgrund der Nichtverfügbarkeit von qualifizierten Lehrenden im Fach ‚Übersetzen‘ (de-en, en-de) keine funktionale Übersetzerausbildung, es fehlt auch eine Berufsorientierung im Germanistikstudium für nigerianische Germanistikstudierende. Außerdem bedürfen die Wirtschaftsbeziehungen zwischen Nigeria und Deutschland einer funktionierenden und belastbaren ‚Arbeitsbühne‘, die die Weiterentwicklung der Wirtschaft im Bereich der sprachlichen Dienstleistungen fördert und nicht, wie bisher, einschränkt. In dieser Dissertation wurde daher untersucht, wie das berufliche Übersetzen im Rahmen einer berufsbezogenen Fremdsprachlehre eingebunden werden kann. Am Beispiel des Germanistikstudiengangs in Nigeria lässt sich das anpassungsfähige Modell eines berufspraktischen Lehrplans zum Übersetzen ‚VOTT‘ als Zusatz zu den schon bestehenden Lehrplänen entwickeln.

Innerhalb des Faches ‚Auslandsgermanistik‘ existieren bislang keine einheitlichen überschaubaren Richtlinien und Handlungsschritte für die Lehre des berufsorientierten Übersetzens auf allen sprachlichen Leistungsniveaus in Fremdsprachenstudien. Trotz der Einbeziehung der Sprachmittlung in den Gemeinsamen Europäischen Referenzrahmen (GER), ist hier ein professioneller Gebrauch der sprachmittlerischen Fertigkeiten in der Auslandsgermanistik nicht einbezogen (Fitzpatrick 1997:66). Daraus folgt die noch existierende Trennung der Fertigkeiten, die in den Fächern Übersetzungswissenschaft und Fremdsprachenstudien (im konkreten Fall hier: Auslandsgermanistik) zu trainieren sind. Weitere Folgen solcher Abgrenzungen lassen sich in einem sich noch entwickelnden Land wie Nigeria finden. In diesem Land gibt es aufgrund der Nichtverfügbarkeit von qualifizierten Lehrenden im Fach ‚Übersetzen‘ (de-en, en-de) keine funktionale Übersetzerausbildung, es fehlt auch eine Berufsorientierung im Germanistikstudium für nigerianische Germanistikstudierende. Außerdem bedürfen die Wirtschaftsbeziehungen zwischen Nigeria und Deutschland einer funktionierenden und belastbaren ‚Arbeitsbühne‘, die die Weiterentwicklung der Wirtschaft im Bereich der sprachlichen Dienstleistungen fördert und nicht, wie bisher, einschränkt. In dieser Dissertation wurde daher untersucht, wie das berufliche Übersetzen im Rahmen einer berufsbezogenen Fremdsprachlehre eingebunden werden kann. Am Beispiel des Germanistikstudiengangs in Nigeria lässt sich das anpassungsfähige Modell eines berufspraktischen Lehrplans zum Übersetzen ‚VOTT‘ als Zusatz zu den schon bestehenden Lehrplänen entwickeln.

This study investigates the application of the world Englishes (WE) paradigm to English language teaching (ELT) in the higher education context of Japan, as well as the possible application of competing paradigms that also work within a pluricentric view of English: English as an International Language (EIL) and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF). The Chukyo University Department of World Englishes (DWE), within the College of World Englishes, serves as the primary site of inquiry. A main focus of the study is to explore the development of a broader concept of World Englishes for educational contexts. A literature review of work in the three fields of WE, EIL, and ELF was conducted, as well as a literature review of leading work in the field of English language curriculum design. The literature reviews establish a baseline of what is currently known in these fields. To provide additional answers to the research questions for this study, three sets of qualitative data were obtained and analyzed: a survey of graduates of the DWE since 2006, a survey of teachers in the DWE, and a series of observations of actual classes within the DWE. A coding scheme was designed for each of the two survey instruments to facilitate their analysis, which was used to report on and analyze the survey data, as well as incorporating actual excerpts from the raw data, to better illustrate and support particular trends or commonalities expressed in the data. The classroom observations were written up in the form of ‘vignettes’ from which further analysis could be made and triangulated with the data from the two surveys. These results were then interpreted to report the findings of the study, and a series of themes were identified that showed potential areas to focus on for curriculum enhancements. These include: the overcoming of shyness in Japanese students, the insufficiency of communicative language teaching (CLT) within a 4-skills curriculum, the applicability of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) in Japanese higher education, the need for more academic and business/professional education, the concept of world mindedness, the overall relevance of the WE/EIL/ELF paradigms, and the concept of ‘Educated English’ (Kachru 2003, Bamgbose 1982), as an objective for the Expanding Circle. The concept of Educated English in particular, has heretofore been underexplored in Expanding Circle WE research. The study concludes that based on the needs of students in the DWE, and more widely in Japan and across other Expanding Circle contexts, a broader concept of WE is necessary to better inform ELT curricular and pedagogical practices. The goal of working towards educated Japanese English as an outcome is more realistic for higher proficiency, highly motivated students, and the study concludes that ELT pedagogy to realize this goal is better suited to creation of an honors track, and general track, in the DWE and other institutions. Ultimately, the thesis contributes new insights into creating a broader concept of WE, drawing on research from competing paradigms, and posits a more suitable model of English pedagogy for Expanding Circle users of English.