Studiens syfte är att synliggöra hur förskollärare beskriver sitt förhållningssätt och arbetssätt i arbetet med flerspråkiga barn för att stödja och stimulera deras språkutveckling. För att undersöka detta har kvalitativa intervjuer med sex förskollärare genomförts. Förskollärarnas förhållningssätt till flerspråkighet samt vilka metoder och verktyg som används i förskoleverksamheten för att främja flerspråkiga barns språk undersöktes. Upplevda utmaningar och möjligheter som detta arbete skapar beskrevs av förskollärarna. Studien har utgångspunkt i den sociokulturella teorin där utveckling och lärande sker i samspel mellan människor, med hjälp av redskap och med rätt stöttning. Teorin var till hjälp att analysera förskollärarnas uppfattningar och erfarenheter i arbetet med att främja språkutveckling hos flerspråkiga barn. Studiens resultat visar att förskollärarna har ett positivt förhållningssätt till flerspråkighet där majoriteten inte upplever sig själva som flerspråkiga. Dessutom framkommer det att förskollärarna upplever arbete med flerspråkiga barns språkutveckling som utmanade eftersom adekvata kompetenser inom ämnet saknas. Detta arbete beskrivs som en möjlighet där olika användbara strategier och verktyg finns till hjälp. Det lyfts även fram att samverkan med olika aktörer är grundläggande för att kunna stödja och stimulera flerspråkiga barns språkutveckling. Resultatet pekar även på att för att kunna verkställa detta arbete i förskolan behöver förskollärarna få mer kunskap och vägledning. För att barn ska kunna utveckla det svenska språket samt sitt modersmål behöver de rätt stöd, menar förskollärarna. Studien bidrar med en ökad kunskap om vilka strateger, redskap och kompetenser förskollärarna behöver ha för att ge flerspråkiga barn förutsättningar för att utveckla alla sina språk. / The purpose of the study is to make visible how preschool teachers describe their approach and methods while working with multilingual children in order to support and stimulate their language development. Qualitative interviews have been conducted with six preschool teachers in order to achieve this goal. During each interview, the teachers were asked about which methods and tools they applied in activities in order to promote and encourage language development. Perceived challenges and opportunities that this work creates were described by the preschool teachers. This study is based on the sociocultural perspective, in which both learning, and development take place through interaction between people with the help of tools and with the right support. The theory was helpful in analyzing the preschool teachers´ perceptions and experiences in their work. The results of the study show that the preschool teachers have a positive attitude to multilingualism, where the majority do not perceive themselves as multilingual. The results show that the preschool teachers perceive their work with multilingual children´s language development as challenging due to a lack of adequate competence in the subject. This work is also described as an opportunity where various strategies and tools are available to help. In addition, it is highlighted that cooperation with others is fundamental to being able to support and stimulate language development. The result also points to the fact that, in order to carry out this work in the preschool, preschool teachers need more knowledge and guidance. In order for children to be able to develop the Swedish language as well as their mother tongue, they need the right support, the preschool teachers declares. The study hopes to contribute to, an increased knowledge of which strategies, tools and skills are needed in order to create an optimal environment for multilingual development.

This study investigates error fossilisation in the written English of Xhosa - speaking students. It is hypothesised that there is no statistically significant difference in the language errors of two groups of Grade 10 and Grade 12 students. Two randomly selected groups of 30 Grade 10 and 30 Grade 12 students in a rural senior secondary school in the Eastern Cape province were required to write two essays, of which the first two hundred words of each essay were marked. A frequency count of errors was done and comparisons were made. The findings indicate that the Grade 12s consistently made fewer errors. However, the difference is only statistically significant in the case of prepositions and concord, and is insignificant in tenses, pronouns and articles. The findings also show evidence of fossilisation given the persistence of some of the errors. Certain features in the student's language were not eradicated by the additional two years exposure to English. / English Studies / M.A. (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)

Silozi is one of the local languages of Namibia with over 200 thousand mother-tongue speakers. The aim of this study is to examine the language situation in the Malozi Community of Caprivi and to identify the factors influencing the maintenance of Silozi in Namibia. The following factors were identified as relevant to the maintenance of Silozi: education, media, religion, contact situations, cultural activities and language loyalty. Despite the strong influence of English in education and increased use of English bythe younger generation, the findings indicate that Silozi is likely to survive for several generations into the future. The study reveals that a high percentage of both young and old use more Silozi in the domain of home, neighbourhood and church than English. It is evident that Silozi will continue to be used as a functional language in Caprivi for many years to come. / Linguistics / (M.A. (Sociolinguistics))

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of Same-Language Subtitles (SLS) on the subject-specific comprehension and the academic literacy levels of EAL students on the Vaal Triangle Campus of North-West University (NWU). Essentially, the study aimed to determine whether exposing students studying through English as an Additional Language (EAL) to subtitled lectures (live or recorded lectures) would help improve their comprehension of the academic content as well as their receptive academic literacy skills, compared to students who were not exposed to subtitled lectures. This study stems from the identification of an academic performance-related issue on the Vaal Triangle Campus of NWU. Indeed, campus statistics show that the throughput rate of EAL students remains low, and that these students‟ academic literacy levels are inadequate. In other words, EAL students on this campus are underachieving and seem to have difficulties in mastering academic English. Based on various studies that showed SLS to be a valuable tool in terms of learning and academic literacy, this study proposed to introduce SLS (both live via respeaking and offline) in the university classroom as a learning aid, thus optimising the time students spend in lectures. Very little information was available in South Africa on the impact of SLS on the subject-specific comprehension of EAL students in a tertiary academic context. Furthermore, it had been anticipated that a certain number of technical constraints were likely to be encountered during the empirical investigation. These two factors made it difficult to predict what other factors could influence the outcome of the study. As a result, the study was based on the principle of Action Research, a research method characterised by the fact that the research is carried out in as many cycles as may be necessary in order to achieve the optimal conditions for a specific intervention. Three cycles were necessary to reach the optimal design of the present study so that a confident conclusion could be made regarding the impact of SLS on comprehension and academic literacy. For each cycle, the intervention was carried out over an academic semester. In the first cycle, a test group composed of EAL first-year Economics students was exposed to live SLS via respeaking during class, while a control group (also composed of EAL first-year Economics students) attended the same class at a different time, without SLS. In the second cycle, the live SLS via respeaking were replaced with offline SLS. The intervention was taken out of the regular classes and was carried out in the context of practical revision classes scheduled specifically for the purpose of the intervention. The test group viewed subtitled videos of lectures, while the control group viewed videos without subtitles. After each viewing, all participants were required to complete a short comprehension test. This cycle was also conducted in first-year Economics. The basic design of the third cycle was similar to that of the second cycle, but for the fact that the intervention took place in the context of a Psychology module, which, unlike the Economics module, was taught without the lecturer making use of slides. After these three research cycles were completed, it could be concluded that offline SLS indeed have a positive impact on the subject-specific comprehension and the receptive academic literacy skills of EAL students in a tertiary academic context. This conclusion was supported by the following findings: 1. The first research cycle pointed towards a slight, but statistically insignificant benefit in terms of both comprehension and academic literacy. However, at this stage of the empirical investigation, the technical constraints made it difficult to draw a precise conclusion in that respect. 2. In the second research cycle, the SLS seem to have had a significant impact on the receptive academic literacy skills of the test group, compared to the control group. However, no such impact could be noted in terms of subject-specific comprehension. This was attributed to the presence of a confounding variable, namely slides used during the lectures. This once more made it impossible to draw a confident conclusion regarding the impact of SLS on comprehension. 3. The third research cycle made a more confident conclusion regarding the impact of SLS on subject-specific comprehension possible. Indeed, the results of the statistical analyses show that the test group performed significantly better in their semester test (covering the work done in all the recorded lectures) than the control group, which was not exposed to any videos at all. On the basis of these findings, it was concluded that SLS in their offline form have a positive impact on the subject-specific comprehension and the receptive academic literacy skills of EAL students in a tertiary academic context, specifically if the students are given sufficient time to get used to the mode. This study seems to indicate that the benefits of SLS for comprehension can be recorded provided that students are exposed to the intervention over a longer period of time. However, there may be further scope for refinement as far as this study is concerned. It is therefore important that the topic be investigated further. / MA, Language Practice, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012

This study focused on the relationship between reading comprehension and academic achievement of grade 10 learners in the learning area Language and attempted to address the following primary research question: What is the relationship between the reading comprehension of grade 10 learners in their first and second language and their academic achievement in the learning area Language ? The researcher also addressed the following secondary questions: Is them a significant difference between Afrikaans and Sesotho-speaking learners regarding their achievements in reading comprehension (first and second language) and the learning area Language (first and second language)? Is there a significant difference between male and female learners regarding their achievements in reading comprehension (first and second language) and the learning area Language (first and second language) ? A total of seventy-seven (77) grade 10 learners for whom English is a second language were included in this study. The learners' reading comprehension abilities in the first language (Afrikaans and Sesotho) and the second language (English) were tested and correlated with their achievements in the learning area Language (first and second language). The reading comprehension and language achievements of Afrikaans and Sesotho-speaking learners respectively and male and female learners were compared. Resulting from the findings of this study, the following conclusions were made: A significant relationship exists between the reading comprehension of grade 10 learners in their first and second language and their academic achievement in the learning area Language. There is a significant difference between Afrikaans and Sesotho-speaking learners regarding their achievements in reading comprehension (first and second language) and the learning area Language (first and second language). There is a significant difference between male and female learners regarding their achievements in reading comprehension (first and second language) and the learning area Language (first and second language). / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

This dissertation focuses on the experiences of second language pupils which involve linguistic encounters. The overarching aim is to analyse second language pupils' encounters with Swedish as a Second Language and the Swedish school, using a “curriculum theory” and a ”life story” approach". The goal is achieved by examining two empirical contexts which can be described as expressed and experienced curricula. In the first context, an idea analysis is carried out of the contents of the syllabi and curricula for Swedish as a Second Language over a period of time. In the second context, a narrative analysis is carried out of the life stories given by second language pupils of their encounter with Swedish as a Second Language and the Swedish school. Trainee teachers with Swedish as a Second Language participate by telling their life stories. A framework for interpretation emerges by reasoning about language and the creation of meaning, as well as about culture, cultural capital, similarities/differences, compensating/completing and limited participation/full participation. The reasoning leads to the construction of a theoretical interpretation framework and prisms through which the offered and experienced learning can be studied. The analysis shows that what is on offer in the curricula and syllabi is mainly monocultural. It shows that a new subject has grown up based on the need to teach pupils about the Swedish cultural heritage and Swedish norms. Moreover, both changes in the expressed educational ideals over a period of time and contradictory educational ideals become evident. It is also clear that those providing the information felt both different and excluded. They were not monolingual, and did not have Swedish as their mother tongue. To make up for this lack of Swedishness, they were separated from the other classmates and offered special teaching in an attempt to compensate. They also received mother tongue tuition, which was not in Swedish, and this became a problem for those around them, who considered this was an easy option. The second language tuition they were offered focussed partly on their mistakes and shortcomings, and partly on the Swedish cultural heritage. Their earlier experience and skills were not used.

La plupart des travaux portant sur l’usage du français en milieu de travail tendent à adopter une perspective métrologique qui vise à cerner les déterminants de l’utilisation du français en milieu de travail. Dans ce mémoire, nous cherchons à changer d’optique en envisageant non pas d’expliquer les déterminants de l’usage principal du français en milieu de travail, mais à connaitre les principaux contextes auxquels les personnes se réfèrent pour déclarer le français comme langue principale de travail. Nous faisons en effet l’hypothèse que le fait de déclarer le français comme langue principale de travail est le résultat d’une synthèse de pratiques linguistiques contextuelles distinctes. Pour répondre à cet objectif de recherche, nous mobilisons les données d’une enquête de l’Office québécois de la langue française réalisée en 2007. Au sein de l’ensemble des contextes de travail pris en compte dans cette enquête, nous avons choisi cinq contextes : la réunion de travail, la lecture de documents produits par l’entreprise, le fait de communiquer avec l’extérieur, le fait de communiquer avec le ou les supérieurs immédiats et l’utilisation des technologies de l’information. Ainsi, nous nous sommes limités d’abord à l’étude d’un certain nombre de contextes qui touchent presqu’à l’ensemble des travailleurs particulièrement ceux qui ont à communiquer avec des supérieurs, à lire des documents produits par leur entreprise, à participer régulièrement à des réunions de travail, puis nous abordons des contextes plus spécifiques et qui touchent à un nombre plus faible de travailleurs tels : ceux qui ont à utiliser des logiciels et enfin à communiquer avec l’extérieur. Notre analyse révèle que, au-delà des caractéristiques individuelles et du contexte général du milieu de travail, ces usages contextuels des langues en milieu de travail prédisent mieux la déclaration de la langue de travail des travailleurs. Quand il s’agit de déclarer la langue principale de travail, les travailleurs semblent principalement faire référence à la langue qu’ils utilisent dans les réunions de travail, dans la langue de lecture des documents produits par l’entreprise, dans les communications avec les supérieurs immédiats ainsi qu’aux versions linguistiques des logiciels utilisés et des communications avec des clients et fournisseurs de l’extérieur du Québec. / Most researches on the use of French in the workplace tend to adopt a methodological perspective that aims to identify the determinant factors of the use of French in the workplace. In this paper, we intend to change this perspective by attempting instead, to apprehend the main contexts in which people relate to declare French as their language of work. We make the assumption that declaring French as the main language of work result of both contextual and distinct linguistic practices. To meet this research objective, we draw data from a survey conducted in 2007 by the Office of the French Language in Quebec. Based on this survey, we have selected five contexts to which people relate to when using the French language in the workplace: workshop, reading of documents produced by the company, communication with the outside world, communication with immediate supervisors, and the use of technology of information. Thus, we have limited ourselves to the study of workers that have to communicate with supervisors, read documents produced by their company, participate regularly in meeting, use software, and finally communicate with other people from the outside. Our analysis reveals that, beyond individual characteristics and the general context of the workplace, these contextual uses of language in the workplace predict the best statement of the language of workers. When it comes to declare the main language of work, workers seem mainly to refer to the language they use in meetings, in the language of reading documents produced by the company in communications with immediate superiors and to use language versions of software and communications with customers and suppliers outside of Quebec.

La présente investigation consiste à réinterroger le phénomène de contact des langues dans une perspective d’appropriation de la L2 en contexte didactique algérien. À travers la mise en place de pratiques langagières et interactives d’enseignants de français alternant L2 et L1, cette recherche se veut d’examiner les ressources linguistiques mobilisées et leurs portées sur la communication et la dynamique des pratiques langagières, de cadres d’analyses de situations d’enseignement/apprentissage du FLE. Inscrite au croisement des sciences du langage, de la didactique du FLE, du plurilinguisme et de la linguistique de l’acquisition, notre réflexion vise également à identifier les possibilités de recours à la L1 ainsi que les obstacles empêchant l’apprentissage de la L2. Enfin, il sera question de voir dans quelle mesure et de quelle façon l’arabe (dialectal et/ou classique) et le français interviennent dans les interactions en situation didactique. Par ailleurs, nous faisions l’hypothèse que les enseignants de FLE ignorent tout des théories sous-tendant l’usage de l’alternance codique proprement dit. De plus, les modèles de formation actuels ne permettent pas de réfléchir sur sa propre activité d’enseignement particulièrement lorsqu’il s’agit de l’acquisition par le recours à une autre langue pour l’appropriation d’une langue étrangère. Un intérêt particulier est, cependant, accordé au choix dédié à la langue arabe (classique et/ou dialectale) en classe de français, principe mettant en valeur l’aspect linguistique dans la construction de la compétence plurilingue. Ainsi, notre démarche globale présente le contact des langues comme un fait facilitant l’appropriation de savoirs en L2. Méthodologiquement, canalisant notre réflexion sur cette question et afin de vérifier empiriquement nos hypothèses de recherche, nous avons entrepris une étude qui a rendu possible le recueil de données à partir de questionnaires, d’entretiens exploratoires et d’observations de classes. Les besoins interrogés s’articulent autour des représentations sur les langues en présence en Algérie, des pratiques de celles-ci et de l’alternance codique en classe de L2. Et comme il nous semble difficile de penser le sujet indépendamment de sa langue maternelle, nous avons pu relever qu’en dépit de certaines résistances des enseignants, la langue arabe dialectale s’invite de facto en classe de français. L’apprentissage de la L2 s’avère davantage facilité lorsque le contexte d’enseignement est favorable à l’alternance des codes L1/L2 / This investigation is to re-examine the phenomenon of languages contact in an L2 appropriation perspective in the Algerian context. Through the implementation of linguistic and interactive practices of teachers of French alternating L2 and L1, this research aims to examine the linguistic resources mobilized and their impact on communication and the dynamics of language practices, frameworks for analysis situations of teaching/learning of French as a foreign language (FLE). Joined at the intersection of linguistics, didactics of French as a foreign language, multilingualism and language acquisition, our reflection also aims to identify opportunities for the use of L1 as well as barriers to learning L2. Finally, it will issue to what extent and how Arabic (dialectal and/or classical) and French are involved in interactions in teaching situation. Furthermore, we made the assumption that teachers of French as a foreign language are unaware of theories underlying the use of code-switching itself. Likewise, the current training models do not allow us to reflect on our own teaching activity especially when it comes to the acquisition by the use of another language for the learning or even the appropriation of a foreign language. Particular interest is, however, given to the choice dedicated to Arabic (classical and /or dialectal) in French class, a principal highlighting the linguistic aspect in the construction of multilingual competence. Thus, our global approach presents the language contact as a fact facilitating the appropriation of knowledge in L2. Methodologically, channelling our thinking on this issue and to test empirically our research assumptions, we undertook a study which made possible the collection of data from questionnaires, exploratory interviews and observations of classroom. The needs dealt with centre around representations of the languages ​​involved in Algeria, their practices and code-switching in L2 classroom. And as it seems difficult to think about this subject regardless of our mother tongue, we have noted that, despite some resistance from teachers, dialectal Arabic is de facto present in French class. The L2 learning is further facilitated when the context of teaching is favourable to alternating L1/L2 codes

Dans cette recherche consacrée à l'emploi des connecteurs à l'écrit par des apprenants persanophones de français langue étrangère, nous avons étudié leur contribution à l'organisation des textes, ainsi que le rôle de ces connecteurs dans la construction de la cohésion textuelle et dans l'évolution de l'information. Après avoir observé les différences structurelles entre la langue française et la langue persane, surtout en ce qui concerne les connecteurs, nous avons formé l'hypothèse que la langue maternelle de nos apprenants pourrait contribuer à l'emploi erroné des connecteurs. Dans cette optique, nous nous sommes inspirés des théories relatives à l'analyse d'erreurs et à l'analyse contrastive. Celles-ci nous ont permis dans un premier temps de formuler une typologie des erreurs relevées, et dans un second temps de proposer une explication des erreurs constatées. L'analyse de l'emploi de différents types de connecteurs dans les productions écrites d'un groupe d'étudiants iraniens a révélé des points intéressants à la fois sur les compétences des apprenants mais également à propos de leurs besoins langagiers. Cette recherche a confirmé notre hypothèse initiale tout en la nuançant, car elle démontre que le recours à la langue maternelle ne conduit pas inexorablement à un emploi erroné des connecteurs en français L2. / In this research, by focusing on the usage of the connectors in the written texts of the Iranian students in a French language course, we investigated their contribution of the connectors to the text organization in addition to the role of these connectors in the construction of textual cohesion and in the information evolution. After observing the structural differences between the French language and the Persian language, especially regarding the connectors, we formed a hypothesis that the mother tongue of our students may cause the wrong usage of the connectors. To this end, we were inspired by the theories relative to the error analysis and contrastive analysis which allowed us initially to further clarify a classification of the errors and to propose an explanation of the errors found. The analysis of the usage of different types of connectors in the written productions of the group revealed some interesting points on both the students' competence level and their language needs. This research confirmed our initial hypothesis while showing that the recourse to the mother language was not necessarily a cause for wrong usage of connectors in French L2.

[pt] A presente pesquisa se debruça sobre a produção escrita de aprendizes de inglês como língua estrangeira no Brasil. Analisam-se redações produzidas por alunos de nível intermediário e avançado, com foco em construções cuja inadequação pode ser especificamente associada o emprego do vocabulário. O objetivo geral da pesquisa é investigar a interferência do português no aprendizado do inglês como LE, com foco no emprego lexical, em modalidade escrita. Seu objetivo mais específico é testar a hipótese de que o caráter não isomórfico das relações de sentido entre línguas diferentes, no caso deste estudo, o português e o inglês, tem relação com a incidência de problemas de emprego lexical encontrados em redações de aprendizes de inglês como LE. Os resultados da análise, empreendida sobretudo com base nas proposições de Cruse (1986), Lyons (1990) e Saeed (2003), contribuem para confirmar a hipótese testada, demonstrando que os problemas lexicais em exame podem ser associados à interferência da língua materna e, mais especificamente, a discrepâncias nas relações de sentido entre o português e o inglês. / [en] This study aims at the written production of students of English as a foreign language in Brazil. Compositions of intermediate and advanced students are analyzed with a special focus on constructions whose inadequacies may be specifically associated to vocabulary usage. The general goal of the research is to investigate the interference of Portuguese in the acquisition of English as a foreign language, with a special emphasis on lexical usage in the written modality. Its specific objective is to test the hypothesis that the non isomorphic character of sense relations between different languages − in the case of this study, Portuguese and English − is related to the incidence of lexical problems encountered in compositions of students of English as a foreign language. The results of the analysis, which was mainly grounded on the propositions of Cruse (1986), Lyons (1990) and Saeed (2003), contribute to confirm this hypothesis, demonstrating that the lexical problems being scrutinized can be associated with mother tongue interference, and, more specifically, with the discrepancies in the sense relations between Portuguese and English.