Peer response is a method which is widely used on higher levels of second-language learning in Sweden, such as universities. The approach is not used as much in upper secondary school; and, the aim of this paper is to investigate upper secondary students' opinions of the value of peer response. The aim is also to investigate if the teacher's grading differed between the first version of a text and the final vesrion that had been revised after peer response. Research has shown that there seems to be more negotiation of meaning when students are working collaboratively and this can lead to better revisions of written texts, especially in terms of content development. On the other hand, collaborative writing can also create anxiety in some students who therefore dislike peer response. This investigation has shown that students taking part in the investigation are generally positive towards the approach. They also believe that giving and receiving feedback can help them improve their writing. There are, however, a few students who dislike it and want the texts to be read only by the teacher. The investigation has also shown that students mainly focus on formal aspects such as spelling and grammar when giving feedback to each other, whereas content was rarely commented on. Moreover, the results have shown that many of the students' grades improved on the final version compared to the first version. In conclusion, this investigation indicates that peer response could be used as an alternative, or complement, to ordinary teacher-student feedback in upper secondary school.

The following MA thesis is concerned with the interaction among students of Czech as a foreign language in classes of low proficiency and working in pairs. It mainly concentrates on the process of overcoming obstacles that arise during communication. The objective of the thesis is to examine the students' choice of communication strategies and describe the process of negotiation of meaning. In order to achieve that, an analysis of transcribed recordings of interactions during a language lesson was made. During the lesson students had to complete two two-way tasks, which should offer as many opportunities to negotiate meaning as possible. Keywords: Czech as a foreign language, interaction, negotiation of meaning, communication strategies, pair work

This study researches phenomenon of the Biology Teachers Network (BTN), a distributed Community of Practice (CoP). The membership of the BTN is voluntary. The BTN is supported by a core group of members and administered by single moderator. The network uses a manually operated email system to communicate and share information as an automatic listserv proved to be beyond the capabilities of the membership. Etienne Wenger is the authority on the theory of CoPs and provides in depth background to the processes that are evident in a CoP. A CoP consists of the Domain, Practice and Community and through a process of negotiation of meaning, learning takes place through identity formation. CoPs can exist online in the form of distribute CoPs. Passionate leadership is essential for the formation of a CoP as is the voluntary participation of the members. A Naturalistic case study methodology is considered to be the most appropriate research tool. In this study a focus group interview and a collection of emails were used as data sources. The data was analysed using three instruments derived from the literature. The conclusion from the analysis of the data was that the BTN is a vibrant and fully functional distributed CoP in the coalescing stage. Participation in the BTN has led to an increase in professional development and ICT skills amongst some of the member teachers. The fact that this was achieved through the use of email instead of sophisticated websites suggests that this model of distributed CoP is suitable for the professional development of teachers in South Africa. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted

A partir d’un dispositif eTandem chinois-français initié et développé par l’Université de Genève (Suisse) et l’Université du Hubei (Chine) sur cinq années, cette thèse aborde deux problématiques : l’ingénierie pédagogique du dispositif et la co-construction des compétences via la réalisation des rôles d’expert et d’apprenant entre les locuteurs natifs et non natifs. D’une part, nous montrons que la conception du dispositif doit prendre en compte l’influence des exigences institutionnelles, des pédagogies et des cultures éducatives sur la motivation, les stratégies et les performances des apprenants. D’autre part, nous analysons de manière fine des interactions au sein de binômes dont les styles d’organisation peuvent varier. Le « projet didactique » sous-jacent à leurs échanges, grâce notamment à son caractère institutionnalisé, mobilise des ressources technologiques et interculturelles en lien avec le processus d’apprentissage. Nous montrons en particulier comment les stratégies de résolution de problèmes (négociation du sens et de la forme) sont prolongées et enrichies par les outils informatiques. / Based on a Chinese-French eTandem course initiated and developed by the University of Geneva (Switzerland) and the University of Hubei (China) over five years, this thesis tackles two issues: instructional design of the course and co-construction of competences through the realization of the roles of expert (native speaker) and learner (non-native speaker). On the one hand, our research shows that the course design should take into account the influence of the institutional requirements, teaching methods and the educational cultures on students’ motivation, strategies, and performance. On the other hand, we analyse interactions between learners, which present varying organisational styles. Thanks to the institutionalisation of the eTandem course, the « didactical characteristics » identified in their interaction mobilizes technological and intercultural resources related to the learning process. We show particularly how problem-solving strategies (negotiation of meaning and form) are extended and enriched by new technologies.

A partir d’un dispositif eTandem chinois-français initié et développé par l’Université de Genève (Suisse) et l’Université du Hubei (Chine) sur cinq années, cette thèse aborde deux problématiques : l’ingénierie pédagogique du dispositif et la co-construction des compétences via la réalisation des rôles d’expert et d’apprenant entre les locuteurs natifs et non natifs. D’une part, nous montrons que la conception du dispositif doit prendre en compte l’influence des exigences institutionnelles, des pédagogies et des cultures éducatives sur la motivation, les stratégies et les performances des apprenants. D’autre part, nous analysons de manière fine des interactions au sein de binômes dont les styles d’organisation peuvent varier. Le « projet didactique » sous-jacent à leurs échanges, grâce notamment à son caractère institutionnalisé, mobilise des ressources technologiques et interculturelles en lien avec le processus d’apprentissage. Nous montrons en particulier comment les stratégies de résolution de problèmes (négociation du sens et de la forme) sont prolongées et enrichies par les outils informatiques. / Based on a Chinese-French eTandem course initiated and developed by the University of Geneva (Switzerland) and the University of Hubei (China) over five years, this thesis tackles two issues: instructional design of the course and co-construction of competences through the realization of the roles of expert (native speaker) and learner (non-native speaker). On the one hand, our research shows that the course design should take into account the influence of the institutional requirements, teaching methods and the educational cultures on students’ motivation, strategies, and performance. On the other hand, we analyse interactions between learners, which present varying organisational styles. Thanks to the institutionalisation of the eTandem course, the « didactical characteristics » identified in their interaction mobilizes technological and intercultural resources related to the learning process. We show particularly how problem-solving strategies (negotiation of meaning and form) are extended and enriched by new technologies.

A partir d’un dispositif eTandem chinois-français initié et développé par l’Université de Genève (Suisse) et l’Université du Hubei (Chine) sur cinq années, cette thèse aborde deux problématiques : l’ingénierie pédagogique du dispositif et la co-construction des compétences via la réalisation des rôles d’expert et d’apprenant entre les locuteurs natifs et non natifs. D’une part, nous montrons que la conception du dispositif doit prendre en compte l’influence des exigences institutionnelles, des pédagogies et des cultures éducatives sur la motivation, les stratégies et les performances des apprenants. D’autre part, nous analysons de manière fine des interactions au sein de binômes dont les styles d’organisation peuvent varier. Le « projet didactique » sous-jacent à leurs échanges, grâce notamment à son caractère institutionnalisé, mobilise des ressources technologiques et interculturelles en lien avec le processus d’apprentissage. Nous montrons en particulier comment les stratégies de résolution de problèmes (négociation du sens et de la forme) sont prolongées et enrichies par les outils informatiques. / Based on a Chinese-French eTandem course initiated and developed by the University of Geneva (Switzerland) and the University of Hubei (China) over five years, this thesis tackles two issues: instructional design of the course and co-construction of competences through the realization of the roles of expert (native speaker) and learner (non-native speaker). On the one hand, our research shows that the course design should take into account the influence of the institutional requirements, teaching methods and the educational cultures on students’ motivation, strategies, and performance. On the other hand, we analyse interactions between learners, which present varying organisational styles. Thanks to the institutionalisation of the eTandem course, the « didactical characteristics » identified in their interaction mobilizes technological and intercultural resources related to the learning process. We show particularly how problem-solving strategies (negotiation of meaning and form) are extended and enriched by new technologies.