The knowledge gap between Arabic nations and the developed world is widening. A contributing factor to the slow acquisition and production of knowledge is the use of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) as the language of instruction in schools. To bridge the gap, English is used in tertiary education in most Arab countries. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a useful case study to explore the dynamics of Arabic and English in education. After an overview of the problems imposed by MSA, the dilemmas facing the teaching of English and in English in the UAE are explored. Many of the problems encountered in the teaching and learning of English are the product of specific aspects of an education in MSA. The study assesses whether MSA or English is the most viable instrument for the delivery of high quality education in the Arab world and finds that currently English is essential. / English Studies / M.A. (with specialisation in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of other languages))

The focus of this study is on language maintenance and shift in Maale, a minority language spoken in Ethiopia. The main aims of the study are to give an account of the underlying social factors that have contributed to language maintenance in the Maale speech community, and to investigate whether the mother-tongue literacy programme in the Maale region is going to facilitate language maintenance or contribute to language shift. The findings suggest that regional nationalism, which corresponds to ethnic nationalism in Paulston's theory of social mobilisation, is the reason why the Maale language has been maintained as a viable language in spite of centuries of political repression. The findings also indicate that the mother-tongue literacy programme currently contributes to language maintenance but it is a stepping stone to further education, which favours the learning of a second language, which could lead to possible attrition of the mother tongue. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (Sociolinguistics)

This thesis deals with the integration of the cross-curricular topic of personality and social education into the teaching Czech as a foreign language for pupils of the elderly school age, especially at the second level of elementary schools and in grammar schools. The first part introduces personality and social education, its aims and its importance in learning. Furthermore, the theoretical part deals with the teaching and integration of pupils of elderly school age with a different mother tongue in the Czech educational environment. The second part of the thesis contains a description of model teaching lessons combining the teaching of the Czech language with personal and social objectives and their evaluation. Another content of this diploma thesis is a set of other activities that teachers can use to integrate personal and social education into the teaching of Czech as a foreign language and possible suggestions as to work with personal and social education in teaching Czech as a foreign language. The aim of the diploma thesis is to make a proposal to involve the methods of personality and social education in the teaching of Czech as a foreign language in order to develop together with the language competence also the self-awareness and cultural awareness of the pupils and to offer activities...

The research project takes a hard look into the attitudes or perceptions of speakers of African languages towards the new language policy of South Africa. The question answered in this regard is, `What do people say?' The research project explores the extent of radical shift in African consciousness giving impetus to the resurgence of African languages so that they carry philosophical and scientific discourse to unprecedented heights. Maintaining the primordial language policy that is dominated by English and Afrikaans is like putting new wine into old skins. Thus, the research also seeks to establish strategies that could be implemented in order to ensure the revitalisation and rejuvenation of African languages so that all the languages take their rightful place. In other words, the research explores ways of injecting a new kind of consciousness that integrates language and content in schools so as to replace the primordial "telescopic philanthropy" type of approach existing currently in education and other major domains. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

This study analyses the perspectives of teachers on English as a language of learning and teaching in the context of government recommendations that Shona and Ndebele be used alongside English as languages of learning and teaching in Zimbabwean secondary schools. Through a questionnaire survey, open interviews and classroom observation, it was found that the teachers regard English as a language of learning and teaching in a positive way though they are aware of the difficulties associated with its use. There was a high consensus on the desirability of English among teachers as informants with various attributes obtained attitude, pedagogical beliefs and perceived difficulties scores that were, in the main, not statistically significant. It also emerged that government recommendations for the use of endoglossic languages as languages of learning and teaching (LoLT) have not been complemented by concrete measures and that the subsequent efforts to change the language-in-education policy have so far seemed insincere. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (With specialisation in Applied Linguistics)

In South African universities where the medium of instruction is English, writing and conceptualisation in English Second Language in Life Sciences are problematic for first year learners. This study focused on the extent to which Afrikaans – and Xhosa mother tongue speakers employ strategies in order to cope with the demands of scientific writing and how it affects their academic performance. The Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) and the Cognitive and Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) theories of Cummins as well as the model of Collier provided a theoretical framework for this study. Tests and tutorials were analysed by means of content analysis. Writing strategies such as coherence has an impact on academic performance but there is no set pattern or degree in which different mother tongue speakers employ them. A collaborative approach that sensitises learners to the meaningful use of strategies to enhance their competency in scientific writing is recommended. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Natural Science Education)

The study sought to explore perception and attitude towards the study of African languages in high schools and the resultant implications on human resources development and management. The research basically explored the diverse perception and attitude that prevail towards African languages in African countries in general and Zimbabwe in particular. The descriptive survey research design was used mainly for its effectiveness in exploratory research. Participants were drawn from selected high schools and universities in Zimbabwe. Questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions and documentary analyses were used to collect data. Data gathered were then subjected to both qualitative and quantitative analyses for triangulation purposes. Major findings indicated that the perception and attitude towards the study of African languages in Zimbabwean high schools is generally negative. English language is preferred to and valued more than African languages. Such perception and attitude determine choices of programmes of study at tertiary level and the selective channeling of people into specific professional fields. Consequently, that impact on the development and management of potential human resources in professions related to African languages. The current language policy in Zimbabwe has no clear instrument that defines the place of African languages in the curriculum and work place as is the case with English. The choice of language to study at high school is thus determined by fossilised perception and attitude towards languages in general, coupled with lack of career guidance on the link between African languages and related career opportunities, in the belief that English is the gateway to success. The study clearly reveals that it is the Zimbabwean education system that should realize the potential of schools as agents of change in improving the status of African languages. Hence the study advocates restructuring of the curriculum. Proposals and recommendations to re-engineer the Zimbabwean curriculum so that indigenous African languages are made compulsory up to ‘A’ level were made. Such a bold move would uplift the status of African languages and at the same time improve perception and attitude towards their study as well as indirectly, but positively, impacting on human resources development and management in related disciplines. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

The influx of Black pupils seeking admission to Indian schools began in 1990 after the Democratic Movement's "all schools for all people" campaign was announced. The medium of instruction in Indian schools is English which is also the mother tongue. Therefore Black pupils who come on transfer from schools in the KwaZulu township are immediately faced with a language problem as they are taught in the mother tongue untii standard three, when they switch to English. This research project arose as a result of the researcher's experience with Black pupils, whom he - felt were severely linguistically underprepared for academic study in the senior primary phase. Furthermore, most present day teachers were trained for monocultural schools and have little or no experience of multicultural education. The main problem that this research focuses on includes the learning problems encountered by Black pupils in Indian primary schools and the concomitant teaching problems their teachers experience. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Didactics)

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:42:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 18289951 bytes, checksum: 0e7e34587ebdd273ab6070eac5693599 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-03-23 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / We take into account that the teaching practice adopted in the Programa Brasil Alfabetizado in Campina Grande (including the didactic material) correspond neither to the objectives nor to the proposals of the referred program, nor to its assessment. In order to carry out the study, we analyzed the teachers‟ education, the available material, the teaching practice and the PBA evaluation devices. Thus, this thesis aims at understanding how the teaching practice related to the teaching of the mother tongue within the PBA CG, through on-going education, contributes for effective adequacy to the objectives and evaluation of the program at national level. The theoretical framework is based on Freire (1983), Perrenoud (1999), Soares (2002), Kleiman (2004), Marcuschi (2004). We consider that literacy practices in emergency programs are only possible if there are effective public policies for teacher education considering that the teacher is the main literacy agent. The results achieved through the research lead us to the following conclusion: although the proposal of the program views literacy practices as an alternative for writing and reading acquisition, such result can be achieved only if there is an investment on on-going teacher education. In the present work, the result is positive due to the researcher‟s intervention, enabling the teacher to reflect on her practice of teaching Portuguese as a mother tongue and rendering possible a change in relation to the planning and the development of her own practice, which constitute part of the on-going education. / Partimos do pressuposto de que a prática pedagógica em sala de aula do Programa Brasil Alfabetizado em Campina Grande (incluindo materiais didáticos) não reflete nem os objetivos, nem as propostas do Programa Brasil Alfabetizado e nem sua avaliação. Para isso, levamos em conta o processo de formação do professor, os materiais disponibilizados, a prática didático-pedagógica e os mecanismos avaliativos do PBA. Esta tese, portanto, objetiva compreender como a prática pedagógica no Ensino de Língua Materna no PBA CG, via formação continuada, contribui para a efetiva adequação aos objetivos e à avaliação do programa em âmbito nacional. Assim nos fundamentamos em Freire (1983), Perrenoud (1999), Soares (2002), Kleiman (2004), B. Marcuschi (2004). Entendemos que a prática do letramento na alfabetização em programas emergenciais só se efetiva se houver políticas públicas eficazes para a capacitação do professor-alfabetizador, considerando-o como o principal agente do letramento. Os resultados obtidos na pesquisa conduzem à seguinte conclusão: embora a proposta do programa considere as práticas letradas como alternativa para que se alfabetize, este resultado só é alcançado com o investimento em formação continuada. Aqui, o resultado foi positivo por conta da intervenção da pesquisadora, permitindo que a professora-alfabetizadora fizesse uma reflexão sobre sua prática de ensino da LM, bem como possibilitando um redirecionamento na programação e no desenvolvimento da sua prática pedagógica, que constitui parte da formação continuada.

Den här studien syftade till att belysa hur några pedagoger med olika typ av bakgrund, verksamma i ett homogent svensktalande respektive ett mer mångkulturellt område, tänker om och arbetar med flerspråkiga barn i förskolan. Frågeställningarna rörde pedagogernas syn på hur en språkstimulerande miljö bör utformas, positiva samt negativa aspekter i arbetet med flerspråkiga förskolebarn, samt om skillnader i uttalanden hos de olika yrkesrollerna kunde utrönas. Jag ville också ta reda på om barnens modersmål talades i verksamheten eller om dess ursprung lyftes fram på något annat vis. Jag använde mig av intervjuer som forskningsmetod. Min resultatanalys visade att samtliga pedagoger betonar användandet av ett nyanserat, rikt och benämnande språk i det vardagliga talet, under alla situationer i verksamheten. För barn med annat modersmål än svenska blir det extra viktigt med stöd i form av bilder och konkret material, enligt pedagogerna. Problematiska aspekter med att tala flera olika språk i verksamheten, som lyftes fram var dels organisatoriska - att erhålla pedagoger med en viss flerspråkig kompetens - och dels att hålla en sund balans där också det svenska språket ska betonas. På två av förskolorna talar pedagogerna andra språk än svenska i den dagliga verksamheten. De gör detta med hänvisning till de positiva kognitiva effekter barnet får. Tvärtemot detta har en förskollärare på en annan förskola valt att inte tala flera olika språk i verksamheten. Hon menar att detta sänder ut negativa signaler till de barn vars modersmål inte talas av någon av pedagogerna. Generellt sett framkom en ståndpunkt hos pedagogerna om att problem och svårigheter ingår i yrket, det ingår att anstränga sig, varför exempelvis språkförbistringar egentligen inte anses vara jobbigt. / The aim of this study was to shed light on how some teachers with different backgrounds, in a homogenous Swedish-speaking and a more multicultural area, think about and work with multilingual children in preschool. My research questions concerned the teachers’ vision of how a language stimulating environment should be designed. If multilingual children need a particular design - plus positive and negative aspects of the work with multilingual preschool children, as well as if there’s differences between the statements of the various professional roles. I also wanted to find out whether children's mother tongue was spoken in the everyday praxis or not - or if the child’s origins were highlighted in other ways. Interviews were used as my reasearch metod. My results showed that all teachers stress the use of a nuanced, rich and naming language in everyday praxis. For children with a mother tongue other than Swedish, it becomes more important with language aid, like pictures and concrete materials, according to teachers. Problematic aspects of speaking several languages in preschool were partly organizational - to obtain staff with multilingual skills - and partly to keep a balance in also emphasizing Swedish. In two of the preschools’ everyday activity, teachers speak languages other than Swedish. They do this referring to the positive cognitive effects on the child. Contrary to this, a preschool teacher at another preschool chose not to speak other languages in everyday activity. She feels that this sends out negative signals to the children whose first language is not spoken by any of the teachers. In general, there was a position with the teachers that problems and difficulties are in the profession, making an effort forms a part of the occupation.