Findings of empirical studies into the importance of input in foreign language learning suggest that, to provide sufficient communicative foreign language input in the context of school language classrooms, learners must be taught through the medium of the target language. Research shows that teachers who share a mother tongue with their learners often find it difficult to avoid breaking into the mother tongue to deal with classroom management but, when they do so, they not only restrict the amount of meaningful input to which the learners are exposed, but also risk slowing down the acquisition process New data (gathered by means of two postal surveys during session 1987-88) show that non-native secondary school teachers of French in the Strathclyde Region of Scotland identify a hierarchy of difficulty among classroom management tasks ranging from tasks which are moderately simple to conduct in the foreign language (such as classroom organisation) to tasks which are extremely difficult to perform in the target language (such as discussing grammar). Further analysis of the survey data reveals that teachers who have a positive attitude towards the use of the target language as the medium of instruction have certain defining characteristics, the most important of which relate to enthusiasm for the foreign language. In an attempt to find a way of helping teachers to teach through the medium of the target language, this thesis investigates claims made by practising teachers that teaching co-operatively with a second fluent target language speaker helps them maintain the use of French as the medium of instruction. Using survey and observational data, the thesis concludes that co-operative teaching can both increase the quantity, and improve the quality of foreign language input to which learners are exposed. Furthermore, co-operative teaching is a valuable tool in the organisation and implementation of communicative language teaching methodology. The thesis is in two parts Part one provides the theoretical basis of the thesis, and describes the research context and design. Part two analyses the findings of the mail administered surveys and of the small-scale observation study, and draws conclusions based on these findings NOTE: In this thesis, while it is recognised that learners and teachers are just as likely to be female as male, for ease of expression they are treated as "impersonal masculine" throughout.

The concept of plurilingual competence that enables the members of different cultures to perform in multilingual and multicultural environment is on the top of political agenda nowadays, as acquisition of two or more languages has become a necessity in the knowledge society. Therefore, the lack of works on the subject in Lithuania is a relevant reason to carry out a research on the language education through the prism of ‘mediation’ and ‘code switching’ as activities becoming widely acknowledged and practiced among language teachers. The study aims to survey the functions of mediation and code switching in teaching foreign languages. The objectives of the thesis are: • to overview the material on plurilingualism as giving reasons for the rise of wide discussions about reorganization of language education system, the changing attitude towards teaching languages, namely, a newly emerging approach of translation and later apply it to the empirical research;. • to investigate the approach of teachers and students towards the use of native language in the classroom; • to identify the patterns within switching of the first and the second languages and define the role they serve for the language acquisition. Research methods are literature analysis, quantitative and qualitative research (two types of questionnaire forms and analysis of recorded excerpts of lessons). The results indicate that the educators support the approach promoting better awareness of the native language... [to full text] / Daugiakalbės visuomenės formavimo politika, pradėta Europos Sąjungos institucijų, susilaukė didžiulio šalių narių susidomėjimo. ES iškėlė kalbinės kompetencijos lavinimą vienu pagrindinių savo tikslų. Pabrėžiama, jog kelias kalbas mokantys asmenys turi daugiau galimybių integruotis europinėje visuomenėje, taip pat minima profesionalių vertėjų paklausa ES institucijose. Šios politikos įgyvendinimo esminių centru tapo valstybių švietimo sistemos tobulinimas siekiant įdiegti naują požiūrį į kalbų mokymą. Tai paskatina šalis nares imtis veiksmų švietimo sistemos srityje. Rašomi straipsniai apie mokymo metodus akcentuojančius gimtosios kalbos svarbą užsienio kalbų pamokose, konkrečiai pabrėžiama kodų kaitos ir mediacijos (vertimo raštu, žodžiu) įtaka užsienio kalbos išmokimui. Atsižvelgiant į tai, jog Lietuvoje šios srities tyrimų stokojama, tampa įdomu bent jau dalinai pasigilinti į situaciją šalyje. Darbo tikslas – nustatyti, kokią funkciją atlieka gimtoji kalba užsienio kalbų pamokose ir kaip tai įtakoją kalbos išmokimą. Tyrimų objektas – gimtosios kalbos panaudojimas užsienio kalbos mokymo ir mokymosi procese. Tyrimo subjektais pasirinkti mokytojai bei mokiniai, kurie turėjo išreikšti požiūrį į daugiakalbės visuomenės formavimą ir gimtosios kalbos (mediacijos) naudojimą pamokose. Taip pat analizuojami dviejų užsienio kalbų pamokų įrašai, kuriose ieškoma konkrečių kodų kaitos pavyzdžių ir siekiama išsiaiškinti, kokios gimtosios kalbos situacijos kartojasi dažniausiai, kokios... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

This study explored the learning experience of Arabic language learners at the college level, focusing on their perception of effective and ineffective Arabic language teachers as well as the influence of their experiences on their motivation. The study also attempted to shed some light on the nature of the teacher-student interaction within the current sociopolitical context. The 29 students who agreed to participate in this study were all Arabic language learners enrolled in the second year or higher of Arabic at a major university in the United States. Data were collected from multiple sources including an open-ended survey and semi-structured interviews that were conducted on a one-on-one basis with the participants. Data were analyzed using coding procedures suggested by Strauss and Corbin (1998) from a grounded theory qualitative approach. Results indicated that participants perceived their effective Arabic language teachers as adaptable teachers. These adaptable teachers influence learners' learning outcomes by balancing their high expectations of their students with an awareness of language learning needs. Moreover, participants' perceptions of their best Arabic learning experiences were always associated with adaptable teachers, whose positive interaction style radiated throughout in their teaching. The data indicated that participants were intrinsically motivated in four different ways: (1) intrinsic motivation for the linguistic aspects of Arabic, (2) intrinsic motivation for knowledge, (3) intrinsic motivation for optimal experience, and (4) intrinsic motivation for accomplishment. Moreover, motivation constructs such as expectancy-value, self-efficacy, and flow were related to the students' experiences. According to many students, the more years they spent in learning Arabic, the more they had become obsessed with it. Most participants in this study credited both native and non-native speakers as effective language teachers.. Participants credited their native teachers for their linguistic knowledge and their in-depth understanding of the Arabic culture and described them as resourceful. At the same time, they credited non-native teachers for their pedagogical knowledge, organizational skills, and knowledge of learners' characteristics, and described them as role models. Suggestions for future research and implications for research and practice are discussed. / Not available / text

This diploma thesis deals with the topic of specific learning disability. In the theoretical part I define the term specific learning disability and I mention the related terms. I deal with the history, types and causes of specific learning disability, further I describe the possibilities of diagnostics and re-education concerning specific learning disability. I also attend to the situation of a pupil in the family and school background. The main attention is especially paid to teaching foreign languages to pupils with specific learning disability. The practical part is based on a questionnaire which was filled in by teachers of basic and high schools. The goal is to find out what kind of experience the teachers have with pupils with specific learning disability and what their approach to them is. The questionnaire survey is worked up and analysed in the practical part.

This diploma thesis deals with the integration of etymology as one of the possible motivational component in language learning at the second stage of primary schools with regard to German as a foreign language after English. The theoretical part of this thesis deals with etymology as one of the linguistic disciplines, genealogical relation of English and German language and the issue of motivation in learning a foreign language. The practical part concentrates on creation of the author´s own didactical materials and the application of the discovered relations within these two languages. The aim of these materials is to motivate the pupils at the primary schools to multilingualism.

The presented Master's thesis entitled "Pronounciation mistakes of Czech students learning Portuguese" tries to depict the most common mistakes in the pronounciation of Portuguese sounds by Czech students. The thesis is divided into two parts: theoretical and practical. The theoretical part, based on a careful research of specialized materials, deals with phonetics, the phonological aspect of a language, phonology, the description of speech forming processes, sound systems of Portuguese, rules for correct pronounciation of respective sounds and also interference - the influences of a person's mother tongue while learning Portuguese. The theoretical part served as a basis for the practical part. In the practical part an analysis was carried out, using a number of audio recordings taken from first-year to fifth-year students of Portuguese Studies at Charles University, Faculty of Arts. The aim of this analysis was to detect typical mistakes made by Czech Students in the pronounciation of Portuguese sounds. The observed pronounciation phenomena are recorded in tables, each phenomena separately. In conclusion, the thesis provides an evaluation of the analysis.

Cette thèse s'inscrit dans une vision telle que dans l'enseignement d'une langue étrangère, deux langues et cultures se rencontrent, chacune dispose d'une part de la connaissance du monde, d'un calibrage différent. On ne parvient pas à établir une référence commune au premier rapport, surtout lorsque ces deux langues et cultures sont très éloignés (Chine/France). Cependant, ce n'est pas un échec, c'est plutôt une offre, une invitation à chercher ensemble cette référence commune. Dans ce sens, le fait de se référer à quelque chose, avec l'intention d'y comprendre quelque chose de l'autre exige une forme de négociation et un esprit « interculturel ». L'étudiant devrait prendre conscience qu'il existe plusieurs variétés langagières et que celles-ci varient selon la situation de communication ainsi que l'humeur, l'âge, le sexe, l'origine sociale, régionale ou nationale du locuteur. Cela s'ajoute aussi des informations implicites pour un étranger comme les gestes, les connotations, les références historiques, les coutumes ,etc. Cet apprentissage du savoir , du savoir être et du savoir faire de la pratique sociale et communicative langagière relève donc de la compétence culturelle et spécifiquement celle de la « culture courante » selon R.Galisson , c'est à dire d'une culture du quotidien de tout les jours. Notre terrain de recherche vise donc aux apprenants chinois en France, en centrant l'analyse expérimentale sur les individus. Le séjour quotidien des étudiants a rarement été étudié dans sa globalité. Il fallait donc essayer de rendre compte de l'expérience personnelle des étudiants, telle qu'on pouvait la percevoir à travers nos enquêtes pour finalement élaborer d'une « façon de faire » avec un « programme complémentaire » centré à la « culture française courante » qui répond (j’espère) aux besoins des apprenants chinois du français qui veulent séjourner en France pour leurs études supérieurs. / As different cultures have different world outlook and measure standards, it is quite different between teaching a native language and teaching foreign languages when two languages are combined with their cultures. Thus it is hardly possible to establish a standard which can be used in two teaching modes, especially when the two kinds of languages and cultures are totally different (such as China and France). However, the more difficult it is, the more it is worth exploring. Making efforts in understanding two kinds of languages and cultures, we are trying to establish such a standard by bringing in the concept of “Intercultural”. When a student is surrounded in an environment which is quite different from his mother tongue, culture is very important in his foreign language learning. That’s why we focus on Chinese students studying in France in this thesis. Without the help of the outside world, it would be really tough for an oversea student to adapt himself to the culture shock between two countries. Language varies in different contexts, moods, ages, genders, social backgrounds, regions and countries, let alone there are gestures, proverbs, historical allusions, customs and other hidden information which are even harder for a foreign student to understand. It is a great test for an oversea student to get along with the new language, socializing and the new culture. All the relevant knowledge in daily life is “culture”, more precisely, “daily culture” proposed by R.Galisson. We aims Chinese students studying in France as our studying objects. We collected and analyzed their daily lives and personal experiences through interviews. Then we are trying to use a teaching method emphasizing on “French daily culture” to help Chinese students adapt to the learning life in France.

В работе предпринята попытка предложить методы и практики для оптимизации онлайн-обучения. Сначало разобрана история развития дистанционного образования, проанализированы его определение и особенности. Затем в практической части было организовано обследование ситуации онлайн-обучения студентов, и по результатам опроса проводилась педагогическая деятельность. Наконец, предоставляются методы обучения и схем оптимизации онлайн-класса. / The paper attempts to propose methods and practices for optimizing online learning. First, the history of the development of distance education is analyzed, its definition and features are analyzed. Then, in the practical part, a survey of the situation of online learning of students was organized, and based on the results of the survey, pedagogical activities were carried out. Finally, teaching methods and online class optimization schemes are provided.

The overall purpose of this study is to investigate whether the motivation of Swedish pupilsin grades 4-6 to learn can increase when textbooks and workbooks are exchanged for fiction,and more fiction is incorporated in English teaching in Sweden. The study hopes tocontribute to knowledge development that strengthens and develops English teaching inSweden. The teacher is responsible for planning their teaching - at the same time, there aremany discourses about student influence in school contexts. According to the SwedishNational Education Agency (2022), all students should have the right to influence theireducation and school activities. The pupils’ life stories and experiences can contribute toschools' developmental work. Furthermore, this paper aims to find out why and how it ispossible to work with literature to achieve the learning goals stated in the curriculum. It alsoserves as a basis for teachers to gain in-depth knowledge of how they can motivate studentsto work with fiction when teaching English. The essay also provides a variety of workingmethods for integrating fiction in English teaching in grades 4-6 in Swedish schools. The methods used for this essay are qualitative group interviews of a semi-structured natureand the answers come from 25 pupils from two different schools in the middle of Sweden.The intervention study involved three classes, 66 pupils from grades 4 and 5. This study demonstrates that using fiction in English teaching increases pupils' motivationand knowledge acquisition compared to if they are only allowed to work with textbooks andworkbooks.

TITLE: Vowel Lenght: Comparison of Czech and French Vowel Systems from the Phonetic and Phonological Point of View. A Pedagogically Focused Contrastive Study. AUTHOR: Kateřina Vychopňová DEPARTMENT: Department of French Language and Literature SUPERVISOR: prof. PhDr. Marie DOHALSKÁ, DrSc./ prof. Philippe MARTIN The thesis, one of the French-Czech contrastive studies, deals with the issue of vowel length in Czech and French language. The first part of the thesis, which was intentionally written for a potential pedagogic use, introduces the comparison of the main phonetic and phonological characteristics of both languages, their typology considering vowels length and its development through the history of these languages. The second part, experimental, brings the description and results of several attempts which observe whether the French native speakers learning Czech respect the length of Czech vowels, further the influence of following consonants, final and initial stress and also the type of a syllable on the length of French vowels, both in the production of French native speakers and Czech native speakers learning French. The results prove that articulatory habits which both groups of speakers use in their mother tongue have a significant influence on the production of the acquired language. In...