The aim of this study was to determine the effects of continuous assessment within the written curriculum in a grade 5 class with Afrikaans as first language.

In our diploma thesis we deal with mistakes in written discourse of Russian speakers. We are trying to explore the mistakes of Russian speakers on the materials of the Czech language and create several lingvodidactic recommendations about how to interpret the topic and how to prevent mistakes. We indtroduce a plentifully used communicative method for teaching foreign languagues and discribe four basic language skills. Key words: communicative method, basic language skills, written discourse, written communication, mistake, classification of mistakes, causes of mistakes, evaluation of mistakes.

published_or_final_version / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics

Students who are emergent readers and writers are often difficult to assess, as they are unable to communicate understanding in writing. From my observations, these students communicate ideas best through concrete forms of expression, rather than the abstract formation of letters and writing that is unfamiliar to them. Drawing provides an alternate form of expression from writing. Based on information found in literature review and personal experiences from working with students who are emergent readers and writers, pictures and drawings are a bridge to communicate ideas with these students. This form of expression and communication may be a useful assessment tool for students at this developmental stage. The purpose of this research study is to test the hypothesis that retelling using visual art representations of the story will yield positive results.

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of continuous assessment within the written curriculum in a grade 5 class with Afrikaans as first language.

A series of four studies examined the emotional climate of elite sport, and tested the utility of an emotional disclosure intervention during sport injury rehabilitation. Overall, results from the investigations indicated that athletes' usual coping mechanism during injury rehabilitation was to inhibit and suppress felt emotions, while displaying mock emotions that were considered acceptable within their sport climate. Pennebaker's (1989) written disclosure paradigm was shown to address athletes' emotionally inhibitive coping style and encourage psychological and physical well-being. It was found to be a viable alternative to psychotherapy within the sport injury context. Athletes showed improvements in stress and mood disturbance, and fewer grief responses towards their injury. Affective and cognitive linguistic markers also showed changes during the 3-day intervention period, leading to the informed assumption that there was a likely association between changes in athletes' psychological responses to injury post-intervention and changes among the linguistic markers of interest. Results were discussed in the context of the broader sport psychology of injury research and limitations of the present investigations were discussed. Recommendations were made for future research into intervention research targeting the psychological experience of long-term injury.

Thesis (DAppLing)--Macquarie University, Faculty of Human Sciences, Dept. of Linguistics, 2009. / Bibliography: p. 208-233. / Introduction -- Conceptual frameworks: language competence and the acquisition of modality -- Generic frameworks: speech, writing and electronic communication -- Linguistic frameworks: modality and related concepts -- Research design and methodologies -- FTDs in the ACAD and BB corpora -- Learner's use of FTDs in discoursal context and their individual repertoires -- Conclusions and implications. / While natural interaction is one of the important components that lead to successful language learning (Vygotsky 1978, 1986), communication in classroom practice in Thailand is mostly teacher-centered and not genuinely interactive. Online group communication is different because it allows learners to exercise interpersonal communicative skills through interaction and meaning negotiation, as in reciprocal speech situations. At the same time it gives learners time to think and produce language without having to face the kind of pressure they feel in face-to-face classroom discussion. The language learner's competence is thus likely to be enhanced by opportunities to communicate online, and to be more visible there than in academic contexts, although there is a dearth of experimental research to show this. One way of investigating the pedagogical potential of bulletin board discussions is to focus on the interpersonal linguistic devices used in textual interactions (Biber 1988). -- The purpose of this research is to find out whether students communicating online in bulletin board writing will exercise their repertoires of linguistic fine-tuning devices (hedges, modals, and intensifiers) more extensively than when writing academic essays. This was expected because hedges, modals and intensifiers are likely to be found in interactive discussions (Holmes 1983), while academic tasks do not create such an environment. Though hedges and modal devices are also found in academic genres (Salager-Meyer 1994, Hyland 1998), those used tend to be academic in function rather than communicative. -- In order to compare the frequency and variety of the fine-tuning devices used by learners in the two mediums, data was gathered from 39 Thai students of English at Kasetsart University, from (1) their discussions in online bulletin boards and (2) their academic essays. Tasks were assigned on parallel topics in three text types (narrative, explanatory, argumentative) for both mediums. The amount of writing was normalized to create comparable text lengths. Measures used in the quantitative analysis included tallying of the types and tokens of the experimental linguistic items, with the help of the AntConc 2007 computer concordancer. Samples of written texts from the two mediums were also analyzed qualitatively and compared in terms of their discourse structure (stages, moves and speech acts), to see which functional segments support or prompt particular types of pragmatic devices. -- The findings confirm that in electronic bulletin boards the students exercise their repertoires of fine-tuning devices more frequently, and use a greater variety of pragmatic functions than in academic essays. This is probably because online discussion fosters interactions that are more typical of speech (Crystal 2006), and its structure allows for a series of interpersonal moves which have no place in academic tasks. Text-type also emerged as a significant factor: writing argumentative texts prompted greater use of modals and intensifiers than the narrative and explanatory ones. Thus students' communicative competence showed itself most fully in the argumentative online assignments, and was not so evident in academic and expository essays. Frequent use of modal and intensifying elements was also found to correlate with the students' English proficiency grades, and how regularly they wrote online. This incidentally shows the importance of exposure to L2 in language acquisition, and that lower-proficiency learners need more opportunities to exercise their L2 resources in interactive discourse, in order to develop competence in using them. -- These research findings support Long's (1996) 'Interaction Hypothesis', that learners learn best in situations that cater for interaction; and Swain's (1985) 'Output Hypothesis', that learners need the chance to exercise their language naturally in a variety of contexts -through academic tasks as well as social interactions, which are equally important for language education. Extended performance opportunities undoubtedly feed back into the learner's communicative competence. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / xi, 389 p. ill

Thesis (DAppLing)--Macquarie University, Division of Linguistics and Psychology, Department of Linguistics, 2008. / Bibliography: p. 404-418. / Introduction -- Literature review -- Methodology -- Results -- Discussion -- Conclusion. / This study sets out to examine the pragmatic competence of Cantonese adult learners of English possessing different levels of proficiency when performing the speech act of requesting for a formal purpose in writing. Pragmatic judgment - one of the two aspects of pragmatic competence - was examined by studying the most proficient group (i.e., native Cantonese-speaking EFL teachers at university), whereas pragmatic performance - the other aspect of pragmatic competence - was examined by studying the two weaker groups (i.e., university students at two language proficient levels). Both pragmatic judgment and pragmatic performance were examined by investigating the same four dependent variables (i.e., politeness, directness, formality and amount of information). Teacher data, collected through a Pragmatic Judgment Questionnaire completed and returned by sixteen EFL teachers (eight native Cantonese speakers and eight native English speakers) and by means of individual interviews, were analyzed quantitatively for responses to twelve questions and qualitatively for responses to an additional two questions. Student data, consisting of both experimental and authentic letters and e-mails, were analyzed quantitatively. -- Main research findings suggest: *It is possible for very proficient NNSs of English, (i.e., the EFL teachers in this study), to achieve native-like pragmatic judgments in most aspects, except for their views on several pragmatic considerations (i.e., "unnaturally polite" expressions, usefulness of "negative" words, supportive moves not to be used and writing plans preferred). *As the English proficiency of L2 learners improves from Grade E to Grade A/B (as determined by the Hong Kong A-level Examinations in the subject "Use of English"), their pragmatic performance shows improvement. -- For pedagogical reasons, a qualitative analysis was conducted for Questions 1 and 2 in order to generate examples of "unnaturally polite"/ "polite" / "impolite" expressions and to provide examples of inappropriate supportive moves in relation to three writing topics. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / xvii, 576 p

This work has taken the region of Qwaqwa as a case study. Through this study, the researcher attempted to join in the debate around language varieties that occur as a result of contact between different language groups. To achieve this objective, the factors that have an impact on Sesotho spoken in the Qwaqwa area and, in particular, in schools, have been assessed. The researcher provides a broad and general picture of the language situation and patterns of language use in the Qwaqwa area. A brief overview of the geographical description, historical background and economic development of Qwaqwa is given. Some of the linguistic phenomena that play a role in language variation in this area fall under the spotlight. Language contact, i.e. language and dialect, regional and social dialect, the use of language and the impact of language contact between languages is discussed. Patterns and the extent of language contact and the resultant effects of interference, codeswitching and borrowing as well as the processes and points at which these processes occur are identified. The major similarities and relationships between spoken and written Sesotho, as used by learners in Qwaqwa schools, is highlighted with the discussion focussing on the linguistic description of the similarities and relationships between the two forms. / African Languages / (M.A.(Afican Languages))

Este trabalho realiza a análise de práticas discursivas e modos de subjetivação no ensino médio particular, problematizando as finalidades desta etapa educacional. Os estudos de nível médio no Brasil têm sua constituição histórica marcada pela dualidade entre as finalidades profissionalizante e preparatória para o ensino superior. Parte-se do referencial foucaultiano que compreende a produção de subjetivação a partir dos regimes de saber disponíveis em uma sociedade. Assim, as práticas discursivas, ao produzirem objetos de saber, estruturam o campo de ação dos sujeitos, materializando-se em técnicas diversas, entre as quais situam-se os dispositivos pedagógicos. A fim de cumprir o objetivo deste estudo, foram realizadas entrevistas junto a dez professores de uma escola particular, cujos depoimentos foram submetidos à análise textual discursiva proposta por Moraes (2003) e à análise do discurso de orientação foucaultiana, subsidiada pelo trabalho de Willig (2001). A análise dos dados coletados demonstrou que a produção discursiva do ensino médio enfatiza sua finalidade preparatória para o ingresso no ensino superior, o que se concretiza em uma série de práticas pedagógicas. O acesso a um curso superior é tido como a forma de profissionalização dos egressos de ensino médio. Observa-se, igualmente, que a formação cidadã e a preparação para a vida são remetidas à escolha de um trabalho, relacionada, por sua vez, à constituição identitária. As práticas pedagógicas produzidas por este discurso promovem uma relação com o conhecimento pautada pelo consumo deste com vistas à ascensão social. Há pouco espaço, neste sistema de ensino, para o prazer de aprender, já que as aulas são especialmente conduzidas pelos professores e restringem-se à memorização de informações que caem no vestibular. Os sujeitos educacionais não podem lançar questões que lhes mobilizem, pois têm que atender aos requisitos do vestibular. Ao estruturar o campo de ação dos atores educacionais, os discursos que vinculam a escola média ao vestibular limitam o atendimento de outras finalidades educacionais. Acredita-se que o melhor a fazer no ensino médio é capacitar os estudantes para o trabalho. Assim, constituem-se projetos de vida individualizados, que tornam difícil a implicação dos sujeitos em aspectos da vida coletiva. Enfim, o ensino médio na escola particular porta traços elitistas, já que se ocupa especialmente de preparar seus estudantes para o ingresso no ensino superior. Além disso, evidencia-se a ação dos mecanismos disciplinares escolares que produzem individualização e docilização dos corpos, que submetem-se, deste modo, às demandas do sistema produtivo sem opor-lhes questionamentos. Ademais, a psicologização do saber escolar promove o governamento dos indivíduos, na medida em que controla suas condutas de forma muito sutil. Produz-se, diante disso, o questionamento acerca da possibilidade de que os saberes escolares problematizados favoreçam processos de invenção de si em detrimento de promover a moldagem dos sujeitos a preceitos produtivistas, desmobilizando-os politicamente. No entanto, é apenas fazendo mover os discursos produtores do ensino médio que se pode passar a imaginar outras possibilidades de subjetivação. Esta é a contribuição que o presente estudo apresenta, abrindo espaço para novas problematizações sobre cultura juvenil, políticas educacionais e de formação de professores. / Submitted by Marcelo Teixeira (mvteixeira@ucs.br) on 2014-06-02T16:50:05Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Angela Garziera Gasperin.pdf: 1249566 bytes, checksum: 6412ae9b61d79a9d6a305d725d8bf69a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-02T16:50:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Angela Garziera Gasperin.pdf: 1249566 bytes, checksum: 6412ae9b61d79a9d6a305d725d8bf69a (MD5) / This work analyzes discursive practice and modes of subjectification in private high school, questioning the purposes of this stage of education. In Brazil, high school has had, over the years, distinct purposes, either preparing students for entrance examinations or providing them with profissional training. This analysis is done based on Foucault´s theoretical reference that production of subjectivity is made possible by knowledge available in our society. Discursive practice produces objects of knowledge, structuring individuals´ actions through various techniques, among which are pedagogical devices. In order to achieve the aim of this study, interviews were conducted with ten teachers from a private school, whose statements were submitted to textual discourse analysis proposed by Moraes (2003) and foucauldian discourse analysis supported by Willig (2001). This research has shown that the discursive production of high school emphasizes preparation for entrance examinations, which gives form to a series of educational practices. Access to university is seen as the professional project for high school graduates. Civic education and preparation for life in its cultural, political and social aspects are not considered as important as students´ training for entrance examinations. It is possible to infer, from the research findings, that it is largely believed that the formation of identity relies on labor. Pedagogical practice produced by this discourse promotes a relationship with knowledge that matches its consumption with social mobility. There is no room in this school system for the pleasure of learning, for the classes are conducted especially by teachers and are restricted to memorizing information required by entrance examinations. Individuals can not ask their own questions, giving rise to issues that mobilize them, because they have to meet the requirements of exams. By structuring pedagogical practices this way, this discourse prevents other purposes for high school education from arising. It is believed that the best thing to do in high school is to prepare students for their profession. Thus, school knowledge supports individual life projects, which impairs subjects´ involvement in collective life. Private high school has shown elitist traits, since it focuses specifically on preparing students to college. Moreover, it is clear that school disciplinary mechanisms produce individualization and docile bodies, undergoing subjects to the demands of the production system, which are never put into question. Besides, the psychologizing of school knowledge promotes the government of individuals, controlling their behavior in a very subtle way. A question that arises from this study is whether the problematization of school knowledge can promote the process of "self-invention" rather than molding subjects to productivity demands, undermining their political action. However, it is just by putting into question high school discursive production that there is a chance we think of other possibilities of subjectification. Therefore, this study contributes for the problematization on youth culture, education policy and teacher training.