The presented thesis focuses on the analysis of selected Czech for foreigners textbooks in terms of socio-cultural competence. In the first three chapters the term of socio-cultural competence is explained and its definition in the Common European Framework of Reference and in the descriptions of reference levels A1, A2, B1 and B2 for Czech is examined. Chapter four deals with a chosen research method - criteria catalogue. In chapter five selected textbooks (Česky, prosím I, Čeština pro cizince: Úroveň B1, Čeština pro cizince: Úroveň B2, Čeština pro středně a více pokročilé, Čeština pro život, Čeština pro život 2, Mluvme česky) are analyzed separately and in chapter six individual results of previous examinations are compared with regard to how the publications contribute to the development of socio-cultural competence of students. 1

[pt] Este trabalho investiga o emprego de podcasts de programas de rádio e televisão da Alemanha nas aulas de Alemão como Língua Estrangeira em níveis B2 e C1 do Quadro Europeu Comum de Referência para Línguas no Ensino Médio. Através desta tecnologia, é possível ter acesso rápido e gratuito a materiais autênticos de áudio ou vídeo, de forma que professores passam a ter um leque mais amplo de recursos para suas aulas e alunos passam a ter contato com a língua produzida com outros fins, que não didáticos. Considerando as proposições apresentadas nos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais para o Ensino Médio, os níveis de referência descritos no Quadro Europeu Comum de Referência para Línguas e os objetivos traçados no Rahmenplan Deutsch als Fremdsprache für das Auslandsschulwesen (Quadro de Alemão como Língua Estrangeira para as escolas no exterior), o trabalho discute o potencial e as limitações do uso desta tecnologia como ferramenta no processo de ensino e aprendizagem de Alemão como Língua Estrangeira no contexto escolar. A partir dos pressupostos da Teoria da Atividade, o trabalho procura investigar de que forma a implementação dos podcasts afeta o sistema da atividade da aula de Alemão como Língua Estrangeira nas perspectivas de professores e alunos em uma escola bilíngue da cidade do Rio de Janeiro. / [en] This dissertation investigates the use of podcasts in high school classes of German as a Foreign Language (GFL), in levels B2 and C1 of the Common European Framework of References for Languages. This technology provides for quick and free access to authentic audio or video materials taken from German radio and TV programs, so that teachers have a wider range of resources for their classes and students have contact with the language which was produced for purposes other than pedagogical ones. Considering the proposals in the Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais para o Ensino Médio (National High School Curricular Parameters), the levels of reference of the Common European Framework of References for Languages, and the goals set in the Rahmenplan Deutsch als Fremdsprache für das Auslandsschulwesen (Framework German as a Foreign Language for schools abroad), this study discusses the potential and the limitations of the use of this technology as a tool for teaching and learning GFL in a bilingual school. Based on the principles of Activity Theory, this work aims to investigate how the implementation of podcasts affects the activity system of GFL classes from the teachers’ and students’ perspectives in a bilingual school in Rio de Janeiro.

The diploma thesis Games for Vocabulary Revision at A2 level (according to CEFR) is focused on the possible ways how to use games for vocabulary revision in English language teaching at lower secondary schools. In the theoretical part there is mainly described the theoretical view on games and their importance for language teaching. There is a description of different kinds of games and their basic typology in general, the language game and its typology and also the theory of vocabulary revision. There are also described the several types of books written by different authors that can be used for vocabulary revision. The practical part is focused on the basic description of documents such as the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (level A2), the Framework Educational Programme and the School Educational Programme, that were used in my project at lower secondary school. In the next part, there is a detailed description of the collection of games that were used in the lessons of English. These games were focused on vocabulary revision according to the particular coursebook in the particular class. The main aim of this diploma thesis is to discover if it is possible to include games to language teaching and if the game can motivate the pupils for their active participation in the classroom.

When it comes to the foreign language teaching in Sweden, there are, amongst others,  two recommendation direction documents that serve as help and support to achieve an appropriate acquisition and teaching of the foreign language. These documents are the courseplan for foreign languages by GY11 that is established by the Swedish department of education and the Common European Framework of Reference for languages, that’s been written by the European Council. In this essay, we have chosen to analyse wheather or not three Spanish textbooks, Caminando 3, Alegría 3 and Vistas 3, reflect the goals that are established in these two documents. When we analyse the textbooks we are only taking two aspects of language learning into account, these are the cultural aspect and the aspect of oral interaction. In order to complement the investigation we have handed out questionnaires to eight Spanish teachers, that work in a commune in the south of Sweden, where we ask them if they try to implement the goals established by these two documents in their teaching, if they have any knowledge about these documents, and whether they find that these three textbooks reflect these goals or not. The textbook analysis shows that all of the three books accomplish the goals set by the two direction documents when it comes to both aspects. According to our investigation the book that presents the best reflection is Vistas 3, which also is the only book published after the actualisation of the courseplan of GY11.                                                                        However, the majority of the teachers believe that they know the means of both direction documents. Even so, it is clear that the course plan is the document that is best known and that the mayority of the teachers have been educated about its goals, which is the opposite of the results of the same questions concerning the Common European Framework of Reference for languages. In addition, the majority of the teachers say that they do not try to implement the goals of this document in their teaching. Then again the results of the courseplan are different as it says that the majority of the teachers actually try to implement and take notice of this document, and its goals, in their teaching.           When it comes to the questionnaire results of the textbooks, Alegría 3 has the best results. It is considered to accomplish the established goals by both documents and to serve as a functionable tool in the teaching of the two aspects. The majority results of Vistas 3 and Caminando 3 is that they are only considerd to partly accomplish the goals of the documents of directions, and to partually serve as good tools in teaching of the two aspects. To sum up, the questionnaire results of Vistas 3 and the results of the analysis don’t correspond. This might be because of the lack of knowlede that one of the teachers, who wasusing this book, had concerning the documents of direction. In conclusion, it is important to remember that the textbooks shouldn’t be used as the only teaching material to follow the guidelines of the direction documents.

This dissertation concentrates on the development of writing skills in learners of Czech as a foreign/second language at A2-B2 levels. It aims to determine whether creative writing has positive influence on linguistic and discursive competence in acquiring Czech, as opposed to classic approaches. For these purposes, a probe was conducted in form of a one-semester qualitative action research. The sample consisted of 30 non-native University respondents. They were divided into two experimental and two control groups - with upmost regard to their comparability in terms of language levels, socio-linguistic parameters, the genres and topics assigned, as well as the number of lessons taught. In experimental groups, the writing skills was developed by the method of creative writing while the control groups were taught by means of traditional approach. After the semester, in case of experimental group I and control group I (at levels B1/B2), comparable increase in competences took place, therefore it can be concluded that the creative writing method may influence the development of the writing skills positively. In case of experimental group II and control group II (at levels A2/B1), the results are ambiguous. Nevertheless, the experimental groups̕ respondents had higher sureness in drafting.

The diploma thesis deals with the book genre Erstlesebuch (book for beginner readers) as educational material in the context of foreign language education at the levels of Basic Users (A0/1-A2). In the context of first language teaching, this specific genre belongs to the field of literature, the didactic of literature, and the didactic of reading. The goal of this diploma thesis is to present different possibilities of didactic activities with Erstlesebuch in the context of second language teaching and to formulate criteria for choosing an appropriate text. The theoretical part describes the context of foreign language education and the role of literature in this context, with consideration for the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The theoretical part also presents the specifics of the book genre Erstlesebuch itself. The empirical part of this thesis is based on several investigations: firstly on a complex analysis (readability and text structure) of six Erstlesebuch and secondly on empirical research in reading with schoolchildren at higher grades of an elementary school (children at the age of 13-15). These results are compared to the results of similar research done with Austrian beginner readers (children between the ages of 7 and 9). The final part of the thesis concludes...

Vivimos en un mundo cada vez más globalizado e interconectado, lo que exige nuevas y mejores destrezas en cuanto al comportamiento en contextos interculturales, es decir, contextos donde se encuentran dos o más culturas de manera igualitaria. Documentos rectores para la educación, tanto nacionales (suecos) como internacionales subrayan la importancia de éstas.        En presente estudio se ha basado en investigaciones internacionales anteriores, para indagar cómo el sistema educativo y especialmente la enseñanza de los idiomas modernos pueden ayudar a fomentar la competencia intercultural en los alumnos, en primer lugar, por medio de una revisión sobre cómo se define dicha competencia; en segundo lugar, investigar cómo se puede crear un clima intercultural en el aula y finalmente, comprobar qué métodos y herramientas didácticas se pueden usar para fomentar la competencia intercultural en los alumnos. El análisis de las investigaciones anteriores se ha llevado a cabo aplicando un enfoque cualitativo, usando el método de la hermenéutica, o más específicamente, la abducción.       El análisis del estudio muestra que, a pesar de varios intentos, todavía no existe una definición unánime de la competencia intercultural. Las definiciones presentadas, sin embargo, tienen varios rasgos en común, por ejemplo, que están compuestas de dimensiones cognitivas, afectivas y de comportamiento. Además, la competencia intercultural se define también como un proceso, usando el modelo de procesamiento de la competencia intercultural de Deardorff (2006). A continuación, el análisis muestra que el clima intercultural en el aula se crea por medio de trabajar interculturalmente, otra vez usando el modelo de Deardorff. Se presentan unos ejemplos concretos de cómo trabajar interculturalmente, entre otros, empleando la conversación coloquial. Finalmente, el análisis, de acuerdo con la crítica hacia el uso de la enseñanza intercultural como un elemento aislado de la enseñanza, propone una perspectiva holística, es decir, que la interculturalidad formara parte de todas las asignaturas de los programas de educación. / Vi lever i en alltmer globaliserad och sammankopplad värld. Detta ställer nya och högre krav på vår förmåga att föra oss och interagera i interkulturella sammanhang, det vill säga sammanhang där två eller flera kulturer möts på lika villkor, vilket understryks i såväl nationella (svenska) som internationella styrdokument för utbildning.      Studien nedan har utifrån tidigare internationell forskning undersökt hur utbildningssystemet och framförallt undervisningen i moderna språk kan verka för att förmedla kunskap om, och färdigheter i, interkulturell kompetens genom att först göra en översyn av hur sådan kompetens definieras och därefter undersöka hur klassrumsmiljön kan få en interkulturell prägel, samt vilka didaktiska metoder och verktyg som kan användas för att förmedla den interkulturella kompetensen till eleverna. Analysen av den tidigare forskningen är genomförd med en kvalitativ ansats och hermeneutisk metod, närmare bestämt abduktion.       Studiens analys visar att det, trots flera försök, ännu inte finns någon enhetlig definition av vad som är interkulturell kompetens. Det finns dock stora likheter i befintliga definitioners grundstruktur, exempelvis att de innefattar kognitiva, affektiva och beteendemässiga dimensioner. Interkulturell kompetens definieras också som en process, varvid Deardorffs (2006) processmodell särskilt lyfts fram. Analysen visar också på att ett interkulturellt klassrumsklimat uppstår då läraren väljer ett interkulturellt arbetssätt, även här visar sig Deardorffs processmodell användbar. I anslutning till detta ges ett antal konkreta exempel på hur ett interkulturellt arbetssätt kan se ut, bland annat undervisning utifrån det vardagliga samtalet. Avslutningsvis lyfter analysen, i samklang med kritik mot att interkulturell undervisning ofta behandlas som ett enskilt moment i undervisningen, fram ett så kallat holistiskt perspektiv, det vill säga att interkulturalitet ska vara en del av all undervisning. / The globalization and interconnectedness of the world is putting new and higher demands on our ability to function and interact within an intercultural context, that is, contexts where two or more cultures meet on equal terms. This is also highlighted in national (Swedish) as well as international documents governing education.       This study has used previous international research, to investigate how the educational system and especially the teaching of modern languages can be a part of student’s acquisition of intercultural competence, by first reviewing how this competence is defined and thereafter investigate how to create an intercultural class space, and also what didactic methods and tools might be used to convey the intercultural competence to the students. The analysis of the previous research has been done, applying a qualitative approach and a hermeneutic method, more specifically the abduction.      The analysis shows that, in spite of several tries, there is still no unanimous definition of intercultural competence. However, there are compelling similarities regarding the basic structure of the existing definitions, for example the existence of cognitive, affective and behavioral dimensions. Also, intercultural competence is defined as a process, highlighting the process model on intercultural competence by Deardorff (2006. Furthermore, the analysis shows that an intercultural class space occurs when the teacher applies an intercultural teaching method, another area where the process model by Deardorff is proven useful. In connection, some examples are given of how an intercultural teaching method might look, including the use of the colloquial conversation. Finally, the analysis, in accordance with the critique on intercultural education used as an isolated element in the education as a whole, proposes a holistic perspective, that interculturality be a part of all education that is.

Abstract In our dissertation we address the needs rooting in the ongoing process of systematic efforts to improve the Czech educational system. Mainly, we focus on the question of how to implement the cross-curricular topic Multicultural Education into English language classes at lower and upper secondary schools. As Multicultural Education, along with the other cross-curricular topics, has become an obligatory and essential part of the reformed Czech curricula. The author of this dissertation is employed with the English Department at the Faculty of Education of The University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice. That is why we aim to introduce the theoretical background and history of the cross-curricular topic Multicultural Education in the Czech educational system. Then, based on that theoretical background, we shall design and run a course at the Pedagogical faculty for our students (teachers-to-be) that will provide them with sufficient amount of theory. Within the course the students will be given enough practical examples of the implementation of Multicultural Education into English classes when combining cultural and linguistic aims and at the end of the course we will allow the students to design and try such a class during their peer teaching. We will also publish the results of the course for...

This diploma work focuses on Adaptation of Czech Language Leaving Examination for the Deaf, which deaf student in Czech republic pass as a part of the their Leaving Examination. As a background of this main theme examines also present situation in the research of reading literacy. In the main part of this work is this examination presented in detail and there are also presented the results of deaf students and some other statisticts information. Examples of test units and student's written works are attached too. The other part of this work describes examinations of Czech language as a foreign language and give some detail information about the most important exams. In conclusion, the author of this work is trying to explore the way how the deaf students language skills in other countries are examined in their Leaving Examination.