Master of Arts / Department of Communication Studies, Theatre, and Dance / Leann M. Brazeal / In this thesis study, the use of group work as an instructional strategy was assessed to determine the effect it has on students’ willingness to communicate, communication apprehension, and self-perceived competence. Students enrolled in a basic public speaking at a major Midwestern university completed Neer’s (1987) Classroom Apprehension about Participation Scale (CAPS) at the beginning of the semester and again four weeks later after being exposed to a treatment of group or no group. Results indicated students’ willingness to communicate and self-perceived competence increased over the four-week duration of the study regardless of treatment. However, a significant reduction of communication apprehension was seen in students using group work in their classrooms. Limitations and implications are discussed.

Submitted by Monica Antunes do Couto (monicaacouto@hotmail.com) on 2018-01-26T00:10:28Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Monica Couto.pdf: 1486661 bytes, checksum: 95cbd57f52daf59e08cc96172f62c855 (MD5) / Rejected by Mayara Costa de Sousa (mayara.sousa@fgv.br), reason: Boa tarde Monica, Alguns ajustes devem ser realizados conforme normas: 1. O nome GETULIO não tem acento; 2. O título do trabalho deve estar todo em caixa alta; 3. As palavras-chave do abstract devem ser separadas por ponto e vírgula; 4. Elementos pré-textuais não devem ser inseridos no sumário - somente da introdução em diante; 5. Lista de tabelas, lista de figuras entram antes do sumário; Att, Mayara 3799-3438 on 2018-01-26T20:50:14Z (GMT) / Submitted by Monica Antunes do Couto (monicaacouto@hotmail.com) on 2018-01-28T23:19:47Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Monica Couto.pdf: 1487098 bytes, checksum: 9f91f6546893867e1e2c1acb4e39b06f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Mayara Costa de Sousa (mayara.sousa@fgv.br) on 2018-01-29T20:48:08Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Monica Couto.pdf: 1487098 bytes, checksum: 9f91f6546893867e1e2c1acb4e39b06f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-01-30T11:26:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Monica Couto.pdf: 1487098 bytes, checksum: 9f91f6546893867e1e2c1acb4e39b06f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-12-18 / O presente estudo tem como objetivo investigar a sensibilidade do consumidor a preço após promoções com diferentes percentuais de desconto em produtos líderes e não líderes e com duas maneiras distintas de comunicação da oferta. Tal questão é relevante, pois um plano de oferta otimizado possibilita ganho dos dois lados da cadeia: consumidor e varejista. O consumidor reconhece e valoriza a oferta e o supermercadista não sofre com o desperdício de recursos financeiros, ou com a aplicação de recursos em produtos que trazem pouco retorno à empresa. Além disso, se a empresa compreende o comportamento do cliente em períodos promocionais é possível projetar melhor as receitas e o estoque. Algumas variações de desconto não são reconhecidas pelos clientes e, portanto, não resultam em aumento na quantidade comprada. Além disso, a maneira que uma oferta é comunicada desempenha um papel fundamental para o sucesso de uma promoção de preço, seja ela para produtos líderes ou não líderes. Os resultados dos experimentos foram medidos de maneira comparativa entre os produtos analisados. A pesquisa foi realizada em uma rede de supermercados no interior do Estado de São Paulo e é quantitativa experimental. Este estudo pretende contribuir para a prática empresarial e acadêmica. No plano corporativo, possibilita um melhor entendimento de como variações no percentual de desconto de preço influenciam de maneira diferente na quantidade vendida, oferece alternativas que possibilitam aos varejistas a implantação de políticas de oferta mais eficientes, ampliando o conhecimento da relação: precificação e respostas dos consumidores, e mostra que mudanças simples na maneira de comunicar a oferta geram impactos importantes na quantidade vendida. Já no plano acadêmico, agrega conteúdo à literatura de precificação no varejo. Os resultados deste estudo trazem implicações para os varejistas e a indústria alimentícia. / The present study aims to investigate the price sensitivity of consumers to price and promotions with different percentages of price reduction in leading and non-leading products and to two different ways of communicating the offer. This investigation is relevant, since optimized alternatives allow the gain of both sides: consumer and retailer. To the consumers, as they recognize and value the price promotion, and to the supermarkets, as they will not suffer from the waste of financial resources, or the application of resources in products that bring little return to the company. In addition, if the company understands customer behavior during promotional efforts, sales and inventories can be better predicted. Some price promotional discount variations are not recognized by customers and therefore do not result in an increase in the quantity purchased. In addition, the way an offer is communicated plays a key role in the success of a price promotion, whether for leading or non-leading products. An empirical research through experimental design was conducted, allowing valuable comparisons among different products and different price and promotional alternatives. The research was carried out in a supermarket chain in cities of the State of São Paulo. This study offers contributions not only to conceptual frameworks, but also to business applications. At the corporate level, it contributes to: a better understanding of how variations in the percentage of price discounts influence the quantity sold, offers alternatives for retailers to implement more efficient promotional policies, broadens the knowledge about the relationship between pricing and consumer responses, and shows that simple changes in the way to communicate promotions can have significant impacts on the quantity sold. In the conceptual context, it aggregates knowledge to the literature of pricing in the retail industry. The results of this study have therefore implications for retailers and for the food industry.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:34:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Natalia Ferreira de Almeida.pdf: 797609 bytes, checksum: 1aba67c2f284da13b05d0daec6d4329b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-01-31 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The contemporary societies are characterized by the centrality of the media in the daily life of people. In Brazil, broadcasting is a primary source of information and entertainment of the population, representing an important benchmark in which people are guided in making daily decisions. Participation in these media, however, is historically restricted to a few players. This work is a reflection on the emancipatory potential of the media, supporting the hypothesis that communication is a diffuse human right that in a democratic society, should be shared so egalitarian. / As sociedades contemporâneas são caracterizadas pela centralidade da mídia no cotidiano das pessoas. No Brasil, a radiodifusão é uma das principais fontes de informação e entretenimento da população, representando um importante referencial em que as pessoas se pautam na tomada diária de decisões. A participação nesses meios de comunicação, contudo, é historicamente restrita a poucos atores. O presente trabalho faz uma reflexão acerca do potencial emancipatório da comunicação social, defendendo a hipótese de que comunicar é um direito humano difuso que, numa sociedade democrática, deve ser compartilhado de maneira igualitária.

Oral communication is a central aspect of language learning in EFL-classrooms all over the world. Therefore, problems arise when students are passive, or unwilling to communicate and participate. The aim of this study is to investigate what factors impact Swedish upper secondary students’ willingness to communicate using self-reported data. The data in the study is gathered from a questionnaire with 203 participants currently studying in Swedish upper secondary school. The data analysis comprised inferential statistics to investigate causal relationships between the concepts of foreign language anxiety (FLA), self-perceived communicative competence (SPCC), extramural English (EE), and willingness to communicate (WTC). The results of the study suggest a causal relationship between the concepts, thus contributing to previous studies on factors that impact and describe willingness to communicate. Also, the results indicate that students’ extramural English habits impact their behavior in oral communication. In conclusion, motivating the utility of the English language for real-world purposes, in combination with a positive classroom environment, and the improvement of students’ oral communication confidence are imperative tools for the stimulation of willingness to communicate in the EFL classroom.

This study investigated Swedish primary school EFL learners' foreign language anxiety in years 1-3 by using mixed-method research. The aim of this study was to illustrate what factors caused foreign language anxiety (FLA) and unwillingness to communicate among the second language learners. In this study, a total of 85 pupils and five teachers participated. The study includes Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope's (1986) foreign language classroom anxiety scale, in a pupil-based questionnaire. The study was also complemented with classroom observations and interviews with the teachers and the pupils. The results showed a tendency for girls experiencing more foreign language anxiety than boys. The study also showed that FLA increased throughout the grades. The pupils' expressed beliefs of FLA were the fear of making mistakes and different factors related to their low self-esteem.

This study seeks to examine (1) in what situations Swedish upper secondary school students from two EFL classes are unwilling to speak English in English class, and (2) what the motivational factors are for the same students to speak English. Students in their first and second year of studying English in Swedish upper secondary school participated in this study. The data were collected using observations, a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The data collected in this study were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The results of the study showed that students are unwilling to speak English in assessed situations as well as in situations where students are given less time before they can speak. The results suggest that students are influenced by one another, and that using English only instruction will make students more confident in speaking activities since speaking English will be normative behavior in class. Moreover, students are motivated to speak the target language in class by the English they meet outside of school, and by the plans that they have envisioned for their future.

The purpose of this study has been to investigate how the police presence in a district located in central Sweden affects youths and what their general perception is about the police in the area. We have conducted semi-structured interviews with seven young people, aged 18 to 21, and a police officer from the city's police force. The results showed that the majority of youths initially had positive opinions about the police, however, the majority also felt that the ability of the police to communicate with the general public could be improved. Almost all participants felt that police presence in the area was high. Half of the participants felt that the presence increased their feelings of security, while the rest felt that police presence either decreased or did not affect their feelings of security.

The purpose of this study was to investigate, firstly, some Swedish upper secondary school students’ attitudes towards speaking in the English as a second language (ESL) classroom and, secondly, how these students suggest that speech anxiety should be dealt with. The participating students were both male and female and attended different school years and English courses. This qualitative study was based on interviews which were later transcribed and analyzed in relation to the research questions. The findings show that the students perceive speech anxiety differently depending on the context. The students also expressed that a way of reducing speech anxiety would be for teachers to communicate with their students to find solutions considering any discomfort and for the students themselves to be more prepared. It has been suggested that it is important to deal with speech anxiety in order to promote proficiency development. Therefore, the most important thing for teachers to do, according to the informants, is to make arrangements in the ESL classroom, together with the students concerned, which could help to make them more willing to communicate. However, the informants also suggest that students’ self-improvement, such as better preparations and reducing negative thoughts, needs to be included in the process to prevent speech anxiety for them to feel more comfortable when speaking in the ESL classroom.

The purpose of this study was to increase our knowledge of how upper-secondary English teachers in Sweden work to ensure that students who are socially passive reach the learning objectives regarding oral proficiency in the English subject. The study explores how six English teachers interpret the underlying factors causing students to be passive in English class, and what they do about this. The data consists of semi-structured interviews which were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings show that even though the interviewed teachers could agree that it is important to identify the reasons why some students show a passive behavior in class, this is not always possible in practice. Furthermore, the teachers seem to have developed some strategies to ensure that the concerned students reach the learning objectives. In addition, they agree that the socially passive students should be able to reach the targets despite their passivity. Despite this, the teachers also express a need for continued education in this regard. In particular, teachers who graduated recently and have limited experience are finding it more difficult to deal with students who are unwilling to participate in second language learning, which causes a situation where some students may not get the help they need to develop the desired language skills.

El desarrollo de las habilidades de comunicación oral es el enfoque de la educación de lenguas extranjeras de hoy, sin embargo, los pocos estudios existentes muestran que el nivel de los alumnados en el noveno grado sueco es crítico. Para comprender mejor la situación y encontrar indicaciones sobre qué actividades se prefieren, este estudio ha encuestado a 46 alumnados y cinco profesorados de diferentes tipos de escuelas de una determinada zona de Gotemburgo. El marco teórico utilizado es principalmente el Marco Común Europeo de Referencia para las Lenguas, el método del lenguaje comunicativo, la voluntad de comunicarse y la ansiedad en la teoría de lenguas extranjeras. El resultado muestra que la mayoría de los profesorados utilizan las actividades mencionadas en el Marco Común Europeo de Referencia para las Lenguas, así como las del método del lenguaje de comunicación, que ha inspirado mucho el marco. La actividad preferida se muestra ser la práctica del habla en diferentes tipos de conversaciones informales o conversaciones sobre temas cotidianos. La actividad menos popular son las tareas preparatorias como estudiar gramática o rellenar huecos en diálogos medio hechos. Se descubrió una diferencia con respecto a los géneros, mientras que las alumnas mostraron un percibido mayor nivel de habilidad de comunicación oral, se sintieron menos seguras que los alumnados y, además, más ansiosas independientemente de la actividad en cuestión. Los alumnados varones mostraron una tendencia inversa. Aunque la correlación en este caso no es estadísticamente significativa, sí es estadísticamente importante. Si bien la percepción de las actividades y su impacto en la motivación y la ansiedad con respecto a ellas son importantes, son solo una perspectiva y una fracción de lo que un maestro puede hacer para aumentar el aprendizaje en el aula de hoy, por lo que es de esperar que se realicen más investigaciones. / Developing the skills of oral communication is the focus of today's foreign language education, however the few existing studies show that the level of the pupils in Swedish ninth grade is critical. To better understand the situation and find indications on what activities are preferred, this study has surveyed 46 pupils and five teachers from different types of school from a certain area in Gothenburg. The theoretical framework used is mostly the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, communicative language method, willingness to communicate and the anxiety in foreign language theory. The result shows that most teachers use the activities mentioned in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, as well the ones from the communication language method, which has greatly inspired the framework. Furthermore, the preferred activities are practicing speaking in different types of informal conversations or conversations about daily subjects. The least popular activity are preparatory tasks such as studying grammar or filling in gaps in written dialogs. A difference was discovered regarding the genders, whilst the female pupils showed a perceived higher level of oral communication skill, they felt less confident than the male pupils, and in addition more anxious regardless of the activity in hand. The male pupils showed a reverse tendency, although the correlation is not statistically significant it is statistically important. Even though the opinion of activities and their impact on motivation and anxiety regarding them are important, they are just one perspective and a fraction of what a teacher can do to increase the learning in the classroom of today, so hopefully there will be more research done in this field.