No description available.

Vilka möjligheter finns för unga elever i skolår 2 och 3 att utveckla ett critical literacy-perspektiv utifrån den undervisning de deltar i och de texter de möter? Texter är inte bara skriven text utan text kan vara en bild, en film, ett inlägg på Instagram eller ett musikstycke som ska tolkas. Förståelsen av begreppet läskunnighet behöver därför vidgas eftersom eleven, förutom att läsa och skriva skriven text, också måste kunna tolka, reflektera över, kritiskt granska och skapa mening ur olika typer av källor. En sådan undervisning bidrar också till elevers utveckling till demokratiska medborgare, vilket också är ett övergripande mål i skolans styrdokument. I föreliggande licentiatuppsats undersöks möjligheterna för unga elever i skolår 2 och 3 att utveckla ett critical literacy-perspektiv utifrån den undervisning de deltar i. Syftet är att belysa om och i så fall hur undervisning i årskurs 2 och 3 skapar förutsättningar för elever att utveckla critical literacy. De kunskaperna behövs även för att kunna agera aktivt som samhällsmedborgare. Att kunna läsa och förstå texter ur olika perspektiv, att förstå att texter kan utesluta eller skapa fördelar för olika individer och att texter positionerar läsaren är en del av vad critical literacy handlar om. En teoretisk utgångspunkt för denna studie är därmed att elever, genom att läsa och arbeta med texter ur ett critical literacy-perspektiv, ges verktyg att bearbeta och tolka olika texter och skapa en förståelse för hur olika texter påverkar människor. Studien fokuserar på elevers respons i undervisning och datamaterial har samlats in i en klass med 20 elever under deras tid i klass 2 och 3 och består av klassrumsobservationer och intervjuer. Vid analys av materialet har  Janks (2010) fyra begrepp, domination, access, diversity och design, använts för att analysera elevernas respons relaterat till olika textaktiviteter. Resultatet visar att elever, utan någon speciell undervisning om critical literacy, i sina diskussioner, framför allt i samhälls- och naturvetenskapliga ämnen, uppmärksammar vilka som dominerar i texter och varför vissa människor framstår som viktigare än andra.  En slutsats är att unga elever både kan och vill diskutera svåra frågor om förutsättningar ges. När undervisningen har ett critical literacyperspektiv ges eleverna möjlighet att upptäcka och möjligen också bättre förstå sin omvärld. Genom sina egna erfarenheter kan eleverna inte bara visa medvetenhet om människor olika villkor utan också bidra med alternativ till förändring. / What opportunities are there for young students in school years 2 and 3 to develop a critical literacy perspective based on the teaching they participate in and the many text variants they meet in school? Since texts are not simply written words, but also pictures, film, Instagram posts or music, the concept of literacy needs to be  similarly extended.  In other words, to be considered  critically literate, students must also be able to interpret, reflect on, critically review, and create meaning from multiple types of sources. Teaching focusing on developing students’ critical literacy clearly contributes to fostering democratic citizens, which is also an overarching goal in the school curriculum. The purpose of the study is to shed light on whether and if so how teaching in grades 2 and 3 creates conditions for students to develop critical literacy and as a result be able to act actively as informed citizens. Being able to read and understand texts from different perspectives, and to understand that a text situates the reader and thus excludes or create advantages, is part of what critical literacy is about.The study material has been collected in a class of 20 students and consists of recordings and field notes from classroom observations and interviews. The data were analyzed using Jank’s (2010) four concepts, dominance, access, diversity, and design and the students' response in the teaching is analyzed in relation to various text activities. The results show, in social science and natural science texts, that students, even without any special teaching about critical literacy, pay attention to who dominates and how some people appear more important than others.  A conclusion is that young students are both able and willing to discuss difficult questions if conditions are given. When the teaching has a critical literacy perspective, students are given opportunity to discover and possibly also better understand the world around them. Based on their own experiences, the students can also not only show awareness about people’s different conditions but come up with alternatives to change.

During the age in which Beowulf was written, Christianity was the prevailing cultural force. Since early medieval religion was rooted in biblical typology, the principles of which were widely disseminated by the liturgy of the Church, we may assume that the resulting Weltanschauung also influenced Old English literature. While it is increasingly being recognized that the poetry of the Anglo-Saxons is the product of the typological imagination, Beowulf is usually regarded as somewhat of an exception. Until now, no typological study of the poem as a whole has appeared. In order to interpret its major symbols and illuminate its perennial cruces, Beowulf needs to be studied in its literary context. An understanding of the poem is therefore promoted by a consideration of its relationship to the literature of the typology-based tradition: other Old English poetry (which is mostly biblical or hagiographic in theme), the liturgical texts (in which the Scriptures, especially the Psalms, are the prominent sources), as well as the exegetical and homiletical writings of the Church Fathers and their medieval successors. The soundness of taking such material into account in the study of Beowulf is demonstrated by the fact that this method yields not only explanations of many individual elements but also a unified interpretation of the poem in its entirety. The meaning of Heorot, the goldhall, can thus be determined by comparing it to structures that are discussed in similar terms in the literature known to the Anglo-Saxons --for example, the temple or the newly created earth when it is described as a building. As a result it can be shown that, contrary to what some have argued, neither the perfect beginning of the hall nor the misery subsequently caused by the monster Grendel is evidence of the sinful pride of Hrothgar, its builder. Heorot's typological --and, hence, also baptismal --connotations lead us to the conclusion that Hrothgar's seemingly reprehensible inertia in the face of Grendel's attacks is entirely appropriate in one who, like the mournful ones in the Old English Advent, can only await deliverance. Adiscussion of the spring motifs in the poem helps to identify Beowulf as the heroic redeemer which the situation calls for. Numerous other details, when examined in a typological perspective, help to confirm this identity. Furthermore, Beowulf can be defended against those who cast aspersions on his desire to defeat the dragon and win its gold for his people. The role of the thief provides important clues to the meaning of Beowulf's own spoiling of the dragon's hoard. It can be shown that Christ's rifling of the devil's hoard constitutes the paradigm. Like Beowulf's cleansing of Heorot, the plundering is a redemptive activity. Moreover, since the poet presents it as a doomsday motif, it forms an extension of the Flood and baptism typology to which he repeatedly alludes in the earlier presentation of Beowulf's fights with the Grendel kin. Time and again the Beowulf poet's choice of words and details reveals that he practised his craft within a tradition in which his creativeness was bound and disciplined by the objectiveness of a particular structure of images. We perceive in all the rich variety of his work the unifying effect of the typological imagination. It is in the typological mode of Beowulf that the key to its meaning and artistry is to be found. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the possible role of alternative learning materials in the subject of English through an action research project in year nine, secondary school. The aim is to investigate the participating students’ engagement and comprehension of the texts used in the project. Some of the goals of the syllabus for English presuppose that pupils should be able to use various types of materials and sources of information in their learning. The goals also require a way of working characterised by variation and the use of different types of learning materials in English. In this particular study, data were collected continually during the process through questionnaires, observation notes and individual interviews with four pupils. A majority of the participants found working with the materials both engaging and enjoyable. Significant factors were mainly the varied nature of the texts, the presence of unfamiliar vocabulary and the texts’ relevance for the pupils. Regarding language development, the primary outcomes of the project were improvement of vocabulary as well as increased knowledge about various types of texts.

The aim of this thesis is to elucidate how English teachers in Sweden choose what materials to use in the classroom and how they benefit students. In order to accomplish this, I studied a variety of theories that deal with the subject of using traditional teaching aids versus authentic materials. Four interviews with English teachers of different backgrounds and experiences were conducted. I analysed the results of the interviews in conjunction with the theories. My conclusion is that teachers use different materials based on a combination of experiences and preferences. However, due to the limited number of interviewees in this study, it is not possible to draw any general conclusions. Nevertheless, it seems probable that new and inexperienced teachers seek comfort in traditional teaching aids such as textbooks and accessories, while experienced teachers lean towards incorporating authentic materials in their teaching to a larger extent. The experienced interviewees feel that authentic materials enable students to learn in an environment where they forget that they are actually ‘learning’. Instead, English becomes the natural means of communication. However, most interviewees agreed that time constraints sometimes make it difficult to incorporate authentic materials in the classroom. It is my own conclusion that authentic materials provide teachers with a never-ending source of inspiration that has the potential to revitalize and even reinvent the profession.

No description available.

Thesis (M. A. (Northern Sotho)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / There is nothing new on earth. Every text is the repetition of another text, or other things already existing. This study reflects on the texts leaning thematically on other texts. It does so by critically examining the intertexts which shaped O.K. Matsepe’s four novels, namely Lešitaphiri (1963), Megokgo ya Bjoko (1968), Kgorong ya Mošate (1962) and Mahlatse a Madimabe (1981). By revealing the intertexts, it is hoped that a maximum understanding of the novels by this outstanding author is reached. Underpinned by intertextual theory, this study adopted a qualitative approach to allow a better understanding of the identified phenomena. The four novels were purposevily sampled due to their relevancy to the topic under discussion. The study employed content analysis to thoroughly analyse data which were collected using a document review method. The discussion and findings of the study clearly indicates that the Bible and culture are the two main sources which influenced Matsepe’s writing. This research contributes to the existing knowledge as it scrutinises Matsepe’s philosophical novels which are still relevant to the current epoch and beyond.

The purpose of this study was to refine a rating procedure used to assess intermediate elementary school students' ability to orally retell what they had read from two expository passages. Oral retellings from 28 fourth grade students were tape-recorded and rated on two different occasions by each of 4 raters. A four-facet (passage, day of test administration, rater, and rating occasion) generalizability study was conducted using a partially nested design. The six largest sources of variability identified in the G-study included (a) students, (b) the student-by-day interaction, (c) the interaction of passage with rater (nested within student and day), (d) the student-by-day-by-occasion interaction, (e) the passage-by-raters (nested within students and day)-by-occasion interaction, and (f) the residual. A D-study was conducted to predict the values of the error variances and generalizability indices for both relative and absolute decisions. The results show how the error variance and the generalizability coefficients vary as a function of the number of passages, days of test administration, raters, and rating occasions. The results of the D study indicate that adding an extra reading day would produce a greater increase in reliability than asking the students to read more passages, or using more raters or more rating occasions. To achieve the greatest gain in generalizability, teachers should have students read at least two passages on at least two separate days and have their retelling rated by at least two raters and then compute a mean rating for each student averaged across the various passages, testing days, and raters.

This paper describes the working environments of gymnasium teachers in Swedish when they mark, correct, or assess their students’ written texts that have been handed to them. Which strategies do they use for making this activity less time-consuming and efficient? How do they perceive their workload? If they teach other courses than Swedish 1, 2 and 3 – do they perceive any difference in the workload of marking, correcting, grading, or assessing students’ written texts? To examine this, a web-based survey has been conducted with a qualitative approach. Sixteen teachers, who all had teaching licenses as well as experience teaching at a Swedish gymnasium, participated. Then a qualitative content analysis, inspired by Graneheim and Lundman (2004), analyzed the answers made to the four free-text questions of the survey.  The results show that teachers spend considerable time marking student texts during workdays. There is some variation in strategies the teachers use to be time-efficient, even though some patterns have been detected. Most teachers report a difference between marking texts that have been handed in by the scope of the courses in Swedish, and other courses (including Swedish as a second language as well as foreign languages). The teachers give their students a lot of written feedback when they perform this task, although they make different demands on their students on how to use it.

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine four teachers’ of English perceptions of the use of CPCE in their teaching. When reading the control documents of the Swedish school, indications pointing towards the use of CPCE texts in teaching were found. Therefore we took an interest in finding out how teachers choose to implement CPCE in their teaching. We have combined the methods of semi structured qualitative interviews and the use of a focus group to gather the data needed. Our main findings consist of how the concept of popular culture is understood by our informants. They find the concept vast as it entails such a broad variety of texts such as TV shows, film, the Internet, magazines and literature. Teachers select appropriate CPCE materials with regards to their pupils’ preferences. However, our findings of how these materials are implemented in their teaching of English vary and are to be considered limited.