Habilitationsschrift--Tübingen. / Bibliography: p. [106]-109.

Proefschrift--Utrecht.

No description available.

My research answers the need for a comparative approach in the research of the history of Eastern Europe. In this respect I will compare the relationship between the writers and the power wielders in Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia during the first twenty years of communist power in the two countries (1948-1968). My main idea is firstly to trace the influence of the international context on the domestic scene in Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia, and then to show how writers in the two countries answered the challenges posed by their political context. In terms of the international context, I will outline the role of the Soviet Union in the political development of the two countries. In connection with the domestic context, I will illustrate the two models of relations between the power wielders and the writers, exemplified by the Bulgarian Communist leader Todor Zhivkov and the First Secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist Party, Antonín Novotný. The second trajectory of the research focuses on the conflicts conducted in the highest organ of control in the writers’ sphere - the Praesidium of the Writers’ Union. On the basis of primary sources, I will demonstrate the different approach exhibited by the writers in Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia in a period of political unification. As a result of this comparison the thesis will contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between the politics and the arts in Eastern Europe during the Communist period.

This thesis presents the rationale, design and outcomes of an action research study carried out in Northeast Brazil on the continuing professional development (CPD) of teachers of English as a second language (ESL). Municipal ESL teachers in Northeast Brazil are faced with problems such as the scarcity or lack of resources; lack of opportunities for CPD courses; lack of attention to English on the part of the government; and classes which are too large. In my action research a CPD course was designed and delivered to 20 in-service municipal ESL teachers. The course has had the purpose of providing those teachers with an opportunity to improve their own linguistic skills and confidence as teachers of English writing, and of equipping them to find longer term solutions for the challenges they encounter in their practice. It was based on reflective practice and related professional development theory (Dewey, 1933; Freire, 1972, 1974; Mann and Walsh, 2013; Schön, 1983; Allwright, 2003; Guskey, 2000; Jay and Johnson, 2002), with a focus on writing and creativity (Harmer, 2007; Hyland, 2003; Zemach and Rumisek, 2005; Raimes, 1983a, 1983b, 2002, Moon, 2008; Pavlenko, 2002). The study was guided by the key research question: “How can a continuing professional development course grounded in reflective practice with a focus on writing impact Northeast Brazil ESL teachers’ attitudes and planning?” The tools utilised to address the key question and other related sub- questions were in-class pieces of writing, and workshops carried out in the course for design of teaching materials, as well as focus groups, interviews, and class discussions. Results show that even though teachers are faced with scarcity of resources in their teaching, they could respond to opportunities for professional reflection, and were also willing to plan more engaging, creative and meaningful activities. However, some found it hard to leave behind traditional practices involving the teaching of fragmented language, with no opportunity for contextualized writing. The analysed results show encouraging signs that teachers working in difficult circumstances can benefit from the opportunity to share ideas and together design teaching materials applicable in their context, and that dialogical intervention in the CPD course is the right path to foster teachers’ professional development in unfavourable settings.

No description available.

The Primary MFL curriculum (DfE, 2013: 1-3) calls for the development of reading and writing in a foreign language in primary schools. Specific attainment targets refer to “accurate reading aloud for understanding” and the ability to “describe people, places, things and actions orally and in writing” (DfE, 2013: 2). Research, however, has shown both the teaching and learning of MFL literacy to be most problematic. Observation-derived evidence noted that writing was the “least developed skill” in primary MFL provision (Ofsted, 2011: 10, 25) and that written work tended to provide consolidation and support for oral learning (Cable, Driscoll, Mitchell, Sing, Cremin, Earl, Eyres, Holmes, Martin & Heins, 2010: 87). Meanwhile, empirical evidence holds that a lack achievement and motivation in school-based language learning is a reflection of limited progression in second language literacy and decoding (Erler, 2003; Macaro & Erler, 2008; 2011). Despite these findings, research has yet to identify teaching and learning approaches which could shape pedagogical practice and deliver the “substantial progress” that the curriculum expects (DfE, 2013: 2). This action research study, conducted over 23 weeks, presents an empirically-derived, principled and systematic approach to teaching MFL literacy and oracy simultaneously. Qualitative and quantitative data, collected throughout the intervention and at pre-, post- and delayed post-test allowed for both detailed statistical analyses of learning outcomes and the exploration of the learning process. The study finds that, in this beginner learner setting, MFL oracy is not disrupted by the simultaneous introduction of MFL literacy. It notes that both L1 reading age and verbal working memory proficiency are highly influential in L2 oracy and literacy learning but reports that learners across the L1 ability range can participate in L2 learning and make meaningful progress. It further suggests that the development of L2 sound/spelling links (through systematic phonics instruction) is slow and that familiar words are more likely to be successfully recoded. These findings together ii with evidence of an ever-dominant L1, support an argument for an early start to MFL literacy.

My aim in this thesis is to consider language policy and minority languages from the viewpoint of postmodernism – a theoretical framework that has much to offer beyond mere explanation and support for the concepts of diversity and pluralism. I argue there is a shortage of texts that interrogate language policy from a postmodern perspective – notwithstanding the contributions of a relatively small group of linguists including Pennycook (2000, 2006), Wright (2000, 2004), Cameron (1995) and Edwards (1985-2003). Thus, I combine some arguments from the domain of postmodernism articulated by theorists such as Foucault (1980), Lyotard (1997), and Connor (2004) with other arguments from the fields of language policy, language ideology and minority language rights formulated by theorists such as Phillipson (1993, 2003), Crystal (2000, 2003). In the first chapter I consider how language policy and planning has developed as a subject of academic inquiry since World War II. In the second chapter I focus on a primary objective for language policymakers, namely minority language maintenance. I conclude that characteristics and trends associated with postmodernism are neither wholly supportive nor wholly unsupportive of minority language maintenance. In the third chapter, I concentrate on the minority language Welsh, tentatively concluding that a truly bilingual Wales is not achievable. In this fourth chapter, I analyse findings from my ethnographic research into Welsh language usage in Newport. I tentatively conclude once more that the Welsh Assembly Government’s bilingual objective is unachievable. Finally, I argue that postmodernism is a useful theoretical perspective for academics in the field of language policy and planning.

No description available.

This thesis deals with the topic of compounding in Scottish Gaelic, in particular the relationship between marked adjective + noun compounds (e.g. deagh oidhche ‘good night’) and their unmarked noun + adjective alternatives (e.g. oidhche mhath, literally ‘night good’). The first part of the thesis surveys the relevant linguistic literature on compounding, with a specific focus on compounding in Celtic languages, and the research question for the investigation is specified as follows: in which circumstances do Gaelic speakers use the marked adjective + noun constructions in contrast to the umarked alternatives? The investigation itself consists of two experimental studies. The first of these is a corpus study using a 2.5 million word, mainly 20th century subcorpus of Corpas na Gàidhlig, a 19 million word corpus of Scottish Gaelic texts covering a range of genres, dialects and historical periods. In the course of this study, all phrases in which these adjectives occurred were collected and analysed. To annotate data the freeware AntConc concordance package was used, followed by a statistic analysis of the annotated phrases. A range of hypotheses were developed as a result of the corpus study, for example: (a) the role of conceptuality, subjectivity and emphasis in the use of preposed adjectives as opposed to their plain counterpart; (b) the religious register of ma(i)th good; and (c) the role of contrast in the use of attributive plain adjective aosta compared with the highly productive use of the preposed adjective seann- to convey the meaning ʻold’. The second experimental study involved interviews with native speakers, with the aim of providing further evidence relating to these hypotheses. 10 interviews were conducted with native speakers of Gaelic, mainly applying pictures and translations of the relevant adjectival phrases, investigating the meaning, stress pattern and hyphenation of these, as well as the default adjectives in loan words or with tangible nouns (e.g. vehicles, animals), etc. This combined methodology revealed various factors that influence the choice between marked adjective + noun and unmarked noun + adjective constructions, including: (a) dialect (with the overall use of preceding adjectives in South Uist, but the preference for math ʻgood’ in Lewis); (b) register (ma(i)th in religious texts); (c) conceptualisation in the vocabulary (by the preceding adjectives deagh- ʻgood’ and droch- ʻbad’ qualifying abstract concepts, whereas the plain adjectives math ʻgood’ and dona ʻbad’ tangible and countable nouns); (d) pragmatic factors such as the emphatic nature of deagh- as opposed to math; and (e) grammatical factors (see the use of deagh-/droch- in subjunctive clauses, particularly in time expressions).