This study offers an assessment of the non-native speech intelligibility of a group of English learners of Spanish at word level and in connected speech. Specifically, we aimed at analysing the impact of certain categories of phonemic errors, as well as three temporal variables of L2 speech (speech rate, pause frequency and pause duration) on intelligibility scores. In addition, the possible correlation between degree of intelligibility and certain individual factors (gender, level of proficiency, motivation, aptitude and L1) was also studied. Sixty evaluators, native speakers of Peninsular Spanish, transcribed different speech samples belonging to a group of 20 Key Stage 4 English learners of Spanish. The transcription of the different speech samples served to assess intelligibility at word level and in connected speech (sentence, passage and semi-spontaneous production). Results revealed an intelligibility loss at all levels of analysis, as well as a high correlation between intelligibility scores in the single word test and those obtained in connected speech. At a segmental level, deviations affecting vowels, especially unstressed vowels, seemed to play a more important role than inaccuracies affecting consonants. Moreover, correlation analyses underscored the importance of speech rate, pause frequency and pause duration for intelligibility loss. The predictability of our multiple-regression models was high for speech samples obtained at sentence and passage levels. However, multiple-regression models for speech samples obtained through the semi-spontaneous production task exhibited a more limited capability in predicting variation in students’ intelligibility scores. Results suggest the existence of additional variables affecting intelligibility at this level of analysis. All individual differences under study, with the exception of gender, were highly correlated with speech intelligibility. From a pedagogical perspective, it is argued here that any successful instructional treatment of speech intelligibility will depend on an appropriate integration of temporal aspects of speech within the time devoted to pronunciation instruction in the foreign language classroom.

This research explores the final assessment of language competence of future foreign language (FL) teachers (university graduates) in the Russian educational context. Foreign Language teacher training has always been an essential part of Russian education and its importance increased in the 1990s. Later however, with significant educational reforms at primary and secondary school level, teacher training became an area of least attention and interest from the Ministry of Education of Russia and local education authorities. This research is based on the belief that no school reforms are possible without investing in teachers and, therefore, in initial and in-service teacher education, with assessment being one of its key dimensions. The study aims to describe optimal methods of assessing language competence of novice teachers of English as a FL in Russia. For this purpose, the following objectives have been achieved: - a description of current notions of FL teacher language competence, based on analyses of previous theoretical and empirical research; - design of exam evaluation tools – 3 questionnaires and an interview framework, and their use in data collection from various stakeholders in a Russian state pedagogical university; - identification of strengths and weaknesses of the current Final language assessment; - description of possible alternative options for the Final Language Examination and discussion of their impact on different stakeholders. The research follows a mixed-methods design with both qualitative and quantitative data collected and discussed. The study involves various stakeholders at different levels and from different backgrounds – university students, Final Exam takers; Exam designers and administrators, and also teachers of English who provided their valuable vision of the current Final Language Examination and its possible alternatives. The data obtained through surveys and interviews allows for tentative conclusions on the current Language Examination’s appropriacy and relevance, and provides ground for a multi-faceted analysis of the Exam’s strong points and weaknesses, and for development of alternative assessment tasks. The research concludes by viewing possible changes in the Exam as likely and less likely to happen in the near future, based on analysis of the Russian higher education context.

This study investigated the processes of curriculum development and curriculum enactment for Portuguese as a Foreign Language (PFL) courses within the context of the Exchange Programme for Undergraduate Students (PEC-G) in Brazil. The following overarching research question guided the investigation: what shapes and informs curriculum development for the PFL courses which are offered by Brazilian public universities for PEC-G students? The following sub-questions were also addressed: (1) what are the key goals to be achieved by such PFL courses? (2) to what extent do syllabi, pedagogical materials and teaching reflect the curriculum within this context? and (3) to what extent does institutional support influence the processes of structuring and/or re-structuring these PFL courses? The research design was informed by Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT). Nine PFL programme co-ordinators and ten teachers, representing seven of the twelve PFL programmes in Brazil, participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews. Fine-grained analysis involved inductive, deductive and abductive analysis of the interview data. The findings revealed that the examination for the Certificate of Proficiency in Brazilian Portuguese (CELPE-BRAS) - which is mainly based on Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) - had been used as the supporting, main or only guidelines for PFL curriculum development and enactment within the seven PFL courses for PEC-G students that were investigated. The present study contributes to the existing literature on PFL policy, curriculum development and pedagogy by exploring the notions of language, language use, competence and culture which have been promoted by the PFL courses for PEC-G students. Informed by Freire's conscientização and intercultural perspectives on foreign language education, this thesis recommends revisiting those notions in order to provide the PEC-G students with an education in PFL that moves beyond the preparation for the CELPE-BRAS examination. By making such recommendation, this thesis seeks to encourage the development and enactment of language-in-education policies and curriculum guidelines for PFL within the PEC-G context which promote language and culture as meaning-making processes for the advancement of cosmopolitan citizenship and of transformative social agency towards social justice.

In an era of increased global investment in the use of technology in education generally, Saudi Arabia has intensified its quest to incorporate E-learning as a supplementary tool for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at the high school levels. The benefits of this paradigm shift are obvious because the growth of the Internet and the proliferation of computers appear to have had a direct impact on the steady increase in popularity of E-learning, especially for EFL, in Saudi Arabia. This research is premised on the assumption that the successful implementation of E-learning in Saudi Arabia will require the readiness of students and teachers in particular, ahead of the adoption and use of the technology for teaching and learning. This study adopts a mixed method approach using both qualitative and quantitative methods at three stages in order to achieve distinct research objectives. The first stage of the research involved qualitative interviews with students and teachers that explored the underlying factors of readiness of students and English teachers. The second stage of the research involved surveys with students and English teachers that examined their current level of readiness, as well as any age and/or gender differences in their readiness to use E-learning as a supplementary tool for EFL in Saudi Arabia. The third and final stage involved in-depth qualitative interviews with national and regional government officials as well as heads of families in order to develop a deeper understanding of the current level of readiness for students and English teachers. Overall, the present study provides an alternative perspective to understanding the readiness of students and teachers to use E-learning, particularly in the Saudi context. The study establishes that in developing societies where institutions are less established and considered thinner, the introduction of E-learning in such societies will require more than the availability of financial resources and political will. The research outcome demonstrates that the readiness of students and teachers for E-learning in Saudi Arabia is indicated mainly by a set of underlying personal factors which are influenced by a set of external factors. In terms of the current level of readiness of the respondents, there is a mixed outcome. Further, there are also some differences and similarities in the readiness of respondents to use E-learning for EFL based on age and gender. Finally, this study contributes to the existing body of international literature on E-learning readiness by proposing an expansive new framework that takes into account both personal and external factors in exploring readiness. More so, the propose new framework incorporates the significant role the wider cultural and social context plays as well as the importance of gender issues and their particular centrality in the Saudi context in relation to individual and organisational E-learning readiness.

Orientador: Alessandra Del Ré / Banca: Renata Maria Facuri Coelho Marchezan / Banca: Cibele Krause-Lemke / Resumo: Esta pesquisa busca pensar a questão da constituição da subjetividade do aprendiz de inglês como língua estrangeira (LE), partindo da hipótese de que o aluno, no caso, adulto, ao se deparar com a língua alvo (LA), enfrenta um embate entre o que já está constituído em sua língua materna (constituição que se encontra também em constante modificação) e o novo, que vem atrelado à LE. Para realizar a pesquisa, partimos de uma perspectiva discursiva, baseada nas ideias do Círculo de Bakhtin (1976, 1981, 1997, 2006). Acreditamos que, ao entrar em contato com a nova língua/cultura, o aluno, enquanto sujeito que se constitui na linguagem, passa por uma série de deslocamentos identitários, constitutivos de sua subjetividade de base, os quais lhe permitem utilizar a outra língua. Na perspectiva dialógica e discursiva apresentada na pesquisa, refletimos sobre tais processos de deslocamento identitário, levando as contribuições bakhtinianas para a área de Aquisição de Linguagem, assim como para os estudos em aquisição/aprendizagem de LE. Analisamos, ao longo do trabalho, seis relatos escritos e cinco entrevistas de alunos adultos de inglês como LE, em situação formal de aprendizagem numa escola de idiomas da cidade de Americana, SP. Buscamos, nos discursos de tais alunos, indícios de sua subjetividade e da emergência identitária trazida pela língua estrangeira. As análises dos dados nos revela que a hipótese dos deslocamentos identitários é consistente, uma vez que flagramos, em alguns momentos da fala dos alunos e de seus relatos escritos, índices de tais movimentos de um domínio a outro e de mudanças de pontos de vista, dentro da linguagem e por meio dela / Abstract: This research aims to consider the issue of the subjectivity constitution of the adult learner of English as a foreign language, assuming that the adult learners, as they encounter the target language, they also face a conflict between what has already been established through their first language (what, in a way, is always changing and assuming new possibilities) and the new point of view, attached to the foreign language. We lead the research according to a discursive point of view, based on the ideas of Bakhtin and his Circle (1976, 1981, 1997, 2006). We believe that in contact with the new language/culture, the student, as a subject that is constituted in and through the language, has to go through a series of identity movements, which allow them to use the other language. In the discursive and dialogical perspective presented on this work, we look at these processes of identity movements, bringing the bakhtinian point of view to the Language Acquisition field as well as to the studies on Second Language Learning. In this research, we analyze six written reports and five interviews of adults learners of English as a foreign language, from a formal learning process in a language school in Americana, SP (Brazil). We aim to show, in the speech of such students, evidences of their subjectivity and the emergence of a new identity, linked to the foreign language. The data analysis reveals that the hypothesis of the identity movement is consistent, since it is possible to recognize traits of changes of point of view in the considered speeches / Mestre

<p> Increasing numbers of English-language learners with limited or interrupted formal education are entering schools across the United States. This new trend is affecting school districts with new challenges as high school teachers of English speakers of other languages are not prepared to address the beginning literacy needs of students with limited or interrupted formal education. In addition, students with limited or interrupted formal education are encountering challenges in high school as they are simultaneously learning a new language and academic content in a new culture in addition to learning how to read and write for the first time in their lives. Moreover, additional challenges that arise with this group of students involve addressing their socioemotional and acculturation needs. </p><p> This qualitative study examined how high school teachers of English speakers of other languages in a small urban mid-Atlantic school district integrated social and academic English-development skills for students with limited or interrupted formal education. To accomplish this, the researcher collected data by conducting eight individual teacher interviews and six classroom observations. The researcher also gathered student background information, which included assessment scores that aided during the analysis of classroom observations. </p><p> Five general themes emerged from data analysis: (a) meeting the socioemotional needs of students with limited or interrupted formal education by building relationships, (b) differentiating instruction to meet the academic needs of students with limited or interrupted formal education, (c) meeting the beginning literacy needs of students with limited or interrupted formal education who have limited knowledge of literacy instruction, (d) lack of integration into the school culture and students creating their own community, and (e) the power of students&rsquo; native languages. The findings of this study will assist school districts across the United States to focus on the areas of needs to provide high-quality educational opportunities to students with limited or interrupted formal education. The gathered information will also contribute to enhance teaching practices that benefit the socioemotional, academic, and acculturation needs of this unique student population.</p><p>

Research indicates that general and mental healthcare services have been, and continue to be, underutilized by racial and ethnic minorities. Studies point to the language gap between limited English proficiency (LEP) individuals and mental-health clinicians as one of the factors in perpetuating that gap. Despite the legal and professional mandates that require professionals in healthcare to provide and use language interpreters in giving care, psychologists rarely make use of professional interpreters when conducting psychotherapy. Most clinicians have little experience providing mental-health treatment across differences in language, and it is supposed that clinicians usually receive little or no training on how to address those differences. This study involved a national survey of all APA-accredited programs to ascertain how student trainees are currently being prepared to work with language interpreters in professional training programs and to evaluate potential barriers to the implementation of training guidelines for use in those programs. Findings indicated that several instructors are addressing the use of language interpreters through a variety of pedagogical approaches. Guidelines for clinical practice with interpreters were also evaluated and ranked so as to establish consensus on the necessary competencies. Implications for instructors are also included.

Government initiatives for strengthening the safety of the United States led to increased requirements for military linguists' knowledge of foreign languages. This study explored the development of professional training for instructors at a military language school to address the gap in teaching services. The purpose of this single case study was to explore best teaching practices for engaging adult students' foreign language learning following andragogical principles. Knowles's theory of andragogy provided the conceptual framework. Data were collected using anonymous responses to an online survey from 26 instructors who answered 3 open-ended questions. Data were analyzed by coding answers to the research question and indicated that approximately one third of participants preferred language-centered practices for engaging their students' foreign language learning. Another third of the respondents noted learner-centered approaches, and the remainder listed both language- and learner-centered approaches among best teaching practices. The proposed curriculum might facilitate discussion about the benefits of each approach to promote teaching and learning at the site. Participating in suggested training that is grounded in the theory of andragogy and local data may bring about positive change by advancing instructors' expertise, improving educational services, and resulting in increased students' proficiency.

Under the premise that vocabulary learning in a Spanish as a second language in-class environment may be affected by the instructional approach adopted by the instructors or the materials followed, this study explores the influence of rather distant teaching styles, such as implicit and explicit approaches, on the learning outcome of Spanish lexicon. Research has shown successful results in studies undergoing both approaches (Ellis, 1994; Barcroft, 1994; Maura, 1995; Huckin and Coady, 1997; Schmitt, 2000; Paribakht and Wesche, 2000; Hiebert and Kamil, 2005). Despite the adopted instructional approach, vocabulary is finally assimilated by the learners to an extended degree. Nevertheless, explicit style shows better results in early stages of learning, whereas implicit style proves to be more effective in a more advanced stage of learning, since beginning students' lack of vocabulary limits their inferring ability (Zimmerman, 1997; Coady, 1997). The reason is that the explicit approach facilitates breadth knowledge of the material, in opposition to implicit approach, which facilitates a depth of knowledge (Paribakht & Wesche, 1996). As a result, we may have students with vocabulary breadth knowledge, who gloss a Spanish word in English, but are unable to apply or recognize the word in a context; as opposed to students with depth of knowledge, who may know the Spanish glosses of English words and their meaning variations depending on context On the other hand, Second Language Acquisition (SLA) has also proved to be influenced by factors out of the scope of instructional techniques. Each learner may approach differently to the foreign language learning process and affect his/her final results (Oxford, 1990; Skehan, 1991). Facts such as motivation, or individual strategies, will influence the mastery of vocabulary regardless of the instructional approach This study presents the vocabulary learning results of a long term implicit and explicit approach treatment applied to two different sections of an intermediate Spanish course. Lexicon learning results will be correlated with the individual factors of motivation and learning strategies to measure aspects that may be determinant in the acquisition of Spanish vocabulary in an in-class university-level setting / acase@tulane.edu

[pt] A dissertação Percorrendo espaços de aprendizagem com mapas mentais: dois casos de aprendizes de inglês como língua estrangeira objetiva analisar os efeitos, em termos de aprendizagem, da inserção de mapas mentais no contexto do ensino de inglês como língua estrangeira em aulas individuais. A partir das opiniões expressas pelos aprendizes por meio de questionário, journals e entrevista, procuramos identificar a relevância e utilidade, para seus processos de aprendizagem, percebidas nos mapas por eles. Para tal, organizamos o discurso dos participantes em macro-blocos temáticos que observam a forma como eles concebem sua aprendizagem, as suas próprias práticas com mapas mentais e também, as da professora. Os aprendizes demonstram estar conscientes do valor de um ensino fomentador de autonomia e ambos enxergam os mapas mentais como uma ferramenta de ensino e uma estratégia de aprendizagem, com considerável potencial de auxílio à criação de um ensino mais personalizado e atento às suas características individuais de aprendizagem. A pesquisa traz contribuições para um universo já bastante explorado, isto é, o ensino e aprendizagem de língua estrangeira, porém com o intuito de estimular inovações metodológicas aliadas a uma postura crítica. / [en] This dissertation analyses the effects of the introduction of mind maps in the context of teaching English as a foreign language in individual classes. Based on the responses of the students in questionnaires, journals and interviews, I seek to identify the relevance and usefulness of mind maps for their learning processes, as perceived by the learners themselves. In order to do this, I have organized the participants’ responses into thematic macro-blocks which show the way they conceive their learning, their own practices with mind maps, as well as the teacher’s practices. The learners show some awareness of the value of ‘autonomy friendly’ teaching and see the mind maps as both a teaching tool and a learning strategy, with reasonable potential to assist with the building of more personalized learner based teaching, which takes account of individual characteristics of the learner. The contributions of this study are within a context that has already been widely explored: the teaching and learning of foreign languages. However, the particular intention of this study is to encourage methodological innovations via a critical approach.