The present study is based on the theoretical assumptions that frequency of characters and their structural components, as well as the frequency types of structural components, are important to enable learners of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) to discover the underlying structure of Chinese characters. In the CFL context, since reliable target language input is limited largely to textbook materials and teacher instruction, it is important to more rigorously examine the inventory of Chinese characters that is typically presented in CFL textbooks. The purpose of this study was to systematically describe and classify Chinese characters from ten CFL textbooks designed for college and adult beginning learners. The main focus was to compare the textbooks in the following areas: explicit orthographic decomposition instruction, character frequency selection, radical combination frequency, radical semantic transparency, radical positional regularity among different character graphic structures, phonetic element reliability, and phonetic component combination frequency. To accomplish the analysis required for this study, a special character database was created. Dictionaries were used to classify character characteristics, and documented frequency lists were used to classify the character usage frequency. The findings revealed that most textbooks rarely include explicit orthographic decomposition instruction in the vocabulary lists or lessons, while over 40% of the characters in most of the textbooks did not combine with other characters to form words. In addition, analysis of frequency lists created over time revealed that the ten textbooks generally contain many high frequency characters. Furthermore, the results indicated that 60% of the characters in the database were classified by relatively few radicals (17%), with most radicals appearing on the left side of the characters. Relatively reliable phonetic analogy groups appeared frequently. About half of the characters are semantic-phonetic compound characters. Less than 10% of the characters in the textbooks are semantic-phonetic compound characters that contain semantically transparent radicals and reliable phonetic elements. The results of the study suggest that textbook writers should consider integrating orthographic decomposition and component frequency materials into their textbooks, as systematic instruction in textbooks is generally lacking. Teachers should also be mindful of emphasizing the high frequency characters that are consistently featured in all textbooks, as well as the frequently appearing radicals and left-right internal structure of many of the characters. In this way, students will early on develop a firm foundation of the principles governing Chinese orthography.

Vocabulary is a crucial component for language acquisition and EFL lessons are often dictated by the usage of textbooks and workbooks. The current study therefore aims to investigate how effective textbooks are in helping learners acquire high, mid, and low-frequency words as well as to what degree high and mid-frequency words are repeated throughout the textbooks. Additionally, the study explores the types of exercises presented in the EFL teaching materials, with a particular focus on the extent to which they promote learners' active engagement and use of the vocabulary presented. The findings suggest that EFL teaching materials could benefit from more comprehensive and systematic approaches to vocabulary instruction, which emphasize the active use and recycling of high and mid-frequency words in meaningful contexts. The present study recommends that teaching materials and EFL teachers incorporate more varied and interactive exercises that promote learners’ active engagement and use of the target vocabulary. Additionally, the study uses corpus-based methods to investigate the frequency level of text bodies compiled from EFL textbooks targeting sixth-grade pupils in Sweden. Furthermore, the accompanying workbooks are examined to establish the types of exercises pupils are exposed to through their use. In addition, the study suggests that teachers using the included teaching materials should incorporate additional vocabulary exercises in their EFL instructions to promote the repetition of words found in the textbooks.

Life and Institutions are some of the key factors of any culture. When it comes to successful communication with other cultures, Intercultural competence is crucial. The study of Life and Institutions should therefore by a mandatory part of teaching Czech as a foreign language. Based on extensive analysis, the thesis examines how Czech Life and Institutions are portrayed in select textbooks for foreigners reaching level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The outcome of the thesis is not only a detailed charting of Life and Institutions found in textbooks of Czech language for foreigners, but also a set of major findings based on the initially proposed questions. The analysis of textbooks is based on theoretical findings, which are introduced in the first part of the thesis and which form the necessary framework for the research part of the thesis. Key words Intercultural competence, Life and Institutions, Culture, Textbooks of Czech language for Foreigners, Threshold level - Czech as a foreign language

À partir de quarante-huit extraits empruntés à dix-huit manuels de Portugais Langue Étrangère (PLE) publiés au Brésil et aux États-Unis entre 1954 et 2008, s’effectuera une analyse de la représentation de la brésilianité – traduction du mot « brasilidade » en portugais, un concept qui condense les principales caractéristiques de la culture et de l’histoire brésiliennes – depuis sa construction à l’époque du Brésil colonial (1500-1815), jusqu’à son utilisation à l’ère de la mondialisation (période considérée à partir des années 1950). En me basant sur le système de conception des auteurs, j’observe que la manuélisation ne se limite pas à rendre compte des ruptures et des continuités qui s’établissent entre le savoir savant et le savoir réellement enseigné, ce qui équivaudrait à un cas spécifique de transposition didactique (Verret 1975). Bien davantage, ces extraits corroborent l’idée selon laquelle les manuels dont ils sont issus expriment un ensemble d’idéologies, en particulier l’idéologie du bonheur (Ellul, 1998), caractéristique fréquemment attribuée aux images d’un certain Brésil ainsi réduit à n’être perçu que comme un lieu de joie, dansant et chantant (Almeida Filho, 2005). / This analysis of the representations of Brazilianness (translation of the word « brasilidade » in Portuguese, a concept that embodies the main features of Brazilian culture and history) – from its construction in colonial Brazil (1500-1815) through to its use in the era of globalization (starting in the 1950s) – is based on forty-eight excerpts taken from eighteen Portuguese as a Foreign Language textbooks published in Brazil and the United States from 1954 to 2008: considering the authors’ process of conception, it can be noted that manualization is not only satisfied by the interruptions and continuities established between scholarly knowledge and knowledge to be taught, which would be classed as a specific case of didactic transposition (Verret 1975). These excerpts confirm the idea that their respective textbooks express certain ideologies, which include the ideology of happiness (Ellul, 1998), a characteristic frequently attributed to images of Brazil as a joyful place where singing and dancing abound (Almeida Filho, 2005). / Por intermédio de quarenta e oito excertos provenientes de dezoito manuais de Português Língua Estrangeira (PLE) publicados no Brasil e nos Estados Unidos entre 1954 e 2008, são analisadas as representações da brasilidade (conceito que concentra as principais características da cultura e da história nacionais) – desde sua construção no período do Brasil colonial (1500-1815) até seu uso na era da globalização (a partir da década de 1950): partindo do sistema de concepções dos autores percebe-se que a manualização não se satisfaz apenas com as rupturas e continuidades estabelecidas entre o saber sábio e o saber a ser ensinado; o que seria um caso específico de transposição didática (Verret 1975). Tais extratos validam a idea de que seus respectivos manuais expressam certas ideologias; dentre elas, a ideologia da felicidade (Ellul, 1998), característica frequentemente atribuída às imagens do Brasil enquanto lugar de alegria cantante e dançante (Ameida Filho, 2005).