The present study is an attempt to understand migrant workers' language behaviour in the Native Speaker-Non-Native Speaker (NS-NNS) contact situation. More specifically, it examines face-to-face encounters between first generation Asian migrants and British bureaucrats in two institutional settings - selection interviews and social service encounters. The data source mainly consists of transcripts of video-recordings of actual interactions. Structurally, as well as thematically, the thesis broadly falls into three parts. Part I (chapters 1-4) provides a background to the study and covers the sociocultural dimensions of the migrant situation; the linguistic environment surrounding the migrant workers; a sociological perspective on their interaction with British bureaucrats in institutional settings; and finally, a brief account of the methodological choices made for data acquisition and data treatment. Part II (chapters 5-8) constitutes the core of the thesis and presents an in-depth analysis of migrant workers' participation in institutional discourse involving British bureaucrats. In pointing out that in the institutional setting, language behaviour is necessarily context-specific, this part goes further and seeks various ways of explaining mismatches in the NS-NNS contact situation. It raises the fundamental question: are these mismatches always caused by non-native speakers' culturally determined discourse styles? The main focus here is on the problematic character of various interpretative and explanatory frameworks with particular reference to the NS-NNS contact situation. In this part of the thesis, theoretical premises underlying the pragmatics of "communication in context" - namely, activity types and prototypes - are reassessed in order to account adequately for the dynamic nature of institutional discourse. The two major arguments are as follows: firstly, all activity types are not sealed categories and therefore the fuzzy edges which differentiate one activity type from another need to be given attention in our analytical frameworks; and secondly, because the same discourse routines can occur within different activity types, there is a need to highlight the differential functions that such discourse routines are seen as serving in different activity types. Part III (chapters 9-11) stresses the need to recognise the wider societal context - NS-NNS discourse as asymmetrical communication and NS-NNS discourse as intercultural communication - in order to examine the relationship between participants' perceptions and the occurrence of "misinterpretation". As a conclusion, chapter 12 suggests that, rather than rely on radically distinct analytical frameworks for examining "migrant speech" and thereby in fact reinforcing cultural and linguistic stereotypes, NS-NNS discourse should be studied along the same lines as other kinds of discourse.

Motivation has been viewed as a very influential factor to successful reading for English as foreign language learners. Learners can be motivated to read English by extrinsic or intrinsic motivation, and the motivational orientations could also influence their reading achievement. However, language problems that EFL learners encounter while reading can affect their willingness to read as well as their reading achievement. The purpose of this study was to investigate Taiwanese EFL students’ English reading motivation and its relationship with perceived language problems and reading achievement. 302 11th grade students from an urban district in southern Taiwan participated in the study. Measures included an English reading comprehension test, an English reading motivation questionnaire, and a questionnaire regarding language problems in reading English. A factor analysis was used to determine the motivational orientations. Multiple regression and correlation analysis were performed to examine the relationship among reading motivation, language problems, and reading achievement. The results showed that: 1) Taiwanese senior high school students were largely motivated to read English by extrinsic motivation, specifically the importance and instrumental utility of reading English and the drive for recognition and competition, although they could also be motivated by intrinsic motivation to read English for knowledge and social purposes. Moreover, extrinsic motivation to read for compliance was significantly associated with their English reading scores. 2) While reading English, unknown idiomatic expressions and vocabulary were frequently reported language problems that influenced students’ willingness to read. Nevertheless, lack of grammar knowledge was generally not considered a big language problem to most of the students while reading. 3) Language problems in reading English and reading motivation were correlated, and motivation to read for compliance, grammar knowledge, and overall reading comprehension were significant predictors of students’ English reading scores. This study highlights the influential role of extrinsic motivation to EFL students in English reading and the importance of knowledge of vocabulary and idiomatic expressions in order to help understand the meaning of English texts. It provides implications for English teachers in designing appropriate curriculum that suits students’ needs and interests, and also suggestions for choosing proper reading materials.

This thesis presents the extension of WebCrow into the English language. WebCrow is an automatic crossword solver developed at the University of Siena, and makes use of the vast quantity of information on the world wide web to find answers to crossword puzzle clues. It has been demonstrated to be competitive against human opponents in solving Italian crossword puzzles, and new improvements are being actively developed. This thesis focuses on the development of the English-language extension of WebCrow, as well as some issues with multilingual crossword solving in general. This extension will help WebCrow to become a competitive crossword solver for English language (specifically American) crosswords and demonstrate that the use of web-based information can help effectively solve natural language problems in various languages. / text

Thesis (MTech(Education))--Cape Technikon, 1998 / This study presents a model for the evaluation of educational innovation in a context of transformation. The model incorporates formative, summative and illuminative evaluation goals and emphasises the need to locate the innovation which is being evaluated within the context and policy framework of its operation. The evaluation framework provided by the model takes into account the full range of variables impacting on innovative educational practice and subjects the innovation, along with its transforming educational context, to the scrutiny of evaluation. The ten-stage generalised evaluation model is presented as a framework for the evaluation of any type of educational innovation. In this study the model is applied to the evaluation of an innovative intervention, LEAP (Learning in English for Academic Purposes), at a tertiary institution in South Africa. The LEAP course aims to develop English academic literacy skills in students, foster student-centred learning and teaching and promote the transfer of academic literacy skills across the curriculum. The background to, theoretical underpinnings and development of the course are expanded on in the study. In line with the model, the LEAP intervention is located within the context and policy framework of its academic context. The principal stakeholders in the LEAP intervention are identified. They are used as sources to identify the aspects of LEAP to be evaluated, as well as to identify the criteria for evaluation. An eclectic approach is adopted in the evaluation of the LEAP course. Both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods are employed, using a variety of instruments. A range of sources is consulted to cross-validate the analysis of the data, and recommendations are made on the basis of conclusions drawn from the interpretation of the data. The final section of the study reflects on the whole evaluation process and areas for further research are also discussed.

The purpose of this essay is to describe the legal conditions of the two legal rights the safety representatives upholds, the right to suspend work and the right to request investigations. Furthermore, it should be investigated and explained what obstacles and problems the safety representatives may face when it comes to exercising these rights. The aim is also to give the essay a diversity perspective with the help of a study of language problems among migrated workers and if this can be a safety hazard in the work and how it then can be related to the safety representatives legal rights mentioned above. As occupational health and safety issues also are regulated by EU law, the purpose of this essay is also to give a brief account of how EU bodies affects the law concerning occupational health and safety issues. In order to answer the essays research questions and to achieve its purpose, I have worked with the legal method and also performed a qualitative research interview.   I have concluded that the right to request investigations and the right to suspend work are two powerful tools that a safety representative has at its disposal. However, there are several aspects that can affect how they can be used and for what. Furthermore, I also came to the conclusion that there are certain obstacles affecting safety representatives possibilities  to work with its right, in the form of knowledge, time for education and also fear from negative consequences applied from the employer. Finally, I would like to present my conclusions concerning language problems and that they could be considered a safety hazard in the work and that the right to request investigations and the right to suspend work could be relevant in the particular case.

Introduktion: Vi lever i ett mångkulturellt samhälle och det ställer höga krav på operationssjuksköterskans omvårdnad för en hög patientsäkerhet i samband med operation. Syfte: Att undersöka operationssjuksköterskors upplevelser av språkproblem och kulturella aspekter i den perioperativa vården. Metod: Kvalitativ metod med induktiv ansats tillämpades och data samlades in via enskilda intervjuer med 10 operationssjuksköterskor, 8 kvinnor och 2 män, vid tre sjukhus i Mellansverige. En kvalitativ innehållsanalys användes för att bearbeta det insamlade materialet. Resultat: Genom analysen framkom det tre kategorier och åtta subkategorier. De tre  kategorierna var: Operationssjuksköterskan i den mångkulturella vården, Kommunikation och Kommunikationshjälpmedel. I resultatet framkom att hänsyn togs till patientens önskemål så långt det var möjligt om det inte påverkade patientsäkerheten. Operationer i intimare kroppsdelar upplevdes svårare än andra. Operationssjuk-sköterskorna upplevde sig begränsade när de inte kunde kommunicera med patienten. Patienten upplevdes oftast dåligt informerad innan operationen. Det ansågs säkrare att använda en professionell tolk än en anhörig som tolk. Det framkom önskemål från operationssjuksköterskorna om kommunikationshjälpmedel. Konklusion: Studien visade att språkproblem och kulturella aspekter påverkade operationssjuksköterskans perioperativa arbete. Det som upplevdes svårt var både att inhämta och förmedla information som hade betydelse för patientens perioperativa vård och patientsäkerhet. / Introduction: We are living in a multicultural society, which puts great importance on the theatre nurses´ care for patient´s security during surgery. Aim: To investigate the theatre nurses' experiences of language- and cultural issues in the perioperative care. Method: Qualitative method with inductive approach was applied and data was collected through individual interviews with ten surgical nurses, eight women and two men, at three hospitals in the Midwest part of Sweden. A qualitative analysis of the content was used to process the interviews. Results: The analysis resulted in three categories and eight subcategories. The three categories were: Theatre nurse in multicultural health care, Communication and Communication Aids. The result showed that patient's wishes were considered if they did not affect the safety of the patient. Operations in the intimate parts of the body felt harder than others. Theatre nurses felt restricted when they could not communicate with the patient. The patient own personal experience of information prior to the surgery wasn´t satisfactory. It was considered safer to use a professional interpreter than a family member as an interpreter. There were requests from the theatre nurses for communication aids. Conclusion: The study revealed that language- and cultural issues affect the theatre nurse perioperative work. They experienced difficulties in both collecting and disseminating information that had significance for perioperative patient care and patient safety.

This qualitative case study deals with management of multilingualism at the workplace in a multinational IT company in the Czech Republic. The multilingualism at the workplace was thoroughly described pursuant to using qualitatively won data (semi-structured interviews, ethnographic observations, additional written material) without making preliminary hypotheses. Thematically, this study aims at the employees'origin and their language knowledge, languages and their influence on job performance and hierarchical ranking, internal and external communication (language problems, communication channel, communication strategies), official language, interpreting and translating, language courses, multicultural milieu and identity.

<p>The purpose of this study is to find whether there is any truth in the thesis that adopted children from abroad is in greater need of special support, in particular regarding factors that might inhibit the language development that may cause language problems.</p><p>To achieve knowledge for this study, the methods have been to seek and analyze literature that discusses theories about language development and language socialization. To understand if theory and reality is cohesive, two interviews was conducted with special teachers that have had experiences teaching adopted children, analyzes of the results contra literature has been somewhat important and necessary. To ensure the reliability the interviews was recorded on tape and later transcribed.</p><p>The results from literature studies indicates that adopted children are more likely to be in need of special support in school due to factors concerning, among other things, adaptation difficulties, language progress and identity. Overall, language progress is depended on children’s total progress that includes physical, emotional and psychological condition. The results of the interviews agree in many aspects and outline the importance of giving such adopted children correct and individual support.</p><p>The conclusions of this study is that adopted children from abroad can, in some cases, be in need of special support in school, but not necessarily just because they are adopted. Language socialization explains how a language is learned and used and in that sense, it’s very important to be aware of the responsibility you have as a teacher to overview large spread of individuals and their progress.</p>

The purpose of this study is to find whether there is any truth in the thesis that adopted children from abroad is in greater need of special support, in particular regarding factors that might inhibit the language development that may cause language problems. To achieve knowledge for this study, the methods have been to seek and analyze literature that discusses theories about language development and language socialization. To understand if theory and reality is cohesive, two interviews was conducted with special teachers that have had experiences teaching adopted children, analyzes of the results contra literature has been somewhat important and necessary. To ensure the reliability the interviews was recorded on tape and later transcribed. The results from literature studies indicates that adopted children are more likely to be in need of special support in school due to factors concerning, among other things, adaptation difficulties, language progress and identity. Overall, language progress is depended on children’s total progress that includes physical, emotional and psychological condition. The results of the interviews agree in many aspects and outline the importance of giving such adopted children correct and individual support. The conclusions of this study is that adopted children from abroad can, in some cases, be in need of special support in school, but not necessarily just because they are adopted. Language socialization explains how a language is learned and used and in that sense, it’s very important to be aware of the responsibility you have as a teacher to overview large spread of individuals and their progress.

Bakalauro darbe analizuojami veiksniai, kurie logopedų ir tėvų požiūriu, padeda įveikti vaikų kalbėjimo ir kalbos sutrikimus. / Bachelor thesis analyzes the factors that parents and speech therapists approach overcomes the child speech and language disorders.