The dissertation thesis deals with the skill of listening comprehension and using multimedia for its support in the French language teaching process. The issue is studied within the context of Czech curricular documents. It classifies language skills from the point of view of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The process of listening comprehension is described in linguo-didactics from the historical point of view and as a process of language communication. Attention is paid especially to listening comprehension in foreign language teaching. The thesis focuses also on methodical procedures when developing and reinforcing this language skill. Integration of multimedia with respect to varied learning styles and strategies is described. Styles according to the perception preferences and listening learning strategies are focused on. The aim of the thesis is to find out what is the position of the listening comprehension skill in the French language teaching process at upper-secondary schools, what is the success rate of the students in the process of comprehension of the spoken language, whether multimedia can contribute to successful comprehension of the spoken language in a foreign language. The issue is viewed from the perspective of the students as well as the teachers....

Diploma thesis - Cyril Štěpán Abstract In the theoretical part of my thesis, I first aim to outline the particular language problems of children brought up in a socially disadvantaged background. I attempt to describe what actually is "social disadvantage" and what are its specifics. Moreover, I deal with the particularity of development of children in such background and with the imapact on communication skills of these children when they enter nursery or elementary school. In the second chapter of my thesis, I write about langugage and communication barriers of children with different mother tongue. I describe and explain the term "different mother tongue". Then I pursue the statistics on pupils foreigners in czech schools and their categorisation to discover the most represented foreign languages in czech schools. I furthermore describe these languages (Slavic language group and Vietnamese) and I point out those linguistic differences of these languages when compared to the czech language that are the most crucial ones in the process of learning czech. In the last chapter of the theoretical part of my thesis, I write about school inclusion of these pupils. I first try to define the term inclusion only to later come up with concrete strategies and possibilities of inclusion of these pupils in czech...

This article reviews the effectiveness of dose forms and the efficacy of dosage and distribution in morphosyntax intervention for children. Dose forms include the commonly used techniques, procedures, and intervention contexts that constitute teaching episodes; dosage includes the quantitative measures of dose, dose frequency, total intervention duration, and cumulative intervention intensity (S. F. Warren, M. E. Fey, & P. J. Yoder, 2007). Based on the literature, this article first outlines and evaluates the range of dose forms and intervention contexts that clinicians and researchers can employ to facilitate morphosyntactic acquisition. Then, it defines and evaluates research outcomes and provides examples of the dosage components. Current evidence, which focuses primarily on young children and early-developing morphology and sentence structures, suggests that some dose forms and dosage levels are more effective with some populations and some morphosyntactic forms than with others. Distributed practice within sessions and throughout the total period of treatment appears to be more facilitative than massed practice, at least for children with typical language development. The scant research concerning total intervention duration suggests that it affects children's developmental trajectory and that treatment attendance matters. What is missing from the research base is detailed information about the effectiveness and efficacy of intervention for the acquisition of particular morphosyntactic forms in specific populations. The article summarizes these gaps in 3 research goals that reflect the argument of S. F. Warren et al. that it is time to conduct systematic comparisons of specific dose forms while testing how each measure of dosage affects outcomes.

The topic of the thesis is the development of phonematic hearing in children with impaired verbal communication skills, utilizing the method of Danil Boršovič Eľkonin. It deals with the training of language skills for selected kindergarten children with special needs. The thesis is divided into two parts: theoretical and practical. It summarizes theoretical definitions of basic terms such as language, speech, and communication. It describes disturbed communication abilities and its classification, it deals more with the characteristic of developmental dysphasia. It also deals with the concepts of phonetics and phonology, describes phonematic hearing and phonematic awareness. Last but not least, it outlines D.B. Elkonin's personality and his methodology. The practical part is of a qualitative character, which will give us access to the analysis of methodological procedures that we chose for this analysis. It describes five children with impaired communication skills throughout the training. Five children were selected for the research and for 6 months they were purposefully and regularly developed phonematic hearing by means of the D.B. Elkonin method. The research theses deal with the difference between input and output values of phonematic awareness. The results were carefully recorded in the...

Research has shown that the caregiving environment and the type of parent-child interactions that occur during development can have significant impact on future child outcomes for positive as well as negative outcomes (Ruffman, Slade, Devitt, & Crowe, 2006; Fonagy, Gergely, & Target, 2007). Language and emotional expressiveness are common themes that past research suggest are aspects of healthy and open parent-child interactions, and which may have associations with positive child outcomes (Carlson, Mandell, & Williams, 2004). Participants included 1359 children from the longitudinal NICHD Study of Early Child Care—variables were measured at 54 months, 3 rd , 4 th , and 6 th grades and at age 15. The early caregiving environment was found to predict 4 th grade language skills, but this relationship was not mediated by family emotional expressiveness in 3 rd grade. Family emotional expressiveness was found to predict 6 th grade social skills, but this was not mediated by 4 th grade language skills. Evidence of an indirect effect of language skills on social skills was found. Fifth grade language skills were not found to predict adolescent problem behavior, however, an overall significant indirect effect was found. Finally, family emotional expressiveness was found to predict adolescent problem behavior, and this relationship was partially mediated by 6th grade social skills. Direct, indirect, and total effects of the various predictors of adolescent problem behavior are discussed in the final chapter.

The diploma thesis deals with the influence of Elkonin's method on phonological abilities in preschool age. In the term of content, the thesis is divided into two main parts - teoretical and empirical. The first main part creates a theoretical framework of the selected topic and is further divided into four chapters. First, the basic terminology - speech and language - are defined and the ontogenesis of human speech is conceptualized in more detail. The next chapter describes the phonological skills. There is also a distinction between phonological and phonemic awareness and a possible diagnosis of the field of phonological processing. Above all, the Battery of Tests of Phonological Abilities (by the authors Seidlová Málková and Caravolas) is described, because it was used for the needs of the research. The third chapter characterizes the methodology of D. B. Elkonin. The last chapter approaches school maturity and its diagnosis. The empirical part has a qualitative character and its main purpose of the researche is to analyze the influence of Elkonin's method on the phonological abilities of preschool children. From the research methods the analysis of the results of the activity, the analysis of the documents, the observation and the elaboration of the case study were used. Four preschool...

Teaching ESL continues to pose a big challenge in most schools in Zambia. This is due to the paucity of teaching resources. While the number of schools has increased, there has not been a corresponding increase in funding due to economic reasons. This study arose from the desire to find alternative resources to teach English as a second language effectively within the communicative language teaching (CLT) framework. A review of available literature has shown that literature can help students to acquire the four language skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking. / English Studies / M. A.

<p>Циљ ове докторске дисертације је да<br />се упоредно анализира колаборативно и<br />самостално писмено изражавање у<br />основношколској настави енглеског језика.<br />Вештина писменог изражавања сматра се<br />комплексном когнитивном језичком<br />вештином, а истовремено игра веома битну<br />улогу у глобалној заједници, тако да је<br />неопходно да се више пажње посвети<br />подучавању писања. Годинама се писање<br />подучавало као производ, а не као процес.<br />Наиме, наставници су наглашавали важност<br />граматике и правописа, а недовољно пажње<br />се посвећивало садржају написаног и<br />организацији идеја. Да би се унапредило<br />писмено изражавање ученика они морају<br />више да се укључе у процес учења.<br />Интеракција се истиче као кључни део<br />учења и тако долази до све чешће<br />колаборације на часовима. У активностима<br />које се баве колаборативним писањем<br />процес сарадње подједнако је битан као и<br />процес писања.<br />Сарадња међу вршњацима и<br />потпомогнуто учење постали су саставни<br />део наставе енглеског језика, али је циљ овог<br />рада био да се провери њихова ефикасност у<br />завршним разредима основне школе.<br />Спроведено је истраживање у току 2014.<br />године са ученицима осмих разреда основне<br />школе. У току истраживања ученици су прво<br />самостално писали саставе, а потом су<br />радили писмене активности у групама. Кроз<br />анализу грешака тих састава дошло се до<br />закључка да ученици у групама, кроз<br />колаборацију, праве мање грешака и пишу<br />кохерентније саставе.<br />У другом делу истраживања ученици<br />су кроз анкете показали своје ставове према<br />оваквим активностима. Претпоставља се да<br />колаборативне активности повећавају<br />мотивацију, ентузијазам и самопоуздање<br />ученика. Како би се употпунило<br />истраживање о ставовима ученика, поред<br />анкетирања, у истраживачки процес била је<br />укључена још и техника групног<br />интервјуисања. На основу добијених<br />резултата може се закључити да нешто више<br />ученика воли колаборативне активности<br />него што их не воли, али је велики број<br />ученика несигуран о својим ставовима. Да<br />би се унапредили ефекти колаборативног<br />учења неопходно је подучити ученике како<br />да ефикасније раде у групи.<br />Наставници играју велику улогу у<br />процесу учења код ученика и умногоме<br />зависи од њих да ли ће ученици процес<br />писања прихватити као забаван или напоран<br />садржај часа. У последњем делу<br />истраживања проверени су и ставови<br />наставника према колаборативном и<br />самосталном писању и може се тврдити да<br />већина наставника има позитиван став према<br />овим активностима.</p> / <p>Cilj ove doktorske disertacije je da<br />se uporedno analizira kolaborativno i<br />samostalno pismeno izražavanje u<br />osnovnoškolskoj nastavi engleskog jezika.<br />Veština pismenog izražavanja smatra se<br />kompleksnom kognitivnom jezičkom<br />veštinom, a istovremeno igra veoma bitnu<br />ulogu u globalnoj zajednici, tako da je<br />neophodno da se više pažnje posveti<br />podučavanju pisanja. Godinama se pisanje<br />podučavalo kao proizvod, a ne kao proces.<br />Naime, nastavnici su naglašavali važnost<br />gramatike i pravopisa, a nedovoljno pažnje<br />se posvećivalo sadržaju napisanog i<br />organizaciji ideja. Da bi se unapredilo<br />pismeno izražavanje učenika oni moraju<br />više da se uključe u proces učenja.<br />Interakcija se ističe kao ključni deo<br />učenja i tako dolazi do sve češće<br />kolaboracije na časovima. U aktivnostima<br />koje se bave kolaborativnim pisanjem<br />proces saradnje podjednako je bitan kao i<br />proces pisanja.<br />Saradnja među vršnjacima i<br />potpomognuto učenje postali su sastavni<br />deo nastave engleskog jezika, ali je cilj ovog<br />rada bio da se proveri njihova efikasnost u<br />završnim razredima osnovne škole.<br />Sprovedeno je istraživanje u toku 2014.<br />godine sa učenicima osmih razreda osnovne<br />škole. U toku istraživanja učenici su prvo<br />samostalno pisali sastave, a potom su<br />radili pismene aktivnosti u grupama. Kroz<br />analizu grešaka tih sastava došlo se do<br />zaključka da učenici u grupama, kroz<br />kolaboraciju, prave manje grešaka i pišu<br />koherentnije sastave.<br />U drugom delu istraživanja učenici<br />su kroz ankete pokazali svoje stavove prema<br />ovakvim aktivnostima. Pretpostavlja se da<br />kolaborativne aktivnosti povećavaju<br />motivaciju, entuzijazam i samopouzdanje<br />učenika. Kako bi se upotpunilo<br />istraživanje o stavovima učenika, pored<br />anketiranja, u istraživački proces bila je<br />uključena još i tehnika grupnog<br />intervjuisanja. Na osnovu dobijenih<br />rezultata može se zaključiti da nešto više<br />učenika voli kolaborativne aktivnosti<br />nego što ih ne voli, ali je veliki broj<br />učenika nesiguran o svojim stavovima. Da<br />bi se unapredili efekti kolaborativnog<br />učenja neophodno je podučiti učenike kako<br />da efikasnije rade u grupi.<br />Nastavnici igraju veliku ulogu u<br />procesu učenja kod učenika i umnogome<br />zavisi od njih da li će učenici proces<br />pisanja prihvatiti kao zabavan ili naporan<br />sadržaj časa. U poslednjem delu<br />istraživanja provereni su i stavovi<br />nastavnika prema kolaborativnom i<br />samostalnom pisanju i može se tvrditi da<br />većina nastavnika ima pozitivan stav prema<br />ovim aktivnostima.</p> / <p>The aim of this doctoral thesis is to<br />perform a comparative analysis of collaborative<br />and independent writing in primary-school EFL<br />teaching. Writing skill is considered to be a<br />complex cognitive language skill which has an<br />important role in the global community.<br />Therefore, it is essential to devote more time to<br />teaching writing. Writing used to be taught for<br />years as a product and not a process. Teachers<br />emphasized the importance of grammar and<br />spelling and not much attention was placed on<br />the content of the written text or the<br />organization of ideas inside it. In order to<br />enhance written expression, students need to get<br />involved in the learning process. Interaction is<br />emphasized as the key part of learning and it<br />increases collaboration during the lessons. The<br />collaboration process is equally important as the<br />writing process.<br />Peer collaboration and scaffolding<br />became the integral part of the English language<br />classroom and the aim of this thesis was to<br />check their effectiveness during the final years<br />of primary schools. The research was conducted<br />in 2014 with the students of the 8th grade.<br />During this research students had to do<br />individual writing and then they had writing<br />activities in groups. Error analysis of the<br />students&rsquo; essays proves that students in<br />collaborative writing make fewer errors and<br />write more coherent compositions In the second part of the research the</p><p>students expressed their attitudes towards<br />collaborative activities using questionnaires. It<br />is assumed that collaborative activities increase<br />motivation, enthusiasm and confidence among<br />learners. In addition to this survey, group<br />interviews were used as another research<br />technique. According to the results it can be<br />concluded that students prefer collaborative to<br />individual writing, but also that a lot of students<br />are uncertain about their attitudes. Furthermore,<br />in order to enhance collaboration during the<br />lessons it is necessary to teach students how to<br />effectively work in groups.<br />Teachers play an important role in the<br />students&rsquo; learning process and it largely depends<br />on them whether students consider writing to be<br />an interesting or exhausting part of the EFL<br />lesson. The last part of the research deals with<br />teacher&rsquo;s attitude to collaborative and individual<br />writing and the results show that most teachers<br />do have positive attitude towards collaboration.</p>

Title: Using elements of art education in teaching German as a foreign language (with a focus on drama pedagogy and work with picture book "Queen of Colour" by Jutta Bauer) Summary: My thesis is focused on integration of aesthetic elements into a German language lesson. Such elements help to improve students' language resources and language skills and they also help to develop their personality. The subject of my work is relation between the language and art - particular art education, namely dramatic, musical, and literary - partly - art education and their application in a foreign language lesson. This thesis is based on the theory of drama pedagogy and on analysis of an authentic foreign language literary text, namely on the picture book genre. The topics in the practical section are taken from artistic sources and were tested in particular sample lessons. Keywords: Aesthetic elements, Drama pedagogy, Music, Visual Material, Literary Text, Project-based Learning, Language resources, Language skills

Second language (L2) learners are a growing population in Canadian school systems, and acquisition of literacy skills is critical to their success in Canadian society. While much research has been devoted to writing development in first language (L1) learners, text-level writing remains relatively underexplored in L2 populations. The present study sought to address this gap by considering the relative contributions of component oral language and word-level literacy skills to writing in elementary students speaking English as a first (EL1) or second (EL2) language. A sample of 124 kindergarten students (56 EL1, 68 EL2) and 112 grade three students (51 EL1, 61 EL2) completed a battery of standardized measures assessing oral language, word-level literacy, and writing skills. An ordinary least squares (OLS) regression-based mediation path analysis was used to test associations among oral language, word-level literacy, and writing skills in each group. Results indicated that word-level literacy skills had a significant direct effect on writing in all groups, but that oral language had no significant direct effect on writing in any groups. Instead, the effect of oral language on writing was significantly mediated by word-level skills in the kindergarten EL1 and EL2 groups, and the grade three EL1 group. The indirect effect of oral language on writing through word-level skills was not significant in the grade three EL2 group. Despite this, no significant differences in variable associations were found between EL1 and EL2 groups in either grade. Oral language skills were additionally found to have a significant effect on word-level literacy skills in the kindergarten EL1 and EL2 groups and the grade three EL1 group; the significance of this effect in the grade three EL2 group was unclear. Results of this study are discussed in relation to existing literature, and existing theories of L1 and L2 writing. / Graduate