This thesis consists of three empirical studies. The first study, Rationales to Language-in-Education Policies in Postcolonial Africa: Towards a Holistic Approach, considers two issues. First, it explores the factors affecting the choice of an LiE policy in 35 African countries. The results show that the countries adopting a unilingual education system put different weights on the influential parameters than countries adopting a bilingual education system. Second, the study investigates how decision makers can ensure the optimal choice of language(s) of instruction by developing a non-cooperative game theoretic model with network externalities. The model shows that it is never optimal for two countries to become bilingual, or for the majority linguistic group to learn the language of the minority group, unless there is minimum cooperation to ensure an equitable redistribution of payoffs. The second study, The Role of Language in Learning Achievement: A Namibian Case Study, investigates the role played by home language and language proficiency on SACMEQ II mathematics scores of Namibian Grade-6 learners. HLM is used to partition the total variance in mathematics achievement into its within- and between-school components. Results show that although home language plays a limited role in explaining within- and between-school variations in mathematics achievement, language proficiency (proxied by reading scores) plays a significant role in the heterogeneity of results. Finally, the third study, Language Skills and Economic Returns, investigates the economic returns to language skills, assuming that language competencies constitute key components of human capital. It presents results from eight IALS countries. The study finds that in each country, skills in a second language are a significant factor that constrains wage opportunities positively.

Language competence is decisively important in international business and could increase efficacy, efficiency, sales and profits. Language is an underresearched area in business studies though language constitutes management and the managers building structures, processes, cultures and personalities being the most vital working tool to get things done and make them understandable. Since 1970 Swedish companies lose market shares globally and in Europe. In an era requiring better foreign language skills there is a declining trend among young Swedish business people and students in other languages than English. The aim of this study is to investigate and analyse the role of language in intercultural business communication between Swedish expatriates and locals in Serbia, The Czech Republic, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria and indirectly also Russia and Poland. To understand the business culture in these countries the author has learned the local language in these seven countries taking 3687 private language lessons. This improves the researcher’s understanding of the culture and its people giving directness and depth in communication, independence and receptivity. This ethnographically inspired hermeneutic study holds semi-structured interviews with expatriates. Better language skills among expatriates – particularly in the local language - could make them more self-dependent and win contracts and it strengthens closeness to customers, relationship and trust, strategic view and ability and also operational effectiveness and efficiency enabling their companies to gain market shares. Using Weber’s ideal types the cultural significance structures emerge featuring the cultures in these countries showing that expatriates have to strengthen the ability of the locals in the areas of trust, responsibility and initiative, independent thinking, holistic view, win-win thinking and reduce fear while the expatriates’ own abilities in these areas are strengthened if they speak the local language. Language strategies permitting the expatriate to be more communicatively and linguistically self-dependent are having a common company language, using multilingualism or having the expatriate speak or learn to speak the local language where the advantages, disadvantages and characteristics of these and other aspects of the role of language are given in ideal types.

The system for teaching/learning of the Lithuania language as the statė language in the statė school and pre-school education institutions has been rapidly developed; education institutions have been in search for methods of teaching children of different nationalities to act as active citizens of Lithuania, simultaneously fostering and promoting their own ethnical culture. The Lithuanian Education reform emphasises formation of national minorities' civic and national identity, and the Law on Ethnic Minorities provides for all citizens' rights and possibilities to integrate into the cultural and sočiai life of Lithuania. Efforts to ensure teaching of the statė language are manifested in a number of laws, resolutions and programmes: the Law on the State Language, the Programine of Teacher Training for National Minorities Education Institutions, resolutions of the State Commission of the Lithuanian Language, activiry of Lithuanian language teaching centres, etc. The importance of the Lithuanian language learning itself is not questioned. Not knowing the statė language, a person has limited possibilities in the life of socium: to work with clients (in statė or private service), to receive and disseminate relevant information and materialise their abilities in the activity of interest circles and leisure centres. Knowledge of languages leads to tolerance and cooperation manifested through acceptance of ethnic, traditional and cultural practises, strengthening of ethnic... [to full text]

This study focused on the relationship between reading comprehension and academic achievement of grade 10 learners in the learning area Language and attempted to address the following primary research question: What is the relationship between the reading comprehension of grade 10 learners in their first and second language and their academic achievement in the learning area Language ? The researcher also addressed the following secondary questions: Is them a significant difference between Afrikaans and Sesotho-speaking learners regarding their achievements in reading comprehension (first and second language) and the learning area Language (first and second language)? Is there a significant difference between male and female learners regarding their achievements in reading comprehension (first and second language) and the learning area Language (first and second language) ? A total of seventy-seven (77) grade 10 learners for whom English is a second language were included in this study. The learners' reading comprehension abilities in the first language (Afrikaans and Sesotho) and the second language (English) were tested and correlated with their achievements in the learning area Language (first and second language). The reading comprehension and language achievements of Afrikaans and Sesotho-speaking learners respectively and male and female learners were compared. Resulting from the findings of this study, the following conclusions were made: A significant relationship exists between the reading comprehension of grade 10 learners in their first and second language and their academic achievement in the learning area Language. There is a significant difference between Afrikaans and Sesotho-speaking learners regarding their achievements in reading comprehension (first and second language) and the learning area Language (first and second language). There is a significant difference between male and female learners regarding their achievements in reading comprehension (first and second language) and the learning area Language (first and second language). / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

This diploma thesis deals with the topic of fairy tales in French language teaching. The first part is dedicated to the definition of fairy tales as literary texts and to the presentation of general aspects related to the use of literary forms in foreign language teaching. The subsequent parts are focused exclusively on fairy tales. First of all, the fairytale genre is generally introduced. Afterwards, several ways of the application of fairy tales in French classes are outlined, with regard to the focus on language skills and sub-skills. The practical part includes more subsections, however, it mainly aims at the analysis of the role of fairy tales in French language teaching in the Czech Republic. Therefore, it consists of the analysis of significant French textbooks and of a questionnaire survey aimed at Czech lower secondary and high school teachers. The textbook analysis verifies the presence of fairy tales in didactic materials, whereas the aforementioned survey examines the experience and opinions of foreign language teachers on this issue. Finally, three worksheets, based on recently acquired knowledge, are created to serve as the source of inspiration and motivation for the use of fairy tales in foreign language teaching. KEYWORDS fairy tales, French language teaching, literary text,...

The diploma thesis is focused on the grammar teaching in the context of a literary work. The aim of the thesis is to introduce possible positives coming out of the combination of the two relatively remote parts of the foreign-language teaching that are grammar as a language component and the development of a reading skill thanks to the presence of the literary text. The theoretical part firstly deals with the phenomena of presence of a literary text in an educational process. Second part focuses on grammar and especially the way of teaching it with the help of a literary text. The last part states the reasons of the choice of a particular novel - Les Misérables. The practical part of the work deals with worksheets where we want to demonstrate how to work with the text in favour of both - grammar and reading skill - in the same time. Key words: grammar, reading, literary text, V. Hugo, Les Misérables, language components, language skills

Syftet med studien var att utröna hur fem lärare i årskurs 1–3 resonerar om och uppfattar dokumentation av elevers talspråkliga färdigheter. Vilken form av dokumentation lärare beskriver sig använda i syfte att bedöma och följa upp elevers talspråkliga färdigheter och vilka ändamål med denna dokumentation lärare redogör för var de frågor studien syftade att besvara. Fem lärare i årskurserna 1–3 intervjuades på plats i sina respektive skolor. Intervjumaterialet transkriberades och analyserades utifrån analysmetoden innehållsanalys och Åsa Hirshs (2015) fem ändamål med IUP:er. Resultatet visar att lärare använder flera olika former för att dokumentera elevers talspråkliga färdigheter. Det ändamål med dokumentationen lärarna framhäver mest frekvent är att de nyttjar den som ett informationsbärande dokument för föräldrar och elever. Alla lärare lyfter fram minst ett dokumentationsändamål som inte omfattas av Hirshs (2015) typologier vilket bidrog till att tre nya dokumentationsändamål skapades. Därtill visar det sig att skriftliga anteckningar används utifrån flest antal ändamål medan elevskapat och nedskrivet material bara används för att engagera eleverna i bedömningen av sina kunskaper och observationsscheman bara för att informera om elevens nuvarande kunskaper.

Submitted by Manoela Afonso (manoela_afonso@hotmail.com) on 2018-03-05T22:32:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 AFONSO_M_ProgressãoCurricular.pdf: 4306608 bytes, checksum: 0da1ce3266ea858497d071c28bf2ae84 (MD5) / Rejected by Maria Marlene Zaniboni null (zaniboni@bauru.unesp.br), reason: Solicitamos que realize correções na submissão seguindo as orientações abaixo: 1) Falta Ata da Defesa. Favor inserir a Ata da Defesa após ficha catalográfica. Agradecemos a compreensão. on 2018-03-06T19:43:05Z (GMT) / Submitted by Manoela Afonso (manoela_afonso@hotmail.com) on 2018-03-07T20:36:17Z No. of bitstreams: 3 AFONSO_M_ProgressãoCurricular.pdf: 4306608 bytes, checksum: 0da1ce3266ea858497d071c28bf2ae84 (MD5) Ficha Catalográfica da Dissertação.pdf: 113165 bytes, checksum: f6fc7bd4149605734d85943271dd76e4 (MD5) Ata_Defesa.jpeg: 138007 bytes, checksum: 2caf9dce9dced2f31ca2affd7d6e6e33 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Marlene Zaniboni null (zaniboni@bauru.unesp.br) on 2018-03-08T17:43:23Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 afonso_m_me.pdf: 4009659 bytes, checksum: 0c731a2573018884497f1e98a9c8e182 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-03-08T17:43:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 afonso_m_me.pdf: 4009659 bytes, checksum: 0c731a2573018884497f1e98a9c8e182 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-27 / A melhoria da qualidade do ensino público nacional é uma demanda em nosso país. Com o objetivo de investigar de que modo sequências didáticas em progressão curricular desenvolvem as capacidades de linguagem no ensino e na aprendizagem da língua portuguesa no Ensino Fundamental – Anos Finais, no trabalho com gêneros da arte sequencial, este trabalho desenvolveu uma progressão curricular para estudantes da rede pública paulista. O aporte teórico baseou-se nos pressupostos de Bakhtin (2006, 2009), Bronckart (2003; 2006) e Schneuwly e Dolz (2004), fundamentando a organização de sequências didáticas com gêneros textuais do agrupamento do narrar, na perspectiva da pesquisa do tipo pesquisa-ação (THIOLLENT, 2009). Mobilizando as capacidades de linguagem para promover a aprendizagem da língua, a pesquisa realizou intervenções junto a estudantes, as quais geraram produções textuais escritas analisadas como dados resultantes. Os resultados obtidos por meio do desenvolvimento do projeto de ensino verificaram que o trabalho com foco nas capacidades de linguagem situa problemas de aprendizagem e direciona o planejamento docente a fim de superar dificuldades detectadas. O levantamento dos dados valida didaticamente o procedimental utilizado, justificando a proposta da progressão curricular como meio para ampliar a aprendizagem dos estudantes no ciclo dos anos finais do Ensino Fundamental. Este trabalho faz parte dos requisitos do Programa de Pós-Graduação Mestrado Profissional Docência para a Educação Básica para a obtenção do título de mestre, tendo sido preparado um produto destinado aos professores de Língua Portuguesa dos Anos Finais do Ensino Fundamental, que se encontra disponível como proposta de trabalho, compondo um Caderno Pedagógico. Este Produto é, também, um dos requisitos deste Programa de Pós-Graduação, indissociável da Dissertação, que o fundamenta teoricamente. / The improvement in the quality of the national public education is something urgent in our country. With the purpose of investigating the way teaching sequences in curriculum progression develop the language skills in teaching and learning Portuguese in the Ensino Fundamental – Anos Finais -; with works concerning genres of sequential art-; this essay developed a curriculum progression for students from state of São Paulo public school. The whole theory was based on the assumptions of Bakhtin (2006 - 2009), Bronckart (2003 - 2006), Schneuwly and Dolz (2004), basing the organization of teaching sequences with textual genres from narration groups, on the perspective of research - actions (THIOLLENT, 2009). Mobilizing the teaching skills to promote the learning of the language, the research carried out interventions together with the students which conceived written textual productions analyzed as resultant data. The results obtained through the teaching project verified that the work focusing on the language skills identified learning problems and heads the teaching planning with the purpose of overcoming the difficulties detected. The survey validates didactically the procedures used, justifying the proposal of curriculum progression as a way to ensure students` learning at the end of cycle of Ensino Fundamental. This essay is part of the Post Graduation Requirements Program Professional Master Degree for the Basic Education, for obtaining the master´s title, having been prepared a product addressed to the Portuguese teachers that is available as a proposal of work, consisting in a Pedagogical Notebook. This product is also one of the requirements of this program of Post Graduation, inseparable from the dissertation thesis, where the theory is based on.

Music is integral to our lives, whether by listening to it, singing, or playing an instrument. In addition to this, music has effect on brain development and language learning. The aim of this thesis is close evaluation of relation between the development of musical and foreign language skills in case of primary age students. Through conducting an examination of the ability to gain foreign language skills using different ways of teaching musical education. 5th grade students who participated were divided into 3 groups. They differed in intensity and approach to music education. The first group had one singing lesson per week. The other two groups had as part of their lessons singing and also playing instruments such as flute and Orff instruments, and had movement education as part of their lessons. These two groups differed in intensity - 1 and 3 lessons per week. To note most of the students that had higher intensity of music education focused to music also in their after school activities. The three groups had the same amount of English lessons in all grades. Students were tested via Cambridge test "Movers" in listening, reading and writing. Analysis of data emerged generally better results in English test in case of students experiencing extended musical education. KEYWORDS teaching music,...

The main aim of the thesis are the mapping the level of understanding narrative text for student of fifth grade primary school with the typical development of reading skills. The thesis deal with the relationship between listening comprehension and reading comprehension. The thesis is traditionally divided into a theoretical and empirical part. The first part of the thesis prestnts the theoretical background research problems of comprehension the text. Attention is focused mainly on the domain of listening comprehension and reading comprehension, including a summary of the current state of knowledge about the relationship between both skills in foreign and Czech studies, as well as the diagnostics of reading and prerequisites that are reflected on the comprehensions the text. In the practical part are conclusions expected on its own research, which was attended by 40 students taught by the analytic-synthetic metod of reading, are compared with the results of the three year research project GAČR - Reading complrehension - typical development and its risks, where attended 59 students of fifth grade primary school taught by the same reading method. In addition to comprehension level will be monitored by level of basic language skills.