World religions should be taught at the secondary level of education. In this, a pragmatic approach is superior to the traditional approach, because it shows not just the history of this topic, but it also lets students experience the everyday life of those who believe. It is not in any way a method to convert anybody to this or that faith or tradition. It is a pedagogic method for critical thinking and both making and challenging interpretations of the facts before each student. In my thesis I showed my own method and I made my own version of a better textbook that utilizes the basic points of pragmatic pedagogy. I studied the works of John Dewey, John Gatto, Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner. And I propose a method that takes no more than 4 lessons, if needed, which is the most time teachers can give to such topic. I looked at the educational programs of the Czech Republic and found that world religions are a very small portion of the subject Education in citizenship. Since John Dewey was an atheist, it is not common for people to think of religion as a topic to teach with his methodology. Most of the social sciences are still taught as history lessons and not as the fun and interesting lessons they can be. I think it is not just the natural sciences that should have their laboratories at...

(in English): This thesis focuses on pragmatic competence of Czech students of Japanese, specifically on the speech act of refusal. The aim is to find out how students differ in comparison to native speakers of Japanese. Another aim is to compare Japanese students based on the length of their stay in Japan, their Japanese proficiency, and the textbook used at the beginner level. The theoretical part describes pragmatic competence, politeness theory, the speech act of refusal and its specifics in Japanese. The practical part focuses at the analysis of refusals from the Discourse Completion Task (DCT) using semantic formulas. Usage of these formulas by native speakers and student are then compared. Found differences from the native speakers are further examined among students according to Japanese proficiency, length of their stay in Japan and textbook used at the begginer level. Finally, the results are summarized.

This essay, entitled “Breaking the lawn chair, skinning the fish” - Categorization and Gender Differences in Slang Use in the TV Series Sex Education, claims that slang is part of our everyday language use and it can be found even on TV nowadays. In fact, contemporary TV series often portray a language use that includes informal language and slang expressions and words. This study aims to categorize slang expressions and words and identify gender differences in slang use in the British TV series Sex Education. By integrating quantitative and qualitative methods, the study contrasts Eble’s (1996) and Zotevska’s (2014) categorizations of slang and highlights gender perspectives on language use. First of all, the results show that Eble’s categorization proves to be incomplete to categorize the slang expressions in Sex Education. Furthermore, Zotevska’s categorization shows that a pervasive presence of taboo words and expressions is found in slang usage, whereas proper slang and pragmatic markers constitute a limited amount of the total. Secondly, the results highlight male characters as predominant slang-users. The collected data also indicate an increased presence of slang expressions and words in female speech, as a result of their emancipation and higher levels of participation in Western Societies.

The presented thesis examines lexical and pragmatic instruments used by the leading newspaper in Germany during the Second World War, the Völkischer Beobachter. The objective is to determine the importance of the choice of lexical and pragmatic instruments and the communication strategy applied to influence readers. The targeting of readers by the press is illustrated by descriptions of the political climate and specific historical events. The thesis links language, history and wartime politics. By drawing on academic literature, the author describes the historical context preceding the Second World War, focusing on political events and press bans. Selected key wartime events are linked to linguistic analysis. The National Socialist ideology, led by Adolf Hitler, assists in demonstrating the origins of the typical features of National Socialist language. The newspapers themselves, Völkischer Beobachter, and selected linguistic and pragmatic phenomena are also described. The selected examples were chosen on the basis of a search in the Völkischer Beobachter and subsequent analysis. The linguistic analysis consists of a lexicological classification into linguistic devices of emotionality, expressivity, metaphor, metonymy and idiomatic expressions. The pragmatic devices as communication strategies and...

Background: The primary objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of the Healthy Lifestyles Program (HLP), a novel 12-month complex intervention based in cognitive behavioural therapy and theories of behavioural change, delivered in a community-based setting in Hamilton, Canada. The secondary objective was to explore implementation factors. Methods/ design: A pragmatic pilot randomised controlled trial using quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods. Participants were randomly allocated to either intervention group (n=15) or comparator group (n=15). The intervention group attended weekly group education sessions and met in-person with a healthcare team monthly to create personalized health goals and action plans. The comparator group met with a research assistant every three months to develop health goals and action plans. We assessed feasibility of the program by measuring recruitment, participation and retention rates, missing data, and attendance. All participant-directed and clinical outcome measures were analyzed for between and within group changes using Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE). Content analysis was conducted for qualitative data. Results: We recruited and randomized 30 participants to each group (n=15) within 3 months. Retention rate was 60% (9/15) for the intervention group and 47% (7/15) for the comparator group. Less than 1% of participant-directed and clinical outcomes were missing. Participants attended an average of 29 of 43 educational sessions and 100% of one-to-one sessions. The healthcare team valued the program’s holistic approach to care, increased time and interaction with participants, professional collaboration, and the ability to provide counselling and health supports. Location accessibility was an important factor facilitating implementation. Reducing the number of psycho-social education sessions and having access to a gym could improve retention and delivery of the program. Conclusion: This study has demonstrated the feasibility of the HLP with minor modifications recommended for a larger trial and for the intervention. / Thesis / Master of Public Health (MPH) / Rates of chronic physical and mental health illness are rising in Canada. Lifestyle or behavioural changes can prevent or manage chronic diseases. The aim of this pilot study is to test the feasibility of delivering a 12-month Healthy Lifestyles Program to participants in Hamilton, Canada. The Healthy Lifestyles Program is a complex intervention designed to help participants identify health goals and action plans to achieve those goals with the guidance of healthcare professionals. We observed that the program was successfully delivered, accepted by participants and staff and required minor changes to the study design for a scaled-up study. The program showed positive trends for improving goal attainment, depression, and loneliness scores. The results of this study will help inform the design and scale-up of a larger study.

This essay investigates nine upper secondary English teachers’ awareness, beliefs and practices when dealing with pragmatics in the EFL classroom in relation to the intercultural dimensions of the subject. The study was conducted using a phenomenological approach where nine semi-structured interviews with upper secondary English teachers were conducted. The results showed that the teachers displayed a high level of awareness of pragmatics, especially when provided with propositions of pragmatic input based on formulations from the syllabi. In addition, the results showed that teachers incorporate pragmatics in their teaching as a way of enabling metacognitive conversations about language in order for the students to understand why certain phrases or words are deemed more appropriate than others. Consequently, the question of why speakers communicate the way that they do not only seems to be of interest to scholars but for teachers and students as well. In relation to the teachers’ perception of the intercultural dimensions of the English subject, all the participating teachers perceived it to be an important part of the subject, while also shedding light on current issues relating to monocultural teaching groups, filter bubbles and the rise of difficult conversations. The results also showed that using the students’ first languages was an important tool for teachers to understand and scaffold students in their learning of English. One conclusion drawn based on the results was that incorporating pragmatics in the EFL classroom not only seems to benefit language development, but it may also act as a facilitator when developing an understanding of other people.

This study examined the efficacy of a social skills training program on the use of validating comments and negative comments by children with specific language impairment. The present study is an extension of a previous research project. Four children (three female, one male) with specific language impairment, ages 6 to 11, participated in a ten week social skills training program which involved direct instruction of target concepts, peer interactions with classmates, and evaluation of the use of target skills by reviewing videotaped peer interactions. The individual performance of each subject was compared to the age- and gender-matched typical peers with whom they interacted during the weekly game sessions of the intervention program. The intervention program was successful in improving the use of validating comments for three of the four subjects (AA, CS, and JH). The subjects' increased use of validating comments, however, did not appear to significantly affect or change the participants' use of negative comments. It was also found that, while individual performance improved, three of the four participants (AA, MD, and CS) consistently produced fewer validating comments than did their typical peers during the weekly game sessions. Follow-up data for the participants indicated that the three participants (AA, CS, and JH) who showed improvement in their use of validating comments over the course of treatment appeared to maintain their increased skill after the treatment ended. Possible explanations for these results are discussed, and recommendations are made for future social skills training programs.

The purpose of this paper was to review research within the field of digital games and language learning to explore whether gaming can facilitate communicative competence and foster motivation for language learning. To answer my questions I conducted a research synthesis, compiling a variety of research over the last decade to answer my questions as effectively as possible. Results showed that digital games do in fact facilitate language development and induce motivation. Research also showed that different games provide different opportunities and activities, resulting in some games fostering language competence more than others. For instance, World of Warcraft provided social situations where conversations were erratic, spontaneous, contextual and driven by small events in the game, while The Sims focused more on strategic and creative activities. Additionally, research suggested that digital games motivated learners to develop their L2 language in hope of achieving more goals together within a variety games and game types.

This study aims to explore some special education teachers’ experiences regarding the use of communication strategies in the subject of English in English medium schools with children with autism. The study is based on the teachers’ own reported lived experiences. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Four special education teachers who have worked for minimum two years with autistic children participated in the study which addresses the following questions: What communication strategies are used by special education teachers to effectively assist children with autism in their English learning process? What challenges arise when working with communication strategies with autistic children? What are the most important things to consider when working with autistic children’s English language use? The results have shown that the communication strategies used to effectively assist children with autism in their English learning process depend entirely on the child, their prior knowledge and interests. However, it has been possible to conclude that visual support is a resource of great importance for children with autism to succeed in expressing their communicative intentions.

The research includes critical analysis of scientific literature, discoursive analysis of stand-up comedy show scripts. The following methods used in the research to reveal the pragmatic effectiveness of the speech influence on public are: the statistic method and the method of translating. The linguistic material was collected with the use of the lingvocultural approach and based on the stand-up comedy show scripts and their translation into Russian language. The research reveals the peculiarities of creating comical effect in English-language stand-up comedy and the aspects of saving the comical effect during the translation of stand-up comedy shows into Russian language. The results of the research may be used as a guidance for translation of prose, interpreting humorous texts, revealing the role of cultural aspect in the process of creating and understanding comedy. It is also appropriate as a teaching material for students majoring in cognitive linguistics, psycholinguistics, the theory of translation and intercultural communication. / В исследовании используется критический анализ научной литературы, дискурсивный анализ скриптов «живых» выступлений в жанре стендап комедии. Также в ходе исследования используется статистический метод и метод перевода, позволяющие определить степень эффективности речевого воздействия выступающего на публику в рамках изучения прагматического потенциала речевых фрагментов, представленных в форме монолога. Выбор языковых явлений для анализа осуществляется с применением лингвокультурологического подхода, на основе скриптов выступлений в жанре стендап шоу на английском языке и текстов их перевода на русском языке. В ходе исследования выделяются особенности создания комического эффекта в стендап комедии в английском языке, а также приемы и способы сохранения комического эффекта при переводе на русский язык. Результаты исследования могут быть использованы при переводе художественных текстов, интерпретации юмористических текстов, раскрытии роли культурного аспекта в процессе создания и понимания комического, а также в преподавании таких лингвистических дисциплин в высших учебных заведениях, как когнитивная лингвистика, психолингвистика, теория перевода и межкультурная коммуникация.