Each year a group of university students from English speaking countries go to Chile and work as volunteers under the National Volunteer Centre Program. The purpose of this case study is to examine how a group of novice volunteer teachers describe their experiences in a foreign country and how these experiences shape their understanding of teaching. Participants went through the process of open-ended questionnaires and one-on-one interviews of their experience. This study was sustained in the literature by the domains of volunteerism, English Language Teaching, and volunteerism and ELT, and a socio constructivist and experiential lens was adopted. Even though volunteer teaching abroad is an increasing worldwide trend, there are few studies that combine these areas, showing that the existing blend of volunteerism and English language teaching needs to be further examined. The analysis of the data showed that novice volunteer teachers experience five types of experiences when teaching English: language teaching experiences, language learning experiences, challenges, general experiences, and volunteering experiences. Novice teachers recalled their expectations before teaching and those were maintained, modified, or unfulfilled. Volunteers stated what teaching means to them after working in public schools, they were able to describe diverse language teaching experiences, and make recommendations to future volunteers.

ABSTRACT AN EVALUATION OF TIME FOR ENGLISH 4, THE 4TH GRADE ENGLISH COURSEBOOK FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS &Ouml / zdemir, Fatma Esra M.A., Department of English Language Teaching Supervisor : Prof. Dr. H&uuml / sn&uuml / Enginarlar September 2007, 119 pages The purpose of this study was to find out the how the fourth grade students in public schools and the fourth grade English teachers evaluated the English coursebook Time for English 4 in terms of purpose, approach, visual design, presentation of vocabulary and language, practice activities and exercises, supporting sources, and supporting materials. To fulfill this aim, a teacher questionnaire, a student questionnaire and a teacher interview was prepared by the researcher. The questionnaires were administered face to face to 102 randomly selected fourth grade students in Beypazari and 15 English teachers in the districts of Altindag, Beypazari, Ke&ccedil / i&ouml / ren, and Mamak. Six of the English teachers were also interviewed in order to obtain qualitative data. The interviews were recorded on a tape recorder and then transcribed. Quantitative data was analyzed by calculating the frequency counts, percentages, arithmetic means, and the standard deviations of the responses given to the questionnaires. Qualitative data obtained from the interviews was analyzed by using content analysis. According to the results of the study, both the teachers and the students were content with the coursebook. The level of satisfaction was higher among the students. Students identified two problems about the instructions and the songs in the coursebook. Teachers identified four more problems about the teacher&rsquo / s book, the number of vocabulary items, the number of units, and the presentation of the language items. Necessary suggestions were made for the solution of the problems to the relevant parties.

Not available / text

This study explored the learning experience of Chinese heritage language learners, focusing on the interaction of their multiple goals, their emotional responses, as well as the influence of their experience in their family and formal school contexts. The settings of this study were the sixth to eighth grade classes at two local community Chinese schools. Data were collected from multiple sources including students' responses to a self-report questionnaire, interviews with teachers, interviews with 19 focal students and their parents, and a semester-long retrospective observation journal. Data were analyzed using coding procedures suggested by Strauss and Corbin (1998) from a grounded theory qualitative approach. Results indicated that perceptions of Chinese school learning affected students' motivational goals and their emotional responses in the Chinese learning experience. These perceptions included (a) perceptions of the Chinese learning environment (instructional methods, teachers' characteristics, and peer influence), (b) perceptions of their ability, (c) perceptions of values and beliefs, and (d) perceptions of their available time and schedule. Students in this study reported having both learning intention goals (categorized as integrative and instrumental goals) as well as well-being (social and work-avoidance) goals. Students also reported experiencing both positive emotions (enjoyment, pride) and negative emotions (boredom, anger) in the Chinese learning context. The contextual factors, including students' formal school experience and their family experience also seemed to influence directly or indirectly students' perceptions of Chinese school learning as well as their motivational goals and emotional responses. How students balanced their multiple goals and their multiple emotions determined the extent of students' willingness to attend Chinese school, the extent of their engagement in learning Chinese, as well as the extent of their acknowledgement of their Chinese identity. Implications for research and practice are discussed. / text

The research began with the study of teachers' written comments on pupils' written work in an English teaching context. There were several reasons for the selection of the written comment as the subject of an investigation: first, the comment communicates the teacher's response to the pupil's work, and as such it offers a potential source of information to the pupil of relevance to his learning. In addition, written comments, as a form of individualised teaching on an informal day-to-day basis, seem likely to represent a significant portion of the total feedback received by any one pupil in relation to his individual performance. Third, to date, teachers' comments have not figured to any real extent as an area of research. Where they have, they have tended to be part of a wider study which did not involve the conceptualisation of comments as providing instructive information of value to the learner. For all of these reasons, an investigation of the character and possible contribution of the written comment to pupil learning seemed a potentially worthwhile area for research. Hence, the written comment is the focus of the first part of this study. Though the work began with the written comment, in time the questions emerging from the initial investigation suggested the value of extending the field to include a detailed study of the relationship between the classroom context and the written comment; and, more significantly as it turned out, of the oral comment as instructive feedback to the learner. Oral comments, therefore, are the subject of the second part. In the third section, the main questions arising from the oral comment data are examined. This meant in fact consideration of some teachers' images of the aspect of their teaching which most features the oral comment. In summary, the three parts of the study are: 1) an investigation of written comments; 2) an investigation of oral comments; 3) a report of teachers' accounts of one major aspect of their teaching.

No description available.

Teachers routinely conduct a period of review after a semester or summer holiday break due to expected loss of material learned. In the area of second language (L2) acquisition, this matter is of particular concern to instructors and students because, in general, during the period of disuse students have had little, if any, contact with the language. One factor which has proven to influence the maintenance of an L2 is that of motivation. Gardner and his colleagues’ (1959, 1971, 1973, 1985, 1987, 1988) studies of French as a Second Language (FSL) have highlighted strong correlations between attitude and achievement and achievement and language retention. Research on individual differences among learners (Brounstein, Holahan, William, & Sawyer, 1988; Gardner, 1990) has also contributed to identifying what leads to a successful learner. This study examined the loss of linguistic and reading comprehension skills among learners of all ability levels in FSL, with a focus on high ability learners, following summer vacation. In addition, between-group comparisons of motivational factors, as based upon subjects’ pre-test scores were conducted. Tests performed consisted of an analysis of exam questions and components to confirm an equal level of difficulty of both test versions used, as well as tests of reliability. Pre- and post-test measures were compared to identify any loss incurred, followed by Pearson correlations and t-tests. Ability groupings were then categorized as high, medium, and low according to their pre-test scores. Within these groupings, questionnaire statistics were calculated and contrasted to highlight any motivational differences between them. Findings from this research suggested that language skills among FSL learners of varying abilities deteriorate significantly after a period of disuse. In addition, these findings confirmed that highly proficient FSL learners are more immune to attrition due to their having a more stable language base. With reference to the motivational questionnaires, analyses concluded few significant differences among the three ability levels.

This study examined a group of English-speaking individuals temporarily residing in the province of Quebec who were studying French. I expected to find that language students who take an active role seeking opportunities to practice French outside of the classroom would demonstrate acquisition of a native speaker (NS) language variant more than those students who take a passive role in seeking out informal French interactions or those who actively sought instead interaction in English. However, no significant correlation between active or passive reactions to the learning environment and the production of the language variant was established. Students who actively sought French interaction were those who were focused on French language study, favored linguistic diversity, and spoke more French at school. For future French language students coming to Quebec to acquire native-like French I suggest developing a strong foundation of French beforehand and, once in Quebec, to live in a Francophone area.

No description available.

<p>This thesis compared science teaching and learning in English and isiXhosa in the Intermediate Phase (Grades 4-6) in two primary schools in the Western Cape. It explored the effects of using learners' home language (isiXhosa) and second language (English) as languages of learning and teaching science. The study is part of a broader project called the Language of Instruction in Tanzania and South Africa (LOITASA). The study was conceived against the background of English as a means of social, economic and educational advancement, and the marginalization of African languages in education.</p>