Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'English language English language English language Language and culture'

Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles

Select a source type:

Consult the top 50 dissertations / theses for your research on the topic 'English language English language English language Language and culture.'

Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.

You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.

Browse dissertations / theses on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.

1

Perez, Ambar A. "LANGUAGE CULTURE WARS: EFFECTS OF LANGUAGE POLICY ON LANGUAGE MINORITIES AND ENGLISH LEARNERS." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/577.

Full text
Abstract:
This thesis investigates the intertextuality of language policy, K-12 TESL pedagogies, and EL identity construction in the perpetuation of unjust TESL practices in these contexts. By examining the power structures of English language ideology through critical discourse analysis of recent California language policy, this thesis demonstrates English language teaching’s intrinsically political nature in K-12 education through negotiations and exchanges of power. Currently, sociolinguistic approaches to TESL and second language acquisition acknowledge the value of language socialization teaching methods. This requires the acceptance of cognition, not as an individual pursuit of knowledge containment and memorization, but cognition as a collaborative and sociohistorically situated practice. Thus, this project also examines the power structures in place that negotiate and enforce these ideologies and how these practices influence pedagogy and EL identity construction. Many English users are second language (L2) users of English yet authorities of English use tend to consist of homogenous, monolingual English users, or English-sacred communities, not L2 users of English. Often, this instigates native speaker (NS) vs. non-native speaker (NNS) dichotomies such as correct vs. in-correct use, and us vs. them dichotomies. These are the same ideologies that permeate the discourse of California’s Proposition 227 and some pedagogies discussed in the data of this research perpetuating culture wars between monolingual and multilingual advocates and users.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
2

Bakhsh, Jameel. "SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS UNDERGOING CULTURE SHOCK:PERCEPTIONS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHOD." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent160042669071272.

Full text
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
3

Dunai, Amber Munshi Sadaf. "Semantic shift and the link between words and culture." [Denton, Tex.] : University of North Texas, 2008. http://digital.library.unt.edu/permalink/meta-dc-9785.

Full text
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
4

Marcum, Jared. "Language Proficiency and Cultural Intelligence in Distance English-Language Learning." DigitalCommons@USU, 2017. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/6691.

Full text
Abstract:
The purpose of this study is to explore the viability of an international distance English-language program in the development of language and cultural proficiency. Students participated in tests at the beginning and at the end of the course to determine how well they developed both language and cultural proficiencies. The measures included (a) the computer-administered Oral Proficiency Interview (OPIc) from theAmerican Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), (b) ACTFL-aligned assessments of reading, listening, grammar, and vocabulary skills, and (c) the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS). In addition, course activities surveys provided additional information about student perceptions of course activities. Participants in this study came from various countries as they prepared to attend a U.S. university in Hawaii.The distance learning program fostered language proficiency through various learning activities, with an emphasis on synchronous dialogue over video chat technologies. In addition to English-language proficiency, the program sought to help students learn to effectively communicate with students from other cultures. Cross-cultural proficiency was fostered through cross-cultural dialogue with tutors, teachers, and other students. Students showed improvement in speaking, listening, vocabulary, and grammar. However, on average, students did not show an improvement in reading proficiency. Students reported that dialogue with tutors and teachers was among the most helpful activities in learning English. Students showed some improvement in cultural proficiency. However, this improvement was not universal across all measures of cultural proficiency. Students reported that certain activities—particularly dialogue with tutors and other students—as helpful in developing cross-cultural proficiencies.This study also investigated the relationship between language proficiency and cultural proficiency. Results were mixed. With a few exceptions, cultural proficiency did not predict a student’s language proficiency at the beginning of the course, during the course, or at the end of the course.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
5

Al, Swaidan Raneem Saleh Abdul Rahman. "Language and culture: representations of English-speaking cultures in 1st year secondary english language coursebooks in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia." Master's thesis, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10362/12081.

Full text
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
6

Prey, Robert. "How do you say 'imperialism'? the English language teaching industry and the culture of imperialism in South Korea /." Burnaby B.C. : Simon Fraser University, 2005. http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/2043.

Full text
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
7

Chang, Alicia. "Language, culture and number differences in Mandarin Chinese and English numeric language input /." Diss., Restricted to subscribing institutions, 2008. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1580830101&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=1564&RQT=309&VName=PQD.

Full text
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
8

Alsubhi, Mai Salem. "How language and culture shape gesture in English, Arabic and second language speakers." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2018. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/8296/.

Full text
Abstract:
This research project sheds light on how language and culture can shape gestures with certain gesture features. It consists of two studies: a cross-cultural study and a second language study. In the cross-cultural study, gestures of a group of the English speakers and a group of the Arabic speakers were compared in term of certain gesture features: expression of motion events, dual gestures, use of gesture space and gesture rate. Gestures were elicited through narrations of the Tomato Man video clips. It was found that English speakers produced more conflated gestures than the Arabic speakers. It was also found that the English speakers produced fewer dual gestures than the Arabic speakers. Moreover, it was found that the English speakers produced fewer representational gestures and used smaller gesture space than the Arabic speakers. In the second language study, gestures produced during the Arabic and English descriptions of the Arabic early learners of English were compared within subjects. The same methodology was applied. It was found that the speakers produced more conflated gestures while speaking L2 English than while speaking L1 Arabic. It was also found that they produced more dual gestures while speaking their L2 English than while speaking their L1 Arabic. In regard to the use of gesture space and gesture rate, there was no difference between L1 Arabic and L2 English.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
9

Mohd, Nawi Abdullah. "Applied Drama in English Language Learning." Thesis, University of Canterbury. School of Literacies and Arts in Education, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/9584.

Full text
Abstract:
This thesis is a reflective exploration of the use and impact of using drama pedagogies in the English as a Second Language (ESL)/ English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom. It stems from the problem of secondary school English language learning in Malaysia, where current teaching practices appear to have led to the decline of the standard of English as a second language in school leavers and university graduates (Abdul Rahman, 1997; Carol Ong Teck Lan, Anne Leong Chooi Khaun, & Singh, 2011; Hazita et al., 2010; Nalliah & Thiyagarajah, 1999). This problem resonates with my own experiences at school, as a secondary school student, an ESL teacher and, later, as a teacher trainer. Consequently, these experiences led me to explore alternative or supplementary teaching methodologies that could enhance the ESL learning experience, drawing initially from drama techniques such as those advocated by Maley and Duff (1983), Wessels (1987), and Di Pietro (1983), and later from process drama pedagogies such as those advocated by Greenwood (2005); Heathcote and Bolton (1995); Kao and O'Neill (1998), and Miller and Saxton (2004). This thesis is an account of my own exploration in adapting drama pedagogies to ESL/EFL teaching. It examines ways in which drama pedagogies might increase motivation and competency in English language learning. The main methodology of the study is that of reflective practice (e.g. Griffiths & Tann, 1992; Zeichner & Liston, 1996). It tracks a learning journey, where I critically reflect on my learning, exploring and implementing such pedagogical approaches as well as evaluate their impact on my students’ learning. These critical reflections arise from three case studies, based on three different contexts: the first a New Zealand English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) class in an intermediate school, the second a Malaysian ESL class in a rural secondary school, and the third an English proficiency class of adult learners in a language school. Data for the study were obtained through the following: research journal and reflective memo; observation and field notes; interview; social media; students’ class work; discussion with co-researchers; and through the literature of the field. A major teaching methodology that emerges from the reflective cycles is that of staging the textbook, where the textbook section to be used for the teaching programme is distilled, and the key focuses of the language, skills, vocabulary, and themes to be learnt are identified and extracted. A layer of drama is matched with these distilled elements and then ‘staged’ on top of the textbook unit, incorporating context-setting opportunities, potential for a story, potential for tension or complication, and the target language elements. The findings that emerge through critical reflection in the study relate to the drama methodologies that I learn and acquire, the impact of these methodologies on students, the role of culture in the application of drama methodologies, and language learning and acquisition. These findings have a number of implications. Firstly, they show how an English Language Teaching (ELT) practitioner might use drama methodologies and what their impact is on student learning. While the focus is primarily on the Malaysian context, aspects of the findings may resonate internationally. Secondly, they suggest a model of reflective practice that can be used by other ELT practitioners who are interested in using drama methodologies in their teaching. Thirdly, these findings also point towards the development of a more comprehensive syllabus for using drama pedagogies, as well as the development of reflective practice, in the teacher training programmes in Malaysia. The use of drama pedagogies for language learning is a field that has not been researched in a Malaysian context. Therefore, this account of reflective practice offers a platform for further research and reflection in this context.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
10

Dogan, Emre. "English Language Learning for Adult Immigrant Students in Sweden : Integration, Language, Culture and Learning." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för språkdidaktik, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-87337.

Full text
Abstract:
This is a study of English language learning for adult immigrant students in Sweden, and how it affects their integration into society. The primary aim of this study is to highlight and analyze the problems that adult immigrant students face, based on teachers beliefs, when learning English in a foreign country, and is backed up by various secondary sources in the subject as well as data collected in qualitative face-to-face interviews with teachers from adult education centres designed to help immigrant learn the native language as well as English. The results show the teacher viewpoint on the learning problems, which stem from cultural, lexical and mental blockades. They are analyzed according to the research questions and theoretical concepts, and presented with an accompanying discussion that aims to inform of the reader of the current learning situations.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
11

Hewiidf, M. (Milla). "Teachers’ reflections on cultural diversity and language awareness in English language teaching." Master's thesis, University of Oulu, 2016. http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-201606162521.

Full text
Abstract:
This paper examines how teachers interpret and implement in practice certain learning goals of English language teaching in the Finnish national curriculum for comprehensive education which was written in 2014, and which will be implemented starting in 2016. Data was collected by a group interview of two English teachers, which was recorded, transcribed and analyzed. The study concentrates on one of the five learning goals set for English language teaching in grades 7–9, called “Growth to cultural diversity and language awareness” and its three subgoals. It can be concluded that the teachers were familiar with the concepts of the goal, although they viewed language awareness to only concern macro-level comparison between different languages, not micro-level structures within languages. They had positive attitudes towards these concepts and they had creative ideas for carrying out some of the subgoals. The teachers trusted teaching materials to be in line with the national curriculum’s demands
Tämä tutkimus selvittää, miten opettajat tulkitsevat ja toteuttavat käytännössä tiettyjä englannin kielen opetuksen oppimistavoitteita Suomen perusopetuksen opetussuunnitelmien perusteista, joka on kirjoitettu vuonna 2014 ja joka tulee voimaan vuodesta 2016 eteenpäin. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin kahden englanninopettajan ryhmähaastattelulla, joka äänitettiin, litteroitiin ja analysoitiin. Tutkimus keskittyy yhteen viidestä luokkien 7–9 englannin opetukselle asetetuista tavoitteista nimeltä ”Kasvu kulttuuriseen moninaisuuteen ja kielitietoisuuteen” ja sen kolmeen alatavoitteeseen. Lopputuloksena on, että opettajat tunsivat opetussuunnitelman tavoitteen käsitteet, joskin he ajattelivat kielitietoisuuden liittyvän vain makrotason vertailuun eri kielten välillä, ei mikrotason rakenteisiin kielten sisällä. Heillä oli positiiviset asenteet näitä käsitteitä kohtaan, ja heillä oli luovia ideoita joidenkin alatavoitteiden toteuttamiseen. Opettajat luottivat opetusmateriaalien olevan valtakunnallisen opetussuunnitelman vaatimusten mukaisia
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
12

Wright, Anthony David. "Critical moments in the second language classroom : towards an understanding of second language classroom culture." Thesis, Lancaster University, 1992. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.333857.

Full text
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
13

Slagoski, Jeremy Daniel. "The adjustment process of sojourning English language teachers." Diss., University of Iowa, 2014. https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/1397.

Full text
Abstract:
This multiple case study was designed to explore the adjustment and cultural learning of sojourning English language teachers (ELTs) in Japan and South Korea. Qualitative research methods were used to design the study and to collect the data. Using Holliday's Host Culture Complex model (1994) as a theoretical framework, shared patterns in the adjustment process emerged from the participants' blogs and interviews. The patterns provide evidence supporting cultural learning through relationships with various people in different parts of the host culture complex. The strongest pattern revealed that the relationship between sojourning ELTs and their co-teachers was one of the more beneficial relationships for the sojourners' cultural learning. However, these relationships were only found in government-sponsored English language programs, such as the JET Program in Japan and EPIK in South Korea. Another strong pattern revealed that the participants' relationships with their significant others marked a shift in their adjustment patterns in one or more parts of the host culture complex. This study prompted the creation of a new revised host culture complex, which includes foreigners within the target culture. These foreigners, some who are also sojourning ELTs, have shown to influence the adjustment process of the participants. Additionally, this study demonstrates the use of social media for research and professional development in English language education.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
14

Morales, Betsy. "The teaching of culture in the Puerto Rican university English language classrooms /." Digital version accessible at:, 1999. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/utexas/main.

Full text
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
15

Iida, Eri. "Hedges in Japanese English and American English medical research articles." Thesis, McGill University, 2007. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=99723.

Full text
Abstract:
The present study analysed the use of hedges in English medical research articles written by Japanese and American researchers. The study also examined the relationship between Japanese medical professionals' employment of hedges and their writing process. Sixteen English medical articles: eight written by Japanese and eight by Americans were examined. Four of the Japanese authors discussed their writing process through questionnaires and telephone interviews.
The overall ratio of hedges in articles written by the two groups differed only slightly; however, analyses revealed a number of specific differences in the use of hedges between the groups. For example, Japanese researchers used epistemic adverbs and adjectives less frequently than the American researchers. The results were discussed in relation to the problems of nonnative speakers' grammatical competence, cultural differences in rhetorical features, and the amount of experience in the use of medical English.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
16

Taggesell, Richard Patrick. "Popular culture in the language arts classroom a survey /." Online pdf file accessible through the World Wide Web, 2010. http://archives.evergreen.edu/masterstheses/Accession89-10MIT/Taggesell_RPMIT2010.pdf.

Full text
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
17

Wilhelmson, Mika. "What Culture? : Cultural representations in English as a foreign language textbooks." Thesis, Högskolan Dalarna, Engelska, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:du-19884.

Full text
Abstract:
Teaching the cultural aspect of foreign language education is a complex and sometimes difficult task, especially since English has become an international language used in different settings and contexts throughout the world. Building on the idea that the spread of the English language and its international status in the world has made English an important school subject to develop students’ cross-cultural and intercultural awareness, this paper has studied what research reveals about the influence this has had on cultural representations in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) textbooks. Findings from a systematic literature review that analyzed four different international studies on the topic are presented. The study showed that EFL textbooks often present stereotypical and overgeneralized representations of culture and that the cultural aspect of EFL education is not adequately addressed since focus tends to lean towards language proficiency. Results also indicated that though steps are made to include cultural representations from different international contexts, the target culture of countries where English is the first language remains dominant in EFL textbooks. The findings are discussed in correlation with the Swedish national curriculum and syllabus.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
18

Luis, Renata Gomes. "English undergraduate students' representations about culture in foreign language classrooms." Florianópolis, 2012. http://repositorio.ufsc.br/xmlui/handle/123456789/100883.

Full text
Abstract:
Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Comunicação e Expressão. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Letras/Inglês e Literatura Correspondente
Made available in DSpace on 2013-06-25T23:34:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 309183.pdf: 1062895 bytes, checksum: 07294e389ed0ca97b9e68f14f547d00c (MD5)
Many scholars in different areas (Byram, 1989; Hall, 1997; Kramsch, 1998) have already emphasized how language and culture are intimately related. The main issue in Applied Linguistics seems to be the understanding of how these concepts - language and culture - should be connected in the language classroom (Kramsch, 1998; Risager, 2006). Therefore, this study tries to understand the role of culture inside foreign language classrooms through English undergraduate students' representations about culture and culture learning in their English classes at Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC). The data collection consisted of an open-ended questionnaire, private semi-structured interviews and email correspondences. A thematic analysis of the data showed that students represented culture in mainly two ways - as formal and valued knowledge or as sociocultural practices. Similarly, they regarded culture learning as learning about contents from English-speaking countries or as learning how to perform pragmatic functions of language in appropriate ways, depending on the context of situation. The role of culture in EFL classrooms was perceived by students either as the topic of the lesson, at times dissociated from language or as the pragmatics of learning a language that reflects specific world views, in which language and culture were intrinsically connected. Thus, two main pedagogical implications seem to arise from these findings. The first one regards the construction, in the language classroom, of meanings of culture that allow students to see the fluid and changeable nature of culture. The second one regards the importance of making our students aware of the social construction of meanings so they can perceive the intrinsic relationship between language and culture.
Diversos pesquisadores em diferentes áreas (Byram, 1989; Hall, 1997; Kramsch, 1998) já enfatizaram a relação intrínseca existente entre língua e cultura. Neste aspecto, a principal discussão no campo da linguística aplicada parece ser a identificação de como esses conceitos - língua e cultura - deveriam estar conectados na sala de aula de língua (Kramsch, 1998; Risager, 2006). Dessa forma, este estudo tenta entender o papel da cultura na sala de aula de língua estrangeira (LE) através das representações sobre cultura e aprendizado de cultura na sala de aula de LE de estudantes da graduação em língua inglesa da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC). A coleta de dados consistiu-se de um questionário aberto, entrevistas semi-estruturadas e troca de emails entre os participantes e a pesquisadora. Uma análise temática dos dados demonstrou que os participantes representavam cultura principalmente de duas formas - como conhecimento formal valorizado ou como práticas socioculturais. Da mesma forma, eles consideravam aprendizado de cultura como aprendizado sobre conteúdos dos países falantes de inglês ou como aprendizado em relação à como usar funções pragmáticas da língua de forma apropriada, dependendo do contexto. O papel da cultura da sala de aula de LE foi percebido pelos alunos tanto como conteúdo da aula, por vezes dissociado da língua ou como pragmática de se aprender uma língua que reflete visões de mundo específicas, onde língua e cultura foram conectadas intrinsicamente. Sendo assim, duas principais implicações pedagógicas parecem surgir desses resultados. A primeira diz respeito à construção, na sala de aula de língua, de sentidos de cultura que permitam aos alunos perceberem a natureza fluída e mutável da mesma. A segunda se refere à importância de conscientizar nossos alunos sobre a construção social dos sentidos para que eles possam perceber, dessa forma, a relação intrínsica entre língua e cultura.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
19

Hunter, Tawanda Blackshear. "An Examination of School Culture and English Language Learner Achievement." ScholarWorks, 2016. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/1708.

Full text
Abstract:
English Language Learners (ELLs) do not achieve sufficiently on standardized tests, as required by federal law. Fourth grade ELLs at a suburban elementary school in the Southern United States experienced similar problems in the failure rate on the state standardized test. Still, this school outperformed several of the schools in the same area of the county. In this sequential, explanatory study, teacher and administrator perceptions of school culture and its impact on the achievement of ELLs in a Southern elementary school were examined. Vygotsky's cultural-historical theory provided the theoretical framework to ground this study, as culture within a school could influence student achievement. At the study site, 26 elementary teachers voluntarily responded to the electronic School Culture Survey during the quantitative phase. Analysis of these surveys yielded means, produced factor scores, and identified discrepant areas. Two administrators, five 4th grade teachers, and four ELL teachers were invited and were interviewed to collect and analyze data in the qualitative phase. The thematic coding of the data identified teacher collaboration, collaborative leadership and perceptions of school culture as deficient in the school. The subsequent project, a position paper based on the findings, informed school leadership of the results and potential benefits a regional examination of school culture could provide. Improving school culture can allow teachers and administrators to better serve an underachieving student population; an improved culture could consequently contribute to positive social change for these ELLs.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
20

Polzenhagen, Frank. "Cultural conceptualisations in West African English : a cognitive-linguistic approach /." Frankfurt am Main [u.a.] : Lang, 2007. http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&doc_number=016163259&line_number=0004&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA.

Full text
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
21

Damnet, Anamai. "Enhancing acquisition of intercultural nonverbal competence : Thai English as a foreign language learners and the use of contemporary English language films." full-text, 2008. http://eprints.vu.edu.au/2023/1/damnet.pdf.

Full text
Abstract:
This study investigates aspects of the teaching and learning of intercultural nonverbal competence by university students majoring in English in Thailand and starts from the position that intercultural nonverbal competence is an important, but neglected area within English language teaching for international communication. Five aspects of nonverbal communication where there are pronounced differences between Thai and native English norms are investigated: facial expressions, eye contact and gaze, bodily communication, kinesics (touching), and vocalic communication. The study employs a range of qualitative and quantitative approaches in conducting classroom research on the learning and teaching of nonverbal communication within university EFL speaking and listening skills classes. Seventy-three second year undergraduate students majoring in English were randomly assigned to and participated in one of two different teaching interventions both of which involved the use of the same four American and Australian contemporary films. The experimental intervention involved explicit teaching of nonverbal communication and the other more traditional one provided exposure to the same native speaker interactions in the same four films, but with classroom activities focused on linguistic and pragmatic features arising from the films. Adopting a quasi-experimental pre and posttest design the study includes three phases of data collection: (1) pre teaching assessment, (2) teaching phase, and (3) post teaching assessment. The pre and post teaching assessments cover students’ attitudes towards, understanding of and ability to employ nonverbal communication when communicating in English in intercultural contexts. The post teaching assessment covers these same areas together with additional qualitative data collection about students’ experiences of participation in the study. Data analyses include use of analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and within group t-tests. The study reveals that in comparison with students from the control group students from the experimental group who had participated in the explicit teaching of nonverbal communication had: (a) more positive attitudes towards nonverbal communication of English native speakers, (b) a higher level of understanding of nonverbal communication of English native speakers (c) a higher level of ability to apply nonverbal channels in communication appropriately in role playing interaction with an English native speaker, and, in addition, (d) most students from both groups felt positive about the opportunities that practising role plays and viewing contemporary English language films provided for them to enhance their intercultural acquisition of nonverbal competence in communicating in English with native speakers. Qualitative data supported the quantitative findings and also indicated that students in the experimental group had achieved a deeper and more explicit understanding of the role of nonverbal communication in interactions in English, whilst also demonstrating a strong sense of what might be acceptable in an English language context with English native speakers and what is acceptable with fellow Thais. Furthermore, the results highlight that it is not essential for nonnative speakers to stay/study abroad in English as native language speaking countries in order to improve their communicative and intercultural nonverbal competences to levels approximating that of native speakers. Films and role play, when used appropriately, may provide effective native speaker modeling and opportunities for practice.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
22

Shih, Ching-Yi. "A study of the interlanguage of apology by Taiwanese English-Language learners." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2005. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/2793.

Full text
Abstract:
This thesis presents a study of the interlanguage of the speech act of apology by Taiwanese learners of English. It compares the way Taiwanese learners apoologize in English and how they apologize in Mandarin Chinese, as well as how native speakers of American English apologize.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
23

Cat, Bui Van, and n/a. "Background studies for Vietnamese students of English." University of Canberra. Education, 1985. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060628.130310.

Full text
Abstract:
Recent years have witnessed many developments in the use of the communicative approach in language teaching. This approach aims at developing students' ability to communicate with native speakers of the target language. To achieve this ability, students are required to have not only linguistic competence but also communicative competence. That is why the students need not only the linguistic knowledge but also the background knowledge of the culture in which the language is spoken. Language is a part of culture. Cultural differences always cause problems for speakers of different cultures while communicating. Therefore, the " learning of a second culture is often a part of the learning of a second language " (Brown, 1980: 242 ) . Background Studies, including culture, used to be neglected or taught improperly in the curriculum of the Hanoi Foreign Languages College. In consequence, Vietnamese E.F.L students at the College have a poor background knowledge of the English speaking countries and their people's patterned ways of life. This causes difficulties for them when communicating with native speakers of English, even when they are studying at the College where culture-based textbooks and materials are commonly used. Therefore, Background Studies, including culture, must be seen as a separate and indispensable component of the curriculum of the College which aims at providing the students with the background knowledge of English speaking countries and with an awareness of their people's ways of life, their customs and habits and so on. Various techniques for the teaching of this subject are examined.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
24

Fanton, Giovanni. "Doing Italian as a foreign language : investigating talk about language and culture in three British university classrooms." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2011. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/1561/.

Full text
Abstract:
The study presented in this thesis focuses on teacher-student talk-in-interaction in three Italian classes for beginners taught by two teachers, one British and one Italian, in two British universities. The aims of the study are to: (1) investigate the views of language and of language teaching/learning that informed the teachers‟ practice; (2) identify the cultural worlds and images of Italian-ness constructed through the classroom talk; (3) examine the different identities the teachers assumed as they discussed language and culture. The research combines ethnographically-informed classroom observation, video-recording of classroom interaction with discourse analysis. It is guided by poststructuralist thinking and by Kramsch‟s (1993:9) vision of language teaching/learning as “social practice that is at the boundary of two or more cultures”. It reveals similarities in the composition of the classes. Both included international students and both teachers drew on the diverse funds of linguistic and cultural knowledge represented in their classes, creating „third places‟ for language teaching/learning. The research also reveals differences between the teachers – in their views of language, their representation of Italian „culture‟ and in the classroom identities they assumed. These differences are explained with reference to the teachers‟ linguistic and cultural backgrounds and their professional biographies.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
25

Lok, Mai-chi Ian, and 樂美志. "Cultural understanding in English studies: anexploration of postcolonial and world Englishes perspectives." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2006. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B35804749.

Full text
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
26

Hong, Huili, Karin Keith, and Renee Rice Moran. "Reflection on and for Actions: Probing into English Language Art Teachers' Personal and Professional Experiences with English Language Learners." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2019. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/5575.

Full text
Abstract:
Effective ELL teaching and learning is profoundly influenced by the teachers' personal experiences and personalities (Farrell, 2016), their experience as language learners as well as language teachers (Farrell, 2007), and their beliefs about learning and teaching a second language (Farrell, 2015; Farrell & Ives, 2015). This study honored and examined in-depth the often-discounted stories/reflective narratives of our teachers. This paper reports a qualitative cases study that explores three veteran teachers' reflection on their personal and professional experiences with ELLs for self-discovery over years (Cirocki & Farrell, 2017) so that they can further reflect for their future actions with ELLs (Burns & Bulman, 2000; Farrell, 2007; Farrell & Vos, 2018). Data analysis revealed the teachers' different strengths and needs in working with ELLs. Four major dimensions (language, culture, culturally and linguistically sensitive pedagogy, and collaborative community) were identified as critical to effective teaching of ELLs and preparation of second language teachers.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
27

Lok, Mai-chi Ian. "Cultural understanding in English studies an exploration of postcolonial and world Englishes perspectives /." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2006. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B35804749.

Full text
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
28

Mirza, Nosheen Asghar. "5th skill in English language learning and teaching : a Pakistani perspective." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/33289.

Full text
Abstract:
This dissertation explores the beliefs of students on the relevance (if at all) of addressing the Fifth skill, culture, in English education in a Pakistani context, with sub question that aims to answer what definitions of the Fifth skill (Tomalin, 2008) could be appropriate to English education in a Pakistani context? So far the research done on English language teaching in Pakistan and anything related to it is based on teachers’ beliefs alone, therefore it was important for me as an English Language teacher to find out what the students attitudes were towards the integration of 5th skill in the classroom. However, I did not limit the research to students’ beliefs alone; my research also includes the perception of the teachers. This is not only to give validity to the research, but also to realize any differences regarding the teachers’ beliefs on the issue in previous researches. To explore the role of 5th skill in teaching English languages in a Pakistani classroom, at the secondary level, this dissertation collected the responses elicited from both the students and the teacher through a semi-structured questionnaire and focus group discussion, and a thematic analysis was carried out. The results of this study highlight a number of issues regarding cultural acceptance, language acceptance and integrating of 5th skill in language teaching. Certain interesting contradictions regarding English culture(s) and English language and their status in Pakistani society also emerged. The findings suggest that students regarded the 5th skill as an essential source for better understanding the concepts and their functional use of English language, as it presents them with real life situations. However, where the 5th skill was seen as an important tool to enhance language competence, the students also supported that both the students’ culture as well as the culture associated with English Language be incorporated in the language class. The students saw integrating 5th skill in a language class as a means to express their ideas, values and experiences, and an opportunity to make others understand them and their point of view, and not restrict the use of Fifth skill to a one way cultural awareness stream only. The dissertation also questioned the current status of English as a second language as perceived by the students and its implications on the future of English Language teaching in Pakistan.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
29

Williams, Sarah Rhiannon. "English vernacular letters c. 1400-c. 1600 : language, literacy and culture." Thesis, University of York, 2001. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/10795/.

Full text
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
30

Lee, Chee Hye. "Language Ideological Approaches to English Education in Korea: A Sociolinguistic Perspective." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/612585.

Full text
Abstract:
The overheated atmosphere of English education in contemporary Korean society is popularly represented as English Fever. The phenomenon of English Fever dates back at least to 1945 when there was a socio-political transition from Japanese colonial rule to a newly emerged U.S. army military government rule. This dissertation attempts to elucidate historically accumulated aspects of English education in Korea from a critical macro-level approach (Pennycook, 2010; Phillipson, 1992). In doing so, a theoretical framework for the dissertation is based on language ideologies (Kroskrity, 2000; Schieffelin, Woolard & Kroskrity, 1998; Van Dijk, 1995), which are produced, mediated, transformed, and reproduced by interacting with ever-changing socio-historical, political, economic, and structural contexts of Korea. Language ideologies of English influence and contribute to what is at stake in English education in Korea, depending on what is primarily required in each of three major socio-historical periods in modern Korean: nation building (1945-1960), modernization (1961-1980), and globalization (1990-present). This dissertation elaborates how language ideologies about the English language are dedicated to serving as indexicality, reifying dominance, and prevailing in social institutions (Fairclough, 2001; Gal, 1989; Hill, 2008; Irvine, 1989; Kroskrity, 2000), giving rise to a variety of forms of social power in Korean context. Analysis of the relationship between language ideologies of English and English proficiency in Korea suggests that the English language is ideologized to exert profound influence on Korean social structures, although it hardly functions as a tool of communication within Korean society. In other words, the ubiquitous phenomenon of English Fever in Korea may have little correlation with an actual guarantee of English proficiency. Rather English Fever can be attributed to the accumulated and deeply held English language ideologies permeated into Korean society.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
31

Aylward, Louise. "Imperialist subtexts? : cultural assumptions and linguistic imperialism in Hong Kong ELT textbooks /." Thesis, Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1998. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B20272686.

Full text
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
32

Tukwasibwe, Constance. "The influence of indigenous languages on Ugandan English as used in the media." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015637.

Full text
Abstract:
When two or more languages come in contact, they influence each other in various ways, for example through word borrowing, transfer of sounds, morphology and syntax taken from one language system and imported to another. In this study, the primary concern is on the indigenous communities of Uganda learning the English language, plus the influence that this interaction brings into the linguistic space. Bringing the Ugandan multilingual situation into perspective, the study looks at how the English language has interacted with the local languages and the local speech habits, customs and traditions of the indigenous people, to the extent that it has been indigenized. Some word usage results in miscommunication due to the socio-cultural uniqueness of Ugandan cultural expressions. As an example, because of the practice of polygamy in most Ugandan cultures, words like co-wife are coined to mean 'a woman who shares a husband, or a husband's other wife', a word that is absent in both the language and culture of native English speakers. Furthermore some words are formed by calquing some indigenous language expressions, e.g. 'to eat money' or 'to eat cash', an expression that is calqued from the Luganda phrase, kulya sente. Such word coinages are meant to fill the 'shortfall' where the English language fails to provide adequate equivalents. Understanding the context of this kind of English usage and the influence from the indigenous languages is helpful in handling inter-cultural discourses, as the same expression may convey different senses to different people in different contexts. So then, this study deals with some peculiarities of Ugandan English, namely; the features of Ugandan English grammar which are influenced by the indigenous languages. Evidence from the Corpus of Ugandan English is explored to establish that indigenous languages in Uganda have a significant influence on the English language variety spoken in the country, and that a large part of English bilingual speakers cannot speak English without transferring the features from their mother tongue or indeed, switching and mixing codes. A British corpus was used for the purposes of comparison with Ugandan English. The research was conducted in Uganda, drawing data from English newspapers, radio and television talk -shows that were recorded to provide a structural analysis of the contact situations. The result of the study points to the fact that, indeed, the phonological, morpho-syntactic and semantic characteristics of Ugandan English have a considerable amount of influence from indigenous local languages. This study is hinged on the assumption that when indigenous languages and the target language come together in a linguistic contact situation, the resulting variety would exhibit distinct phonological, lexical, grammatical and semantic/pragmatic features ( cf. Sankoff, 2001; Thomason, 1995; Thomason & Kaufman, 1988; Winford, 2005). However, some of these innovations have attracted criticism from 'prescriptivists' such as Quirk (1985, 1988, 1990); Gaudio (2011); and Abbot (1991) who perceive them as 'nonstandard', 'incorrect English language usage' and a 'direct translation from the language user's mother tongue into English'. Yet, indigenous languages continue to play important roles in shaping the kind of English language usage in Uganda.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
33

Carlsson, Nils. "English and Culture: Learning About Us and Them : A Study About Teachers' Conceptions and Teaching of Culture in the English Classroom." Thesis, Högskolan i Halmstad, Akademin för lärande, humaniora och samhälle, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-34249.

Full text
Abstract:
In this essay, four teachers of English as a foreign language were interviewed about their conceptions of culture and language. The purpose was to investigate what they consider important to teach their students about culture and how they attempt to achieve this in practice. Furthermore, it was discussed whether the teaching of culture can be improved. The study was conducted through semi-structured interviews, using theory about culture taught from either a product perspective, as observable behaviors, facts and information, or from a process perspective, as values, attitudes and empathy with otherness. The results showed that the teachers generally aimed to teach culture from a process perspective, promoting empathy, deconstructing stereotypes and teaching about the students’ own culture as well as cultural features in other parts of the world. They also listed some methods of achieving this aim. However, many of the teaching methods were more centered around facts and information, particularly about national cultures. This suggested an approach more focused on culture as a product, which may be detrimental to the voiced goals of teaching culture as a process.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
34

Moraya, Abdullah. "The Influence of Culture and Cultural Background Knowledge on Saudi Students' English Language Learning." OpenSIUC, 2013. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/theses/1134.

Full text
Abstract:
Many researchers (Hymes, 1964; Kaplan, 1966; Gumperz, 1972; Brown, 1987; Nida, 1998) have asserted that language and culture are inseparable and both of them affect each other. Recent advances within the theory and methods of language teaching have begun to emphasize the role of culture in language learning and the importance of cultural learning. However, little research has been done to investigate how knowledge of a foreign culture facilitates communication of Saudi students with its people even though mastery of the language of that culture has not yet been achieved. The purpose of this qualitative research is to investigate the influence of culture on the learning of English as a second language by native speakers of Arabic from Saudi Arabia. The participants of this study were nine Saudi students at a mid-western University in the U.S. All of them had begun learning English in Saudi Arabia and came to the U.S. to continue their undergraduate and graduate studies. The subjects were interviewed on an individual basis using a semi-structured format. Also, they completed a brief written questionnaire about demographic and background information about their language learning and cultural experiences in Saudi Arabia and in the U.S. The audio-recorded interviews were transcribed and analyzed by using thematic analysis. The participants' narratives were analyzed for major themes that emerged in relation to the influence of cultural and cultural experiences on their English language learning. The four major themes were American English and diversity in the U.S, gender, individualism and student-centered approach. The results of this study revealed how culture affects Saudi students' English language learning. The themes that emerged in relation to the influence of culture stressed the strong relationship between language and culture. Furthermore, the findings shed light on the cultural challenges faced by Saudi students in learning English and in communicating in English with native-English speaking Americans, and the extent to which cultural learning is integrated in their language learning process.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
35

Barajas, Maria E. "Hold Your Tongue: Language, Culture, and the Power of Teacher Bias in the ESL and Bilingual Classroom." Oberlin College Honors Theses / OhioLINK, 1999. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=oberlin1543406209008646.

Full text
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
36

Alcaraz, Molly Marie. "Perspectives From SEI Teachers Instructing In Arizona's Four-Hour ELD Block." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/202757.

Full text
Abstract:
In 2000, the passage of Proposition 203 in Arizona virtually replaced bilingual education with a Structured English Immersion (SEI ) program. In 2006, the State legislature passed House Bill (HB) 2064 which essentially segregated ELL students for four hours of the school day in an SEI classroom in which English Language Development (ELD) was taught. In 2008, the four-hour SEI block was mandated in public schools across Arizona.This study investigated the lived experiences of public school teachers teaching the four-hour SEI block, the relationship between what these teachers know about second language acquisition and the strategies they utilized, and what they identified as the strengths and weaknesses that resulted from the four-hour SEI block and its implementation.Nine K-12 SEI teachers from one school district in Southern Arizona participated in this study. Qualitative research methodologies were used to collect and analyze data.The results of this study showed that teachers' experiences and teaching strategies were diverse and greatly influenced by their classroom composition, professional development, interpretation of the laws surrounding the program, and directives given by administrators. Findings from this research also indicated that teachers identified substantially more concerns than advantages related to the four-hour SEI program. Specifically, teachers thought the SEI classroom provided a safe environment in which students could practice English. However, teachers were concerned about the negative social and academic repercussions experienced by ELLs as a result of the SEI program and also expressed their own professional concerns related to the four-hour model.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
37

Oke, Katharina Adewoyin. "The politics of the public sphere : English-language and Yoruba-language print culture in colonial Lagos, 1880s-1940s." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2018. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:ece31052-81b7-45e7-be91-0cad322334a5.

Full text
Abstract:
This thesis studies print culture in colonial Lagos against the background of the public sphere, and brings together a variety of English-language and Yoruba-language newspapers. Such an approach allows for highlighting the practicalities of newspaper production and foregrounding the work accomplished by newspapermen in a changing 'information environment' and political context. It offers insights into Lagos politics, contributes to the history of the educated elite, and to more global histories of communication. Using newspapers as well as archival records, and focussing on events that strikingly reveal dynamics in the public sphere, this thesis narrates a nuanced history of a discursive field which was, amongst other things, central for Lagos politics. This thesis complicates a Habermasian notion of the public sphere as an open discursive space, and not only highlights that the public sphere was an arena of contested meanings, but also illustrates axes along which the composition of this social structure was negotiated. When newspapers emerged in the late nineteenth-century, discussions in the press were largely restricted to the elite. The economy of recognition that was at play in the public sphere was to change in the 1920s. This thesis highlights how newspapermen and contributors sought to carve out niches for themselves in the public sphere in new ways and how their becoming a speaker in this discursive field was challenged and contested. It highlights the nuanced ways in which newspapermen and contributors convened publics through their papers: how they did so around particular issues, in distinction from each other, and how they adapted the convening of publics to new political dynamics in the 1940s. This thesis gives insight into the complex relationship between English-language and Yoruba-language newspapers, and moreover illustrates how the practicalities of the newspaper business were coming to bear on dynamics in the public sphere.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
38

Emsley, Maletsema Ruth. "The effect of cultural background on comprehension of English texts by second language learners of English." Thesis, University of Limpopo, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/577.

Full text
Abstract:
Thesis (M.Ed. (Language Education)) --University of Limpopo, 2011.
This study investigated the effect of cultural background on comprehension of English texts by second language learners. The study specifically aimed at determining whether cultural background had any effect on comprehension of English texts by second language learners and whether the second language learners’ cultural background could help them comprehend unfamiliar texts. The background of the study in this mini dissertation was followed by the discussion on the literature available on this topic. This study followed a case study design which utilized 89 respondents from the Further Education and Training band of a rural secondary school in the north of Limpopo province. Data was obtained through the completion of questionnaires and answering of questions from a comprehension test based on English culture. The findings showed that there was no total comprehension of the text by learners who use English as a second language. Learners of English as a second language need to possess specific cultural schemata to comprehend texts that are unfamiliar to them. This study was informed by the schema theory. There is a significant effect of cultural background on the comprehension of English text by second language learners. KEY WORDS: Schema theory. Culture Comprehension. Cultural background
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
39

Koussouhon, Leonard Assogba. "Enhancing English literacy skills through literature : a linguistics-oriented Francophone African perspective /." Access Digital Full Text version, 1995. http://pocketknowledge.tc.columbia.edu/home.php/bybib/11791500.

Full text
Abstract:
Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1995.
Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Clifford A. Hill. Dissertation Committee: Jo Anne Kleifgen. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 160-169).
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
40

Frenning, Henric. "An International Language? -Cultural Representation in English textbooks for Swedish Schools." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Fakulteten för lärande och samhälle (LS), 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-31656.

Full text
Abstract:
Culture and language are intrinsically linked, and the question of how to approach teaching culture whilst teaching a language is always going to be one teachers have to ask themselves. A textbook is a tool which is meant to aid teachers and remove some of the burden of decision-making from their shoulders. A good textbook should thus give a teacher all of the tools needed to teach a language, including answers to the aforementioned question. This study was a content analysis of four English Language textbooks used in Swedish high schools. The main focus was on how these textbooks present different cultures. This was then contextualized by comparisons with previous research, with cultural theories, and by a comparison with the guidelines which are presented in the Swedish curriculum. The study found that the textbooks contain little representation of cultures which are not natively English-speaking or which exist outside of the so-called Inner circle of English language, and that even when non-Inner circle cultures are represented, they are either viewed through and Inner circle lens or as a minority culture in an Inner circle context. Furthermore, the literature which is included in the books adheres strictly to the English literary canon as it is generally defined. The textbooks thus do not encourage the teaching of English as an international language, and they therefore go against the guidelines of the Swedish curriculum. They are also representative of a global issue of conservatism in ELT which has been highlighted previously by other authors—and to the existence of which they provide further and current proof.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
41

Dunai, Amber. "Semantic Shift and the Link between Words and Culture." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2008. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc9785/.

Full text
Abstract:
This thesis is concerned with the correlation between cultural values and the semantic content of words over time; toward this purpose, the research focuses on Judeo-Christian religious terminology in the English language. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is of central interest to this study, and the implications of the hypothesis, including a bidirectional interpretation allowing for both the influence of language on worldview and culture on language, is of great relevance to the research findings and conclusions. The paper focuses on the etymology and sources of religious terminology in the English language, the prominent category of terms with both religious and secular applications attained through semantic shift, and the role of religious words as English taboo. The research findings imply that a bidirectional understanding of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is the correct one. This is achieved both through analysis of historical events and linguistic development which emphasize the speaker's role in language development and through the study of societal values that are reinforced through linguistic practices, namely taboo.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
42

Randolph, Tamara Lee Dietrich. "Culture-mediated literature adult Chinese EFL student response to folktales /." access full-text online access from Digital dissertation consortium, 2000. http://libweb.cityu.edu.hk/cgi-bin/er/db/ddcdiss.pl?9988979.

Full text
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
43

Chung, Yang-Gyun. "Korean-English Internet chat in tandem for learning language and culture: A curricular innovation in an International Languages program." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/29284.

Full text
Abstract:
The study reports on the learning outcomes of a thematic, task-based curricular innovation in which paired Korean and English-speaking peers, each learning the other's language and culture, collaborate on chat homework assignments and related classroom activities in an International Languages class. This study draws primarily on sociocultural theory to investigate language learning through computer-mediated communicative tasks as a socially mediated process. This ethnographically based longitudinal case study follows principles of action research to identify contributions each research tradition can make to our understanding of language learning through interaction among learners within a learning community. In order to explore second language acquisition during interaction, this study also employs an interactionist approach to examine more specific linguistic and interactional features of learners' online chat discourse in tandem. Examination of the students' online chat interactions and related tandem classroom discussions and activities between experts and novices, with the tandem partners fulfilling each role in turn, reveals how collaborative peer-peer dialogue supports knowledge-building within this cross-linguistic learning environment. Data, qualitative in nature, reveal how these students are able to learn and teach contextually meaningful and appropriate linguistic and cultural behaviour through socially mediated actions, using online peer-peer collaborative dialogue, computers and tasks as meaning-making resources within their own cross-linguistic learning community. The findings show that the online chat interactions contributed to the establishment of a community of learners and supported effective second language learning. Specifically they show the ways in which learners appropriated a variety of language practices from one another, developed awareness of self in relation to others, and participated in expert and novice discursive learning practices in the construction of meaning. During collaborative peer-peer conversations, they adapted their language and negotiated meaning to facilitate communication and enhance their second language learning. Both qualitative and quantitative data on their second language learning outcomes, including growth of vocabulary and explicit learning of L2 cultural concepts from thematic tasks show important learning outcomes for both groups. The findings of the study extend our understanding of what it means to learn a language and engage with another culture.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
44

Beliles, Emily. "The effect of attitude toward the target language and culture, and of input on English second language proficiency in a study-abroad immersion setting." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/98089.

Full text
Abstract:
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: As the number of Asian students studying English abroad continues to increase, there is a growing need for language learning programs that help students to increase their English proficiency in the most effective way possible. Studies have shown that exposure alone is not sufficient for improving proficiency. The question is: “Can a second language (L2) learner truly learn the target language if they do not like the people who speak it?” Schumman’s (1978) acculturation theory proposes that the degree to which a learner integrates into the target culture through decreasing their social and psychological distance from it will determine the degree to which they learn the target language. Central to this process is the learner’s attitude toward the target language and the target culture. By fostering positive attitudes toward the target language and culture, can we aid L2 students in transforming the L2 input that they receive while studying abroad into meaningful intake through which they can, in turn, achieve greater proficiency in the L2? This thesis explores the above questions through a research study investigating the relationship between attitude toward the target language and target culture, and L2 proficiency; amount of L2 input and L2 proficiency; and amount of L2 input and attitude toward the target language and target culture. A small-scale study was conducted with Korean L2 English students studying abroad in the USA. Ten participants completed a language background questionnaire, an attitude questionnaire, and an English proficiency test. The data collected via these instruments were analysed to determine if any correlations exist between the above-mentioned three sets of variables. Results showed no correlations between attitude and L2 proficiency. However, descriptive analysis showed a clear positive correlation to exist between several L2 input variables and L2 proficiency, and between L2 input and attitudes toward the target language.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Namate die aantal Asiese studente wat Engels oorsee studeer toeneem, styg die behoefte aan taalonderrig-programme wat studente help om hulle Engelse vaardigheid op die mees effektiewe wyse moontlik te ontwikkel. Studies toon dat blootstelling op sigself nie voldoende is vir die bevordering van taalvaardigheid nie. Die vraag is: “Kan tweedetaal- (T2-) leerders werklik ’n teikentaal aanleer indien hulle nie hou van die sprekers van daardie taal nie?” Schumman (1978) se akkulturasie-teorie stel voor dat die mate waartoe leerders hulself in die teikenkultuur integreer deur hulle sosiale en psigologiese afstand daarvan te verminder, bepalend is van die mate waartoe hulle die teikentaal sal aanleer. Sentraal tot hierdie proses is die leerders se houding teenoor die teikentaal en die teikenkultuur. Deur positiewe houdings teenoor die teikentaal en -kultuur onder T2-studente te bevorder, kan ons hulle help om die T2-toevoer wat hulle tydens oorsese studies ontvang te omskep in sinvolle T2-inname wat verhoogde T2-vaardigheid tot gevolg kan hê? Hierdie tesis verken die bostaande vrae op grond van ’n navorsingstudie wat ondersoek doen na die verhouding tussen T2-vaardigheid en houding teenoor die teikentaal en -kultuur; hoeveelheid T2-toevoer en T2-vaardigheid; en hoeveelheid T2-toevoer en houding teenoor die teikentaal en -kultuur. ’n Kleinskaal-studie is uitgevoer met Koreaanse T2-Engelssprekers aan’t studeer in Amerika. Tien deelnemers het elk ’n taalagtergrond-vraelys, ’n houding-vraelys en ’n Engels-vaardigheidstoets voltooi. Die data wat deur middel van hierdie instrumente ingesamel is, is geanaliseer ten einde vas te stel of daar enige korrelasies bestaan tussen die bogenoemde drie stelle veranderlikes. Resultate toon geen korrelasies tussen houdings en T2-vaardigheid nie, maar beskrywende analise dui wel op ’n duidelike positiewe korrelasie tussen verskeie T2-toevoer-veranderlikes en T2-vaardigheid, asook tussen T2- toevoer en houdings teenoor die teikentaal.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
45

Guan, Eng Ho. "Exploring the socio-cultural structure of formal ESL instruction in classroom talk : a case study of a secondary school in Brunei /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 2003. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phg913.pdf.

Full text
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
46

Hyde, Martin. "An investigation of professional discourse on culture in international English language teaching." Thesis, University of Kent, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.250337.

Full text
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
47

Mkhize, Constance Ntombifuthi. "The dynamics of culture and language amongst English speaking psychologists KwaZulu-Natal." Thesis, University of Zululand, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10530/1242.

Full text
Abstract:
Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD (Community Psychology) in the Department of Psychology at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2013.
The purpose of this presentation is to share some ideas on the continuing challenges facing English speaking psychologists in the province of KwaZulu Natal working inter-racially and how it affects the therapeutic relationship as a whole. A convenient sample of five psychologists was drawn from general and psychiatric hospitals as well as those working in private practice. The target population for this study included White and Indian psychologists. Eight participants were selected for this study. The transcripts of three participants were eventually abandoned due to poor quality of the taped interview. All the participants had experience in working with diverse cultures and people who are speaking isiZulu. A discourse analytic approach was employed to understand the complicated language phenomenon in sharing sensitive and confidential material. The rationale of the study was to look at the extent to which psychologists from different cultural and diverse language backgrounds make sense of language and cultural diversity in their therapeutic relationship. There were interesting dynamics that came up from the data collected as follows: From the results it was identified that patients are disadvantaged of the psychological services because of the language they do and do not speak. In general, the study found that English speaking psychologists experience serious challenges when they have to conduct psychotherapy and other related activities with non-English speaking patients or clients. The study found that the issue of working with interpreters continues to be faced with many uncertainties. While the interpretation process is by no means ideal for carrying out psychotherapeutic work, however, it can go a long way in creating access to psychological services. This study has demonstrated that psychotherapy can be implemented successfully through using interpreters, until such time that the system is able to produce psychologists that are adequately proficient in different indigenous languages spoken in South Africa. v Finally, the researcher hopes that this study will offer suggestions to psychology as a profession and find means to deal with the cultural and language challenges that psychology is faced with in order for psychologists to have efficient psychotherapy and subsequent to that work interracially. It was hoped that the study would play a positive role in increasing psychologist’s sensitivity to issues of racism. Furthermore, it was hoped that the findings of this study would help promote culturally respectful programmes and strategies among psychologists and other health-care professionals in KZN.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
48

Broadwater, Marianne Elizabeth. "The Role of Popular Culture in Language Borrowing Between French and English." Wright State University / OhioLINK, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1195238224.

Full text
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
49

Li, Lei. "Mediational English-as-a-foreign-language teaching that supports independent reading." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2005. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/2659.

Full text
Abstract:
This study synthesizes theoretical concepts and proposes relevant curricula that can improve students' English reading ability. It especially emphasizes how to integrate these reading strategies in an EFL environment, so EFL learners can absorb real reading methods and enhance their reading abilities for practical use.
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
50

Cheng, Leung Wai-lin Winnie. "Intercultural communication between native and non-native speakers of English /." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 2002. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B24873287.

Full text
APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles
We offer discounts on all premium plans for authors whose works are included in thematic literature selections. Contact us to get a unique promo code!

To the bibliography