Dissertations / Theses: 'Language and languages Study and teaching Australia'

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Debela, Nega Worku. "Minority language education with special reference to the cultural adaption of the Ethiopian community in South Australia /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 1995. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phd2858.pdf.

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Dooey, Patricia. "Issues of English language proficiency for international students." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2005. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/628.

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In the last 20 years or so, there has been a phenomenal increase in the number of international full-fee paying students applying to study in Australian universities, The revenue provided in this way has helped to address the problems faced by cash-starved universities facing recurring funding cuts over the same period. Furthermore, the presence of such students on any university campus provides immeasurable enrichment to the student body in terms of cultural diversity and research potential, and indeed it is very tempting in an ever,-increasing global market, to be as flexible as possible with prospective international students. However, the process of admission also demands careful consideration on the part of the various stakeholders involved. Although several factors need to be taken into account, the most obvious and certainly of primary importance would be the need to prove proficiency in the English language, Given that English is the dominant means of communication in the university, all students are required to draw from a complex web of linguistic resources to construct meaning and to complete the range of tasks required of them during their tertiary studies, This volume deals :with the overarching theme of issues of English language proficiency for overseas students studying in an Australian university. This focus can be viewed from many angles, and there are certainly many key facets involved, a selection of which is explored in the papers of the portfolio. These include the following broad areas: recruitment and admissions, language testing and technology, curriculum and inclusivity, English language support, academic conduct and finally the specific needs of international students, as viewed from their own perspective.

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Mrowa, Colette. "Communication, discourse, interaction in language classes. /." Title page, contents and summary only, 1997. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phm939.pdf.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Linguistics, 1997.
Amendments and errata are in pocket on front end paper together with covering letter. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 168-185).

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Mercieca, Paul. "Teacher attitudes to approaches to teacher education in adult TESOL." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 1997. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1732.

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This study looked closely at the attitudes of TESOL teachers to a range of approaches to teacher education, with particular emphasis on the role of classroom observation. The influence of pre- and in-service training and the school environment was probed through semi-structured interviews and confirmatory discussions. Participants for this qualitative study were practising TESOL teachers at the Centre for International English, Curtin University, Western Australia. The approach taken was to allow them, as far as possible, to identify issues in teacher education for themselves. At the same time, their words were used, where possible, to describe attitudes to these issues. Any categories which emerged during analysis were regarded as flexible and dynamic. The research shed useful light on the attitudes of teachers with implications for teacher educators in TESOL. It found that informants introspecting on teacher education were mainly concerned with classroom events, but also believed factors outside the classroom and teaching itself, such as personal experience, to be worthy of consideration. The range of contexts in which teacher development takes place is represented in this study as the 'Action- Reflection continuum', which covers six linked aspects. Teaching, the first aspect, is at the 'action' end of the continuum, which then moves through Observing, Being observed, Hearing and Talking about Teaching, Reading and Writing about Teaching, and finally to Personal Development, at the 'reflection' end. Within the individual aspects of teacher development a range of main factors were found to be influential. These were the degrees of experience, comfort, formality, reality, contact with others, and the appropriate balance between theory and practice. A number of clear and consistent views emerged. Teaching itself was clearly a major context for development and unobserved teaching was felt to be extremely valuable at both pre- and in-service. At the same time feedback was considered to be so crucial that some form of observation was essential and unavoidable. When teachers themselves are observed by senior staff, a range of situational factors influence the level of comfort experienced and development taking place. Clearly peer observations were felt to be valuable and less threatening in general. They were felt to be most useful at in-service level, but generally conducive to teacher development. Informants also felt that there were developmental opportunities outside the classroom, particularly of an informal nature, via workshops and other staff interactions, and via personal reflection. The findings of the study support the now strong conviction amongst many of those writing about teacher education that experiential and reflective approaches are preferable to purely behavioural. Previous findings that teachers wish to be actively involved in their own development, participating and interacting with colleagues within a framework of strong institutional support, are also vindicated. At the same time it is clear that more traditional supervisory and evaluative approaches to such matters as classroom observation are still felt to be essential.

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Batt, Deleece A. "The communicative orientation of virtual language teaching in upper primary and lower secondary telematics in Western Australia." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2003. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/36669/1/36669_Digitised%20Thesis.pdf.

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The aim of this study was to investigate the communicative orientation of classroom interaction in Japanese language lessons that are conducted in the virtual environment of synchronous (real-time) telematics. Specifically, the study examined Japanese telematics classrooms in upper primary and junior secondary schools in Western Australia. This study focused on whether the interaction in the classes studied, evident in the virtual learning mode of telematics was facilitative of second language (L2) acquisition. The form of telematics used in this study was synchronous communication between teacher and students using telephone and computer links, sometimes also referred to as "audiographics". Telematics may also include the use of other communication technologies, such as live interactive television (LIT) however this was not available to all sites in the current study so it was not investigated. The aim of this study is articulated through the research questions: 1. What is the nature of the communicative orientation in upper primary and junior secondary Japanese language classrooms in telematics mode? 2. ls the interaction observed in Japanese language telematics classrooms of the type that promotes L2 acquisition? The first question seeks to identify the relative emphasis placed on interaction and form-focused interaction in the telematics classroom context. The second question identifies whether the features of interaction that SLA researchers suggest promote L2 acquisition are evident in the telematics context. This study uses the term interaction to refer to the type of human-human communicative interaction occurring in L2 telematics classes via the computer/technology that is facilitated by a number of key communicative features of interaction drawn from the second language acquisition (SLA) research. Interactivity on the other hand is used to refer to the human-computer engagement which is technologically facilitated. Subjects in the study were three telematics teachers, with distributed classes across several student receival sites. The study examined descriptive process data collected from Japanese telematics classes in Western Australia via audio and video recordings. The study engaged in a descriptive inquiry using Classroom-Centred Research (CCR) methodology. CCR as a methodology provides evidence about the nature and influence of language instruction and classroom interaction have on L2 acquisition. This study used multi-methods of data collection via four stages: teacher questionnaire, classroom observations of interactions, teacher focus group discussion and follow-up interviews conducted later in the study to confirm the findings. The major analytical tool used was the current version of the Communicative Orientation of Language Teaching (COLT) Observation (1995). The use of this scheme stems from its ability to bring together all of the communicative variables to capture features deemed theoretically and empirically relevant to the L2 classroom. The COLT Observation Scheme also provides a framework for comparing features of discourse in classrooms with features of natural language acquisition considered to be facilitative of L2 acquisition. In this way the extent to which an instructional treatment may be characterised as communicatively orientated can be measured. Both Part A and Part B of the scheme were used. The features and categories in Part A are primarily derived from pedagogical issues identified in the literature on communicative language teaching (CL T). Features and categories in Part B reflect issues in first and second language acquisition. The only modification was an additional investigation of how form was used in the telematics lessons. Although recent studies have recommended improvements to telematics delivery, no other known study has specifically investigated whether the interaction evident in the delivery of Japanese via telematics is of the type that promotes successful L2 acquisition. Through the use of the COLT Observation Scheme, this study was able to capture and measure features of L2 classroom interaction in these telematics environments. The results indicate that there were a number of internal and external variables that influenced the nature of the communicative orientation of telematics classes in this study. In terms of the communicative features of interaction identified in the COLT Observation Scheme as predictors of successful L2 acquisition, a number of these were not strongly evident in the results, for example, use of the target language, interaction in group work, use of extended text, use of authentic resources and student-made materials, reaction to message and clarification request. Pedagogic factors impinging on the communicative orientation of the telematics environment included the highly teacher-centred nature of the telematics context. The use of the computer as a controlling device and the only visual connection also moved teachers further towards a more directive delivery style and greater dependence on using the L 1. Given the recent support for the incorporation of some focus on form into a communicative curriculum, the supplementary focus on form data revealed how the electronic nature of telematics delivery influenced how form was taught and the overuse in some cases of vocabulary games, drilling, substitution and repetition. There was also little evidence of students initiating discourse, negotiating activities or requesting clarification. Students engaged in mainly minimal rather than extended text thus limiting opportunities to experiment with the L2. The communicative orientation of L2 telematics classes in this study was also impacted upon by a number of external factors, such as noise, technical breakdowns and inadequate learning environments at receival sites. The impact of the absence of a two-way human visual connection led to teachers using a more directive style of teaching where "silences" were often filled with teacher talk. Teachers identified this limitation as also limiting opportunities for students to obtain comprehensible input. However, teachers developed useful compensation strategies to overcome some of these limitations such as, using colour on the computer screen and tone of voice to highlight salient features. They also introduced games that promoted interaction between sites. Whilst this study has revealed that some of the communicative features of interaction are evident, a greater number of these features need to become more prominent or more communicative. As well as targeting the technological orientation of the delivery method by adding a human visual connection, this would also involve the careful incorporation of the features that are characteristic of a more communicative approach to L2 acquisition. This study has contributed to the fields of SLA and virtual delivery in a number of ways. It has added to the existing literature base through interfacing the SLA literature with the telematics literature. It has also contributed to a new methodology by taking an existing methodology and methods and applying them to the virtual L2 telematics classroom, in particular, the use of the COLT Observation Scheme in a virtual context. A contribution this study has made to language teaching through telematics lies in a mapping framework that has evolved from the study that aims to bring the type of interaction that occurs in SLA, communicative interaction and telematics closer together. Further research needs to determine how interaction can be more effectively promoted m the telematics and virtual learning environments. It is anticipated that this study will encourage other researchers to further investigate the benefits of a more communicatively orientated intervention which will ultimately lead to positive L2 learning outcomes for all students in telematics environments and the broader virtual learning contexts.

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Chinen, Glenn Y. "Language process errors in year 9 mathematics problem solving : a multi-strategy language-based intervention." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2008. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/197.

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In the past two decades there has been a growing body of literature acknowledging and supporting the important role that language plays in the teaching and learning of mathematics. There have been numerous and significant research studies drawing special attention to the influence of language factors on mathematics learning. These studies have also indicated the inappropriateness of many remedial mathematics programs in which there is an over-emphasis on the revision of standard algorithms instead of a focus on language based activities (Markshoe, 2000). There appears to be a lack of research that gauges the effectiveness of intervention programs specifically focusing the literacies needed for mathematics.

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Evans, Simone Kirsten School of Modern Languages UNSW. "How can teachers best enable adult English language learners to interact verbally?" Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Modern Languages, 2004. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/20512.

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The study revolves around the delivery of an ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) program on conflict management in the workplace to a small group of adult learners studying in a private educational institution in Sydney, Australia. The program was of four days???? duration, and was delivered over a four-week period. It involved both in-class and out-of-class tasks, and required learners to analyse their own discourse practices, those of other learners, and those of the speech community in which they were living. The program had two principle objectives. Firstly, it asked whether learners are able to modify their discourse practices at will in order to achieve successful negotiation outcomes. Secondly, it explored the effect of deliberately altered discourse styles on perceptions of learners held by speech community members. The methodology employed to achieve these objectives was ethnographic in nature and involved the following processes: 1. Learners were video-taped negotiating with other learners before and after the program. 2. Learners undertook the program aimed at increasing their ability to negotiate in business environments using culturally appropriate spoken language in conjunction with compatible prosodic and paralinguistic features as well as conversation management strategies. Learners kept diaries of their experiences and self-evaluation, and were interviewed following the course. 3. A group of nine native speakers of English viewed the 'before' and 'after' video-tapes and completed a survey aimed at collecting and quantitatively measuring (change in) their perceptions of the learners. This change was statistically analysed using a repeated-measures t test. The effect proved statistically significant overall; t(80) = 1.990, p>.01, two-tailed. 4. The 'before' and 'after' negotiations were then analysed by the researcher using ethnomethodological Conversation Analysis, modified to include some aspects of facial expression. The implications of the findings for teaching 'Business English', 'Global English' and 'Speaking' more generally are then discussed.

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Ainsworth, Sharon G. "Perspectives on differentiation in practice : an interpretive study from teaching Japanese as a second language in Western Australian secondary schools." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2007. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/288.

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This focus of this interpretive study was aimed at presenting an active conception of differentiated curriculum from within the context of Western Australian (WA) second language teaching practice. Significantly, research into differentiation is a relatively new phenomenon in Australia and in particular, to WA second language teaching. Data was collected from seven Japanese language tcachers and their perspectivcs illustrated the realities of individual teaching in the construction and implementation of diffrerentiated curriculum. These teachers worked within an outcomes-based Curriculum Framework (Curriculum Council. 1998) mandate which defines curriculum for all WA schools and require responsive teaching to cater for the myriad range of learners apparent in classrooms. Differentiation authors suggest how teachers may differentiate classroom elements of ' content', 'process'. 'product' and 'learning environment' and design curriculum in response to student needs and address learner characteristics of 'readiness', 'interest', 'learning profile' and 'affect'. Teachers' interviews in this study highlighted how students enter Year 8 with a range of prior primary school second language learning experience that differs in terms of intensity, duration or type. Students in transition to secondary school may therefore be both beginners and continuers of the Japanese language and be in the same Year 8 class.

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Kazemi, Ali School of Modern Language Studies UNSW. "A systematic study of self-repairs in second language classroom presentations: with some reference to social variables and language proficiency." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Modern Language Studies, 2006. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/24298.

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Self-repairs have been the subject of investigation in a number of research areas, notably psycholinguistics and conversation analysis. This study has aimed at the examination of self-repairs in second language classroom presentations. Specifically, it has sought to gain insight into self-repairs in naturally occurring talk and to explicate the possible relationships between the variables of age, sex, and educational background and self-repair behaviour of L2 speakers as well as the possible link between self-repair and proficiency. Accomplishing these required a scrutiny of individual self-repairs and their classification. However, the classifications which have traditionally been used in the psycholinguistic approach suffer from a number of shortcomings, as they are usually based on the analysis of surface forms of self-repairs. Because of the subjectivity involved in this process, there has been considerable variation in terms of classes of self-repairs and also the decision as to where a given self-repair belongs. An in-depth analysis of self-repair data revealed that self-repairs do cluster into categories. This analysis also yielded a set of features which are relevant to the study of self-repairs. In addition to showing that the established categories are mutually exclusive, comparison of major categories of self-repairs according to these features, which characterise the trajectory of self-repairs, resulted in the explication of a number of regularities in the way L2 speakers carry out self-repairs. Having established a data-driven classification of repairs, an attempt was made to see whether learner variables of age, sex and educational background have any significant effect on self-repairs. It turned out that none of these variables have a significant effect on self-repairs. In addition, it became clear that while beginning, intermediate, and advanced L2 speakers have been shown to demonstrate significant proficiency-related differences, these differences fade away when they come from the same proficiency level.

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Paolino, Annamaria. "An interdisciplinary intervention : the potential of the Orff-Schulwerk approach as a pedagogical tool for the effective teaching of Italian to upper primary students in Western Australia." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2012. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/557.

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Since the second half of the twentieth century, Italian has been the second language spoken in Western Australia. In the primary school sector, there are over two hundred Italian teachers engaged with primary students. Many Italian teachers also use music/song as a pedagogical tool. The first part of the research examines the extent that music/song is used in primary Italian classes, as well as how and why they are used. The second part of the research centres on the use of the Orff-Schulwerk approach as an integrated music approach to teaching Italian. The research examines the success of a trialled intervention with a group of upper primary Italian language teachers, as well as exploring the support that is required to support Italian as a second language specific to upper primary contexts. The research findings conclude that the novelty of the Orff-Schulwerk approach is considered effective in the teaching and learning of Italian. However, the research also highlights a number of constraints, which need to be addressed if teachers are to provide students with a rich and engaging curriculum.

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Stone, Helen. "Specialist teachers and curriculum reform in a Western Australian primary school in 2002: a comparative study of specialist music, health and physical education, and languages-other-than-English teaching professionals." Thesis, Stone, Helen (2006) Specialist teachers and curriculum reform in a Western Australian primary school in 2002: a comparative study of specialist music, health and physical education, and languages-other-than-English teaching professionals. Masters by Research thesis, Murdoch University, 2006. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/350/.

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This thesis details research on the first phase of curriculum reform (1999-2004) in a government primary school in Western Australia. The purpose of the study was to examine what progress had been made with the implementation of the Curriculum Framework (1998). The research focussed on Music, Health and Physical Education, and Languages Other than English as specialist teachers working with the Curriculum Framework (1998). Teachers and school administrators, as frontline practitioners, considered their experiences and perceptions of daily practice and provided their perspectives on curriculum reform. The hypothesis formulated for the study was that with the introduction of the Curriculum Framework (1998) the delivery of these three subjects could be further improved. This study argues that successful curriculum performance of these three subjects traditionally considered 'specialist programs' may be more fully supported by becoming aware of the forces influencing Australian curriculum discourse and delivery. Subject knowledge endorsement in this study refers to the transfer of valued knowledge in Western Australian educational systems. It is proposed that if teaching professionals articulated the substance of their educational beliefs and experiences with regard to subject knowledge meaning, place and value, curriculum delivery in primary schools may progress more effectively. Positive learning experiences for all students can be provided through the encouragement of communication and collegiality together with relevant and accessible professional development. These measures can also be supported by mounting whole-school primary programs that engage with beliefs about Music, Health and Physical Education, and Languages Other Than English through collaborative networks and learning communities. Accordingly, curriculum delivery can come within reach of the seamless curriculum anticipated by reform (Curriculum Framework, 1998:6-7). In this qualitative interview study, the frontline participants included generalist teachers, specialist teachers and school administrators. These educational practitioners were asked to participate in an in-depth, semi-structured discussion that explored their perceptions of specialist teaching and knowledge while employed at Deep Sea Primary School in 2002. They teachers also commented on how these perceptions may be linked to their experiences of socially constructed and established notions of valued knowledge. The findings of this study indicated that the progressive implementation of these three subjects or specialist's areas were characterised by subtle historical, economic, political and social forces. This thesis suggests that, these largely obscured external forces together with individual yet, taken for granted perceptions of what is perceived as valuable knowledge work together to position curriculum rhetoric and curriculum enactment that reflect established perceptions of the knowledge hierarchy. Teachers and administrators at the school often operated within the structures and meanings of conventional teaching practice of subject knowledge as determined by dominant culture in Australia. The findings indicated that school culture in a time of reform re-traditionalised hierarchical patterns of subject knowledge organisation and evaluation. Accordingly, current subject knowledge endorsement in terms of specialist teaching often worked to the benefit of established power relationships typical of post-industrial market economy in Australia. The findings also indicated that issues pertaining to curriculum prioritisation were influenced by institutional, group and individual experiences of subject specialist knowledge. Poor perceptions of these three subjects could also be generated by experiencing inflexible and inadequate yet established funding and resource patterns in educational systems. Frontline teachers, their school-based roles and responsibilities attached to the teaching and learning of the three specialist areas were typified by rigid school organisation and job structures together with condensed teaching time and community backing. This thesis argues that progressive, outcomes education requires an articulate and supportive school culture, more funding and the genuine maintenance of quality Music, Health and Physical Education and Language Other Than English teachers. In addition, curriculum implementation would benefit from the promotion of constructivist-orientated student activities within specialist programs.

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Stone, Helen. "Specialist teachers and curriculum reform in a Western Australian primary school in 2002 : a comparative study of specialist music, health and physical education, and languages-other-than-English teaching professionals /." Stone, Helen (2006) Specialist teachers and curriculum reform in a Western Australian primary school in 2002: a comparative study of specialist music, health and physical education, and languages-other-than-English teaching professionals. Masters by Research thesis, Murdoch University, 2006. http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/350/.

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This thesis details research on the first phase of curriculum reform (1999-2004) in a government primary school in Western Australia. The purpose of the study was to examine what progress had been made with the implementation of the Curriculum Framework (1998). The research focussed on Music, Health and Physical Education, and Languages Other than English as specialist teachers working with the Curriculum Framework (1998). Teachers and school administrators, as frontline practitioners, considered their experiences and perceptions of daily practice and provided their perspectives on curriculum reform. The hypothesis formulated for the study was that with the introduction of the Curriculum Framework (1998) the delivery of these three subjects could be further improved. This study argues that successful curriculum performance of these three subjects traditionally considered 'specialist programs' may be more fully supported by becoming aware of the forces influencing Australian curriculum discourse and delivery. Subject knowledge endorsement in this study refers to the transfer of valued knowledge in Western Australian educational systems. It is proposed that if teaching professionals articulated the substance of their educational beliefs and experiences with regard to subject knowledge meaning, place and value, curriculum delivery in primary schools may progress more effectively. Positive learning experiences for all students can be provided through the encouragement of communication and collegiality together with relevant and accessible professional development. These measures can also be supported by mounting whole-school primary programs that engage with beliefs about Music, Health and Physical Education, and Languages Other Than English through collaborative networks and learning communities. Accordingly, curriculum delivery can come within reach of the seamless curriculum anticipated by reform (Curriculum Framework, 1998:6-7). In this qualitative interview study, the frontline participants included generalist teachers, specialist teachers and school administrators. These educational practitioners were asked to participate in an in-depth, semi-structured discussion that explored their perceptions of specialist teaching and knowledge while employed at Deep Sea Primary School in 2002. They teachers also commented on how these perceptions may be linked to their experiences of socially constructed and established notions of valued knowledge. The findings of this study indicated that the progressive implementation of these three subjects or specialist's areas were characterised by subtle historical, economic, political and social forces. This thesis suggests that, these largely obscured external forces together with individual yet, taken for granted perceptions of what is perceived as valuable knowledge work together to position curriculum rhetoric and curriculum enactment that reflect established perceptions of the knowledge hierarchy. Teachers and administrators at the school often operated within the structures and meanings of conventional teaching practice of subject knowledge as determined by dominant culture in Australia. The findings indicated that school culture in a time of reform re-traditionalised hierarchical patterns of subject knowledge organisation and evaluation. Accordingly, current subject knowledge endorsement in terms of specialist teaching often worked to the benefit of established power relationships typical of post-industrial market economy in Australia. The findings also indicated that issues pertaining to curriculum prioritisation were influenced by institutional, group and individual experiences of subject specialist knowledge. Poor perceptions of these three subjects could also be generated by experiencing inflexible and inadequate yet established funding and resource patterns in educational systems. Frontline teachers, their school-based roles and responsibilities attached to the teaching and learning of the three specialist areas were typified by rigid school organisation and job structures together with condensed teaching time and community backing. This thesis argues that progressive, outcomes education requires an articulate and supportive school culture, more funding and the genuine maintenance of quality Music, Health and Physical Education and Language Other Than English teachers. In addition, curriculum implementation would benefit from the promotion of constructivist-orientated student activities within specialist programs.

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Turner, Elisabeth. "Factors in the development of early childhood distance education curriculum materials for language and literacy in Western Australia." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2001. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1079.

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Many factors influence the changing nature of education: family structures, cultural diversity, rapid technological change, social conditions. In response to these changes the Curriculum Framework for Western Australian schools has been developed to establish the learning outcomes expected of all students from K-12. Students in isolated and distance education settings are supplied curriculum materials designed to meet their diverse educational needs. This study presents one snapshot of an ongoing research project in which new language and literacy curriculum materials for early childhood distance education learners were developed, trialled and further developed. Some factors that appear to be important in the development of early childhood distance education curriculum materials for language and literacy in Western Australia were identified through the use of grounded theory and explored through the development of draft and final curriculum materials for K-3 students in distance education. These factors include; state government mandated Curricufrm1 Framework and Outcomes and Standards Framework, federal government initiatives, the impact of information and communication technologies, the needs of home tutors, the diversity of students enrolled in distance education and factors related to early childhood language an literacy needs identified through the literature review. The implications highlight the need to continue to seek feedback from all stakeholders, especially home tutors and the need for frequent reviews and rewriting of curriculum materials, taking into account current literature, technologies and pedagogical change.

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Mirahayuni, Ni Ketut School of Modern Language Studies UNSW. "Investigating textual structure in native and non-native English research articles : strategy differences between English and Indonesian writers." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Modern Language Studies, 2002. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/19068.

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Research into English research articles (RAs) has largely been focused on articles produced by native English writers. This thesis aims to investigate the textual structure of research articles written by non-native English writers, which may contribute to their acceptance for international publication. A comparison is made between RAs written by native English speakers, Indonesian writers writing in English, and Indonesian writers writing in Indonesian, all in the field of Language and Language Teaching. It explores the relation of text's generic structure, context and linguistic realization. The thesis develops a framework for the generic structure analysis based on Swales' CARS model of moves. A complementary analysis using Systemic-Functional Linguistics' (SFL) approach to texture, namely, text's method of development and structure of information, is conducted to further reveal the textual strategies of the different groups. The findings indicate significant differences in both forms and functions of textual strategies between the native and non-native texts. The differences may partly be due to the influence of writing practices in the non-native writers' first language and partly to the writer's attempt to find an appropriate format in the absence of well-established research writing conventions in the first language. Consequently, non-native English texts may show textual features and organising strategies unfamiliar to both the native English and native Indonesian texts. Findings from the research highlight two issues. First, formal and functional differences of generic structure elements and their realizations between the native and non-native English texts may disadvantage the non-native writers, particularly with regards to employment of unfamiliar organizational strategies. Second, besides knowledge of formal generic structure, more importantly, non-native English writers need to acquire the knowledge of the nature of scientific writing in English in order to achieve full control of the writing process and thus produce successful writing. The implications for further research and the teaching of academic writing are discussed.

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Shand, Jennifer. "From essay to resumé : a study of writing genre and discursive positioning in senior school English." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2011. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/465.

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In 2004, the Western Australian government signalled its intention to increase the school leaving age from 15 to 17 by 2008 (Carpenter, 2004). During the period from 2004 to 2006, increasing numbers of young Western Australians completed twelve years of secondary school. For English faculties in Western Australian schools, this resulted in a notably diverse cohort of students undertaking compulsory English studies in their final two years of school. The central aim of this thesis was to examine what it means to be a writer in senior school English. In doing so, the thesis investigated the construction of student writing identities in an environment where increasing numbers of students progressed through senior school with the intention of pursuing pathways other than university. In this setting, students were offered a range of English subjects, each of which represented and promoted particular writing identities, and access to specific opportunities for learning about genre. The thesis explored the role of environmental and discursive features in shaping student writing identities through the selection, presentation and construction of genre. In this process, it examined the discursive framing of writers through the key features of writing in curricula, policy, seminal discourses of the English subject area, teacher interpretation of curricula and the texts students construct. A review of the literature, particularly the recent work of Kress (2005, 2006), Bourne (2003) and Kress, Jewitt, Bourne, Hardcastle, Jones, and Reid (2005) suggests that the factors shaping writing identity in the English subject area emanate from both the local contexts of the classroom and broader cultural and institutional contexts. In order to analyse and interpret the influence of broader social and cultural values and practices, a discourse analysis (Bernstein, 1990, 1996, 2000) has been applied to policy, curriculum and classroom practice. To do this specifically, Bernstein’s notion of pedagogic discourse has been used to explain how educational contexts were framed through regulative discourses that shape social order and outline how learning takes place. Additionally, using Bernstein’s framework, the thesis explored how opportunities for learning and access to particular forms of genre were framed at the level of policy and curriculum. Central to this investigation of identity has been an analysis of how the selection, presentation and construction of genre discursively positions students. It drew upon the theoretical framing of genres as culturally embedded templates, which influence the features of texts and the parameters of successfully constructed texts (Feez, 2002; Macken-Horarik, 2002, 2006a; Martin, 1985, 2002, 2009). The thesis examined the discourse roles (Smidt, 2002, 2009) offered to students and their own attempts to establish identities as they engaged with the genres they encountered. To examine the nexus between identity, genre and discourse, the thesis has utilised Bakhtin’s (1986) notion of the discourse community and its use in studies of genre (Hyland, 2010; Ivanic, 2006; Smidt, 2009). Aspects of systemic functional linguistics (Butt, Fahey, Feez, Spinks & Yallop, 2000; Halliday, 1978, 1994; Halliday & Hasan, 1985) have been employed to identify and interpret some of the linguistic resources presented to students and the ways students appropriated and transformed these. In doing so, the research drew upon investigations of the positioning of students writers in subject English through a number of discourses and practices (Bourne, 2003; Christie, 2002b, 2005a, Christie & Derewianka, 2008; Christie & Macken-Horarik, 2007; Kress et al., 2005). A case study methodology provided the primary research design. Elements of the ethnography were used as interpretative tools, and the thesis incorporated the social semiotic ethnography (van Leeuwen, 2005a, Vannini, 2007). Data from a range of sources were used including policy and curriculum documents, teacher and student interviews, classroom observations and text analysis.

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Rida, A. "Non English speaking background migrant Muslim women and migrant English language provision." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 1996. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/945.

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The purpose of this study is to define and delineate the factors which influence the decision by non-English speaking background migrant Muslim women to access or not access their eligibility for English language tuition, as set out by current policies governing the eligibility of migrants to participate in Adult Migrant Education programs. As such, the study is of particular interest to both key informants: teachers, community workers, coordinators, and to the target population themselves-Migrant Muslim women. It is also of benefit to those who are concerned with implementing language programs as it will provide them with an understanding of the issues facing Muslim women that may prevent them from accessing such classes. It is also of particular interest because it delves into and explores an• area where much speculation has taken place, but where little research of significance has been directed. The target population is defined as adult (over age 16) Muslim women from a non-English speaking background who are currently residing in the Perth metropolitan area. Two groups within this target population have been included in the study, the first being those women who have accessed migrant language tuition in a formal class setting (excluding those who have accessed the home tutor scheme). The second being those women who have not, with the objective of drawing a typology of the kind of Muslim women accessing classes-age, country of birth, family, socio-economic status, perceived need to learn English, level of education and aspirations and other relevant variables that were brought to light through the research process. Data was collected using both quantitative and qualitative research methods which involved the analysis of figures pertaining to the numbers of women from Muslim countries of birth who have accessed English language classes through the Adult Migrant Education Program in order to arrive at conclusions about the relative absence of Muslim women in these programs. Qualitative data was collected using a structured interview with twenty three women from the target population as well as interviews with three key informants. The purpose of the key informant interviews was to gain an understanding of the external factors accessibility, availability of information and practical considerations such as child care transport and provision of special arrangements that may affect the decision or the ability of Muslim women to attend classes.

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Hui, Leng. "A study of intercultural discourse between mainland Chinese speakers of English and Anglo-Australians." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2005. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/672.

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Intercultural communication between mainland Chinese speakers of English and Anglo-Australians is receiving ever-increasing attention in many fields. These fields include intercultural communication. English language teaching, education and business. This study approached the intercultural communication between mainland Chinese speakers of English and Anglo-Australians from a cognitive perspective by applying the theoretical framework of cultural linguistics. The intercultural discourse produced by mainland Chinese speakers of English in the context of them interacting with Anglo-Australians was analysed. The analysis was made by employing key concepts such as schemas, cultural schemas, discourse scenarios and discourse indexicals. A body of 39 audio-taped conversations between mainland Chinese speakers of English and Anglo-Australians which ran about 50 hours was collected according to the research tradition of the ethnography of communication. The data were transcribed and examined with the “emic” and “etic” insights provided by volunteer participants and informants. Fifty live excerpts of these conversations were analysed in line with cognitive anthropology and cultural linguistics.

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Grote, Ellen. "An ethnography of writing : the writing practices of female Australian indigenous adolescents at school." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2004. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1675.

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The lack of success in addressing the educational needs of Aboriginal English (AbE) speaking adolescents is evidenced by consistently lower outcomes in literacy than those of their non-Indigenous peers. Differences in literacy levels between Indigenous girls and boys suggest that gender is an influential factor in literacy achievement. This ethnographic study explores cultural and gender influences on the writing practices of a group of female Indigenous adolescents in the cross-cultural context of an urban Western Australian secondary school.

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Bunts-Anderson, Kimberly. "Relations between teachers' conceptions of in-class and out-of-class interactions and reported teaching practices teachers' belief study /." Phd thesis, Australia : Macquarie University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1959.14/82707.

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Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Division of Linguistics & Psychology, Department of Linguistics, 2006.
Bibliography: p. 372-438.
Introduction: the influence of second language teachers' conceptions and the role of interactions in language learning -- Literature review -- Theory and methodology -- Teachers' conceptions of in-class interactions -- Teachers' conceptions of out-of-class interactions -- Differences between EAP teachers' experiences and conceptual development: in-class and out-of-class interactions -- Two categorical frameworks for ICI and OCI context: similarities, differences and relations -- Discussion and conclusion.
Spoken interaction with others is one of the most powerful tools in learning and teaching a second language. This investigation is concerned with uncovering and categorising the ways a group of L2 teachers' describe their experiences and beliefs of two types of spoken interaction; those that occur in the classroom (ICI) and those that occur outside the classroom (OCI). Twenty-eight EAP teachers were interviewed using phenomenographic and ethnographic investigative approaches and asked to describe their experiences and how they thought about and used spoken interactions in the teaching and learning of a situated lesson. The conceptions that emerged as consistent (reported as experienced most frequently across the group and within individual transcripts) were identified and categorised into two sets of categories of description (COD) one for each type of interaction. Across the group of teachers, five stable ICI categories of conceptions were identified and four stable OCI categories of conceptions were identified. These categories describe the range of conceptions that emerged across the group as a whole and do not attempt to rate the understandings of individual teachers. -- The conceptions of interactions in both sets of categories followed a hierarchal pattern of development from less complete to more complete understandings of these interactions. These descriptions formed two frameworks that are supported by similar patterns describing less complete and more complete understandings of various concepts in sets of categories published in other education settings (Marton & Booth, 1997). Exploration into the teaching and learning approaches reported in the teachers' experiences of ICI and OCI indicated that the utilization of interactions was constrained by the ways these interactions were conceived. Relations between more developed conceptions of both phenomena emerged in situations where more developed conceptions were reported. In these situations both ICI and OCI were simultaneously present in the teachers' awareness and perceived as different aspects of the same teaching/ learning situations. Across the group the teachers reported less powerful ideas of how to utilize OCI than how to utilize ICI.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
xvii, 496 p. ill

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Yoo, Joanne. "A narrative landscape of a teacher's perception of the 'other' in a Korean Christian University : the courage to 'be' and to learn." University of Sydney, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/4132.

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Doctor of Education
The teaching and learning field has been renowned for being a rapidly changing and multifaceted environment. Moreover, being both intensely personal and public, the process of cultivating, discovering and relaying knowledge has also been influenced from a wide range of participating individuals to the broader groups in society. Such numerous possibilities for interaction have highlighted the difficulty of defining ‘good’ teaching and learning, especially considering the growing objectivism of modern day value systems. An increasing number of educators have thereby responded to this confusion by returning to more fundamental and holistic views of ‘knowing’ the ‘other.’ Such rising concerns for holistic teaching and learning practices represent many exciting possibilities for developments towards authenticity and autonomy, as teachers become responsible explorers of their profession. The current study is an autoethnography of my own teaching experiences at a small Korean Christian University. It captures my desires to develop greater sensitivity and empathy as a critical teacher practitioner, and further documents efforts to acquire aesthetic and creative skills as a writer. Ultimately, through my experiences as a teacher researcher, I have sought to develop a deeper picture of the knowing process as a rich and mutual dialogue between the 'knower' and the 'other.’ To do this, I have constructed eight stories based on my teaching experiences. The first describes the reflections accompanying my experiences of writing, whilst the next three involve narrative portrayals of certain striking colleagues and students. The following two stories convey the ‘faith’ and ‘acceptance’ experienced through the study, and the last two act as a form of reflective closure to the overall teaching and researching experience Since I believed that the symbolic and holistic nature of story writing could convey the depth, complexity and open-endedness of the knowing process, I have chosen narratives and reflective writing to capture and depict my experiences (Van Manen, 1997). Interviews and journals writing of my students and my colleagues have also been included to further explore these ideas. Accordingly, this current study seeks to portray a view of 'knowing' that enables teachers and students to become co-researchers, who can cultivate sensitivity, creativity and empathy towards the 'other.’

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Wajnryb, Ruth. "The pragmatics of feedback a study of mitigation in the supervisory discourse of TESOL teacher educators /." Phd thesis, Australia : Macquarie University, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/1959.14/23100.

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Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, School of Education, 1994.
Includes bibliography.
Introduction ; The research question and the professional context of the inquiry -- Literature review: substantive survey -- Literature review: methodological survey -- Research method -- The prgamatics of feedback -- An ethnographic portrait of supervision -- Perceptions of mitigation -- Conclusion.
This research project investigates the language of supervisory conferences. A grounded theory approach is taken to the analysis of data drawn from teacher educators in TESOL (Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages) in their feedback discussions with teachers following observed lessons.--Supervisory talk is investigated within a linguistic framework of politeness theory: while the supervisory role includes the obligation of criticism, the act of criticism is constrained by the face-to-face encounter of the supervisory conference. A central construct is the notion of fragility: the supervisory conference-an event which is equated with the talk that achieves it - is considered to be inherently fragile. The aim of the project is to investigate the language so as to uncover the source of the fragility.--Findings suggest that the perceived tension derives from a tug-of-war of essential elements: while the supervisory position affords discoursal power (the right to raise and pursue topics, take long turns, drive the discourse etc), the fa-threatening nature of the event obliges supervisors to resort to social/strategic skills to protect the teacher's face, as well as their own. The textualisation of this restraint takes the form of linguistic mitigation - devices rooted in syntax and semantics that allow supervisors to undercut the force of their own assertions. Mitigation is posited as the means by which supervisors resolve the clash-of-goals that is central to their role. However, mitigation is risky because it may interfere with message clarity.-- The product of the grounded study is a typology of utterance-level mitigation. The typology has three macro-categories (syntactic, semantic and indirectness) and fourteen sub-categories.-- The study was triangulated through an ethnographic investigation of supervisory concerns about feedback; and through an experiment designed to gauge teachers' perceptions of variously mitigated supervisory language. Findings from both studies corroborate the central tenet by contributing images of supervision that support the clash-of-goals thesis.--The projected applied outcome is in supervisor training where, it is suggested, strategic training delivered in a framework of politeness theory would reduce the unwitting dependence on mitigation and hence the risk of message distortion.--Suggestions for further research conclude the study.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
413 leaves

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Garner, Stuart K. "Exploring a technology-facilitated part-complete solution method for learning computer programming." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2005. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/668.

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Learning to program is now a requirement in many courses of study in such areas as computer science, information technology, information systems, multimedia. engineering, and science. However, research indicates that many students have great difficulties in learning to program and this results in high failure rates and high levels of withdrawal from academic courses. It is accepted that programming is an intrinsically difficult subject however the teaching and learning methods used in many programming courses have changed little over the years. The literature indicates the importance of reducing the cognitive load that students experience when learning programming and that one method that has potential to do this uses part-complete program solutions. This study sought to explore a technology supported part-complete solution method (TSPCSM) for the learning of computer programming. A teaching and learning framework for programming was developed and a technology supported “COde Restucturing Tool” CORT, was then designed around the learning framework and developed to support the part-complete solution method and provide a suitable learning environment. A quasi-experimental research design framework was utilised in the study which used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. A series of programming problems was developed for CORT and an experiment was undertaken with students who were studying introductory programming. Experimental and control groups were utilised in the experiment which took place over a 14 week semester at an Australian university The data were analysed and they provided rich information concerning three research questions relating to the part-complete solution method (PCSM) through CORT: how students engaged with CORT; how CORT supported the learning process; and how CORT impacted upon their learning outcomes. Results from the study indicated that the PCSM within CORT imposed a low cognitive load on students; provided high levels of cognitive support; strong scaffolding for learning; and students engaged well with the system and generally used a thoughtful and considered strategy to solving programming problems. No differences in learning achievement were found between the experimental and control groups, however other findings indicated that the students who used the PCSM within CORT required significantly less time and less help than the control group and the students who benefited most from the use of CORT appeared to have well developed mental models of program execution, More research is clearly needed to further explore the best ways to implement CORT so that learning advantages can be gained e solution method and provide a suitable learning environment. A quasi-experimental research design framework was utilised in the study which used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. A series of programming problems was developed for CORT and an experiment was undertaken with students who were studying introductory programming. Experimental and control groups were utilised in the experiment which took place over a 14 week semester at an Australian university The data were analysed and they provided rich information concerning three research questions relating to the part-complete solution method (PCSM) through CORT: how students engaged with CORT; how CORT supported the learning process; and how CORT impacted upon their learning outcomes. Results from the study indicated that the PCSM within CORT imposed a low cognitive load on students; provided high levels of cognitive support; strong scaffolding for learning; and students engaged well with the system and generally used a thoughtful and considered strategy to solving programming problems. No differences in learning achievement were found between the experimental and control groups, however other findings indicated that the students who used the PCSM within CORT required significantly less time and less help than the control group and the students who benefited most from the use of CORT appeared to have well developed mental models of program execution, More research is clearly needed to further explore the best ways to implement CORT so that learning advantages can be gained to solving programming problems. No differences in learning achievement were found between the experimental and control groups, however other findings indicated that the students who used the PCSM within CORT required significantly less time and less help than the control group

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Moore, Wendy M. "Clever talk : using literature to boost vocabulary through explicit teaching in early childhood." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2013. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/685.

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Vocabulary knowledge is an important predictor of literacy and broader academic outcomes. Children’s literature is a rich source of sophisticated vocabulary, and this study investigated the efficacy of boosting word learning by incorporating explicit instruction approaches into story-book read-aloud sessions. This design-based research study sought to compare two models: teaching a greater number of word meanings more briefly and teaching fewer words in greater depth. Six schools from low SES areas participated, with the main intervention program running for three 6 week blocks. Overall, both of the explicit approaches were more effective in improving word learning for Grade One students than a traditional, student-centred or constructivist approach. Teaching more words briefly (greater breadth) was just as effective overall as teaching fewer words in a robust manner (greater depth). Students made larger gains on more difficult words than on simpler words, although the pattern of word learning was affected by the students’ vocabulary knowledge at the outset. Students with the highest initial vocabulary scores made greater gains, and learnt more of the most difficult words, than students with lower initial scores. While the intervention resulted in large effect size gains on target vocabulary words as assessed by researcher-developed measures, there was no impact on standardised vocabulary measures (PPVT and EVT) when compared to a control group. Explicit instructional approaches have not been widely used in Western Australian classrooms, so the study used group interviews to investigate teachers’ responses to the programs. Mitigating and facilitative factors influencing the adoption of vocabulary instruction practices in schools were explored. Student engagement, ease of use, time efficiency and the provision of prepared materials were important factors in teacher responsiveness to the programs.

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Rutledge, Janine E. "The global market and its impact on an Australian university's pathway programs : policies, pragmatics and personal realities." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2009. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1877.

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The story of this study is of the influences of the global market narrative on higher education, the policy responses by one Australian university (Tyler University) and the impact on English language education, the Tyler Foundation Studies pathway program and the staff in that program. The literature points to patterns and commonalities across the sector (globally and nationally) in regard to the ways in which an almost unquestioning adoption of market principles is shaping higher education policy. Universities have become synonymous with economic growth and a nation'‟s ability to compete in the global knowledge economy. As English is the language of the global market so an English medium degree provides access to the knowledge economy. Students from developed and developing nations are increasing their participation in higher education and create a ready market of consumers. Competition for revenue and for students is influencing the ways in which universities operate. The marketability of an institution, in terms of its courses, research and staff are seen as integral to increase ranking and status in the sector. The research presented in this portfolio is a case study of the Tyler Foundation Studies Program in 2007. The approach taken draws on Ball‟s (1993) trajectory studies approach and involves an analysis of the „bigger picture‟ of global and national policy contexts, before focusing on the ways in which these influences impact on the university, the program itself, and the staff in the program. As such, it makes a contribution to an area of scholarship which is under-represented in the literature on English language education, in that it focuses on policies, pragmatics and personal realities, rather than the more conventional focus on pedagogy and curriculum. Data for the research comes from interviews with staff and policy documents. In particular, a series of interviews with staff from „top to bottom‟, from Pro-Vice- Chancellor to lecturer, to reveal the Tyler „storylines‟. The influences of market ideology and government funding shortfalls emerge as critical factors shaping Tyler‟s operations and organisational culture. Increasing the university‟s competitive position and targeted internationalisation initiatives to attract full fee paying international students are also significant. The influences that impact on the positioning of the Foundation Studies Program are part of the bigger picture of Tyler‟s strategic positioning within the university sector. Institutional reform and competition from the private sector emerge as factors that impact directly on its positioning. Interviewees describe the focus on the commercial applications of internationalisation; award pathways, streamlined articulation and a new policy position on English language with the goal of „global‟ language competency for all students. Taken together, these mean that a non-award university pathway like the Foundation Studies Program is first marginalised and later closed. For Foundation Studies staff the key positioning factors are those that stem from an organisational culture where conformity to corporate values and interests is crucial to strategic positioning and define what is required of an academic at Tyler. The lack of academic credibility and marginal status attributed to English language education, and the view that pathway programs are service functions to be run on a strictly commercial basis, contribute to the view that English language teaching staff should be employed under different work conditions. The context of university education is set to change with the implementation of the recommendations of the Bradley Review of Australian Higher Education (2008). In particular, universities may be forced to re-examine the ways they support students from non-traditional backgrounds, and induct them into the culture of the university: issues which parallel those faced by the Foundation Studies Program. As such, the conclusions reached and the questions raised in the research have relevance for the future. This issue is discussed in the final chapter.

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King, Oksana. "Study and teaching of German at universities in Ukraine and Australia." 2009. http://repository.unimelb.edu.au/10187/6721.

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The current thesis is a theoretical and empirical investigation of the foreign language classroom, conducted from a cross-national comparative perspective. The study is based on quantitative and qualitative data which were collected from students and teachers of German in selected universities of Ukraine and Australia. The following research questions were formulated: 1. What are the structure and objectives of the German language program at Ukrainian and Australian universities? 2. What are the peculiarities of the German language curriculum and teaching methodology in the universities of Ukraine and Australia? 3. What are students’ motives to study German in Ukraine and Australia? 4. What are students’ and teachers’ perceptions of the curriculum, content and teaching? 5. How do students themselves evaluate their present language skills, and those expected to be acquired by the end of the course? 6. What are the advantages and disadvantages in both education practices?
Each country’s distinctive social and pedagogical factors, such as language policy, attitudes towards languages and pedagogical tradition were taken into account.
The research was conducted at universities in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Lviv (Ukraine) and Melbourne (Australia). A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was adopted which included student and teacher questionnaires, interviews, classroom observations and study of departmental programs and policy documents. In general terms, it was revealed that: Substantial differences exist in areas such as curriculum, teaching methods and approaches, content and student motivation for studying German. Although education systems in Australia and Ukraine are different, learners in both countries have similar aims and expectations from their language course, and their perceptions of a good language course are also similar. Students in both countries expressed an urgent need for an increase in the communicative component and greater exposure to practical, up-to-date lexical and grammar material in order to be able to communicate effectively. In Australia there is a mismatch between the course objectives and content outlined in the program and what is really taught in the class In Ukraine, a shift has occurred towards more practice-oriented and integrated language learning/teaching; however there is a great need for the creation of better conditions for acquisition of communicative skills and up-to-date vocabulary.

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Liando, Nihta V. F. (Vera Frelly). "Foreign language learning in primary schools with special reference to Indonesia, Thailand and Australia." 1999. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09ARM/09arml693.pdf.

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Bibliography: leaves 211-227. This thesis addresses the implications of language policy for foreign language teaching practice. It specifically looks at the implementation of language policy on the practice of teaching English in Indonesian and Thai primary schools as well as on the practice of teaching Indonesian in Australian primary schools.

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Debela, Nega Worku. "Minority language education with special reference to the cultural adaption of the Ethiopian community in South Australia / by Nega Worku Debela." Thesis, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/2440/18659.

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Crozet, Chantal. "Language teachers & the teaching of culture : insights into the interface between theoretical discourses, context and practice based on an Australian case study." Phd thesis, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/148460.

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29

Guillot, Blandine. "Les repr{u00E9}sentations sociales de l'{u00E9}criture et le rapport {u00E1} l'{u00E9}criture en langue {u00E9}trang{u00E8}re : une approche didactique pour l'enseignement et l'apprentissage de l'{u00E9}crit en FLE en milieu universitaire australien = Social representations in students' writing and the relation to writing in a foreign language : a didactics-based approach to the teaching and learning of written French as a foreign language in an Australian tertiary institution." Phd thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/150714.

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This thesis examines the ideas of social representations and the "relation to writing" (Barre-De Miniac 2000) in a multilingual context. Firstly, the thesis examines these ideas, arising from the research field of didactics of teaching French as a first language, in the multilingual context of a French program at an Australian university. Secondly, it analyses the progress in writing ability made by students from the second to the fourth year of French studies, and compares the ways in which they describe the process of writing in their first language and in a foreign language. The objective is to understand the process of writing in its psychological, social and cognitive dimensions. An analysis of the topic (Berthoud 1996) carried out on the discursive corpus of teachers (based on individual interviews) illustrates the limitations of the concept of "relation to writing" in a multilingual context, and makes it possible to identify an idea specific to this teaching situation: the "relation to the foreign language" being learned. An analysis of the topic carried out on the discursive corpus of learners (discussion groups) indicates that their written work in a foreign language originates with ideas, and that the "transposition to writing" in a foreign language can be recognised as a key point in the awareness of linguistic phenomena insofar as this as moment of writing engages knowledge of at least two languages. The situation of transition between languages, made more explicit through the process of writing, is akin to the "zone of proximal development" (ZPD) in Vygotsky's sociocultural theory in that the development of learning strategies and the internalisation of the language are apparent in this negotiation process. A comparison of the processes of writing in a foreign language and writing in a first language shows that the student's level of ability influences the attention given to different aspects of writing. The analysis of written data is divided into three parts. First, those elements in the guidelines for written assignments that reinforce literacy in the foreign language through writing are identified. Secondly, the students' written work enables exploration of another possibility in their "relation to writing". Adopting an analytical approach based on M. K. Halliday's systemic-functional linguistics to determine the writer's investment in his or her output, the data show that the investment varies depending on the stage the student has reached in their foreign language learning. Finally, an analysis of. the comments made by those reading or marking the work establishes a certain continuity of the topics between spoken and written discourse, and highlights the fact that these comments mainly confirm the importance of the "relation to language". The thesis contributes empirical oral and written data in a multilingual university context in which the "relation to writing" can be observed through a grasp of the continuity of the topic. It also constitutes a theoretical contribution to the teaching methodology of writing in a foreign language in that it highlights ideas including the "relation to language", the "relation to learning" and the "transposition to writing".

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van, Ommeren Marijke. "Language maintenance among the Dutch in Canberra." Master's thesis, 1987. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/133884.

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Seen as 'the best assimilated migrants', the Dutch were popular migrants in the fifties, when migration from the Netherlands to Australia reached its peak, but by 1984 they had slipped to 6th place in popularity, according to a mid-year opinion poll. Nowadays they form what is very much a greying group, since hardly any new Dutch migrants are settling in Australia. The figures in chapter 4 Table 1, show that in the ten years bet\AJeen 1975 and 1985 on ly 10,956 Dutch settlers arrived in Australia, and that in the same period 3,112 Dutch settlers left. While the Dutch formed the fourth largest group of non-English speakers in 1983, it may not be long before they cease to get separate mention as an ethnic group. It is thus important to look at Dutch speech in Australia now, while sufficient first generation Dutch speakers remain, especially since hardly any of their children have learned to speak Dutch.

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Hughes, Kirrilee Jane. "To what ends? : the struggle for Asia literacy in Australia." Phd thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/156355.

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'Asia literacy' is an Australian aspiration to 'know Asia'. This thesis is thus a study of place, of language and of identity in relation to both 'Asia' and 'Australia'. I employ a critical spatial perspective and argue for the importance of context in conceiving the rationale for, objectives of and agency within Asia literacy. Context is not simply a question of classrooms and resources, or of which Asian societies and languages to prioritise. Rather, context is created in languages and cultural studies education through the value assigned to those language and cultures, the people who embody them and the places from which they originate. In this thesis, I argue that context within Asia literacy transcends physical classrooms in Australian schools and universities to also encompass the broader Australian community; educational institutions outside Australia and in Asia; and speech communities of Asian languages located within and beyond Australia. My focus in this thesis is not on investigating why provision and proficiency targets for Asian languages and Asian studies education, which comprise Asia literacy, have not been achieved. Rather, I am driven by the shortcomings in how Asia literacy has been conceptualised. What exactly is Asia literacy, who does it target and to what ends? I focus on conceptualisations of Asia literacy in Australia during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, which are also reflected in recent discussions and debates. Through a close reading of official reports into Asia literacy from these periods, as well as interviews with report writers, I demonstrate that rationale, objectives and agency have been narrowly conceptualised within Asia literacy. Australian education systems and their students have been the focus of Asia literacy. This excludes students and teachers from Asian backgrounds and conceals 'latent Asia literacy' within the broader Australian community. The rationale for Asia literacy has been increasingly linked to economic advantage: for Australian individuals and for the Australian nation. This 'economic promise' overlooks the fundamental importance of place for languages and cultural studies education. Languages do not have intrinsic values; their value is connected to those who use them. Value cannot be 'constructed' in a language independent of its speech communities. This means that future attempts to increase Australia's linguistic and cultural knowledge of 'Asia' cannot solely focus on languages and cultural studies education delivered in schools and universities. 'Asia', 'Asians' and the broader Australian community have important roles to play within Asia literacy in Australia. In this thesis, I also present the Australia-Indonesia 'Building Relationships through Intercultural Dialogue and Growing Engagement' (BRIDGE) project as a 'circuit breaker' to conventional conceptualisations of Asia literacy. By digitally connecting Australian and Indonesian schools, teachers and students, BRIDGE creates a third place in between Australia and Indonesia, transforming the objects of Indonesian language and cultural studies in creative subjects. The diversity of approaches that can be accommodated within BRIDGE for 'Indonesia literacy' also present a new model for broader 'Asia literacy' in Australia.

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Mansouri, Fethi. "A discourse approach to the acquisition of Arabic subject-verb agreement by Australian learners." Master's thesis, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/143910.

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陳柔均. "A study of Chinese teaching as a foreign language at Radford College in Australia." Thesis, 2015. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/de7rgs.

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碩士
國立新竹教育大學
中國語文學系碩士班
104
Abstract Australia is a nation of immigrants. Immigrant families cover the country far and wide and these families often use multiple languages. In 2012, the Australian government released the“Australia in the Asian Century White Paper,”which described Asia as having the dominant role in international economics and politics. This portrayed the importance of Australia capitalizing on opportunities in Asia. Consequently, Asia-related research and study began to become more important in school curriculums. When the frequency of trade between China and Australia increased, so did the importance put on learning Chinese language in Australian schools. The Australian government has begun focusing on relevant courses that will help the next generation of Australian students grow into a more Asia-oriented world. An example of this more Asia-oriented study is present at Radford College. Radford College is both a primary and a secondary school. Chinese language courses are mandatory for primary students. For secondary students, Chinese language courses are an elective. In the primary school, students are exposed to Chinese language courses for up to fifty minutes a week. In order to improve students’ motivations towards learning Chinese and increase their interest, teachers try to use various teaching methods through multimedia, songs, games, and more. Teachers emphasize the diversity and necessary autonomy in Chinese language learning. Unfortunately, the teachers’ attempts to make the classroom more “interesting” impeded upon the students’ ability to improve their Chinese. Often, in the primary school, students did not develop Chinese language vocabularies that excelled compared to the ones they began the semester with. After a semester, the Chinese students in Radford College’s primary school could not complete a satisfactory sentence when speaking Chinese. Due to this teaching style in Radford College’s primary school, when entering secondary school the students were forced to adjust to self-learning. They also had a lack of knowledge about Chinese radicals by the secondary stage (which are commonly regarded as the building blocks of Chinese language and characters), which forced the secondary school teachers to spend much class time teaching students the basic components of Chinese. Parents have an optimistic attitude toward Chinese language courses when the students are in primary school, but wonder why their students cannot join the advanced curriculum when graduating to the secondary school. This situation reflects the fact that certain changes need to be done to Redford College’s Chinese curriculum in order to both satisfy the Australian government’s emphasis on proficient Asian studies students and to provide students with the best tools for their own self-improvement. Otherwise, the students’ Chinese capabilities will suffer, and the future generation of Australians will not have the necessary capabilities to handle an Asian-dominated international environment. In the primary school, students are only exposed to Chinese for fifty minutes each week. The Radford College primary school’s Chinese teacher attempts to expose the students to Chinese language contextualization, but the time allotted to Chinese learning and this method prove to be grossly inefficient. In the primary school, classroom time is not utilized competently, and the Chinese language students’ comprehensive development is stagnated. In the secondary school, students are able to choose Chinese language courses as an elective. There are three courses each week for a total of three hours per week dedicated to Chinese language learning. The students in the secondary school are highly motivated and have clear learning objectives, which leads to positive learning outcomes, student attitudes, and parental support. In this situation, the teacher clearly has a target when constructing and conveying the lesson. The learning environment in the secondary school is relatively rigorous—in Radford College’s primary school, the teacher values student participation alone. However, in the secondary setting, students were required to complete listening, speaking, reading and writing benchmarks. Thus, for the high school students, self-learning standards were set very high. Key words: teaching Chinese, second language, Australia, Chinese language education, Radford College

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Glew, Paul J., University of Western Sydney, and Centre for Educational Research. "Learning and teaching in ESL : perspectives on educating international students in Australia." 2008. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/41785.

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This Doctor of Education (EdD) portfolio addresses the learning by and teaching of English to full-fee-paying international students from language backgrounds other than English in a secondary school setting in Australia. It focuses on the two strands of English second language (ESL) learning and teaching in schools. The first of these is ESL for the general school curriculum in New South Wales (NSW). The second is English language intensive courses for overseas students (ELICOS). The EdD portfolio consists of two volumes. Volume 1 consists of five published journal papers, two refereed papers and one unrefereed paper published in national, state or local conference proceedings. These papers examine theory, pedagogy and teacher knowledge about English language education for high school aged international students. English language programs for overseas students are now a global market driven by commercial interests. I argue for an increased understanding of the needs of overseas students in the Australian education system, and that quality English language education and student welfare are both central to an effective ELICOS program for high school aged international students. Volume 2 comprises a resource for policy makers, principals and teachers entitled ‘Excellence in ELICOS: A Resource for quality preparation programs for high school aged international students in Australia’. Volume 2 is informed and underpinned by the scholarship, research, and theoretical work presented in Volume 1 but also draws on the author’s professional experience of implementing a holistic approach to international student welfare and English language education in a secondary school in NSW. Volume 2 presents a practical framework, approach and supporting resource that might assist in the establishing, implementing and sustaining of quality, intensive English language courses that are sensitive to the diverse educational and welfare needs of overseas students. Volume 2 was developed in response to the needs and demands of principals and teachers for proven, research driven curricula and policies that meet the needs of the growing population of international students enrolled in NSW secondary schools.
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

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Ogi, Naomi. "A study of teachers' awareness of teaching culture : in the case of Japanese beginner's class in Australia." Thesis, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/151616.

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Nakamura, Kikuko. "Problems encountered by non-native Japanese speakers in learning giving and receiving verbs in Japanese." Master's thesis, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/144409.

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May, Thorold (Thor). "Language tangle: predicting and facilitating outcomes in language education." Thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/804346.

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Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
This thesis argues that foreign and second language teaching productivity can only reach its proper potential when it is accorded priority, second only to language learner productivity, amongst the many competing productivities which are always asserted by stakeholders in educational institutions. A theoretical foundation for the research is established by examining the historical concept of productivity, and its more recent manifestation as knowledge worker productivity, especially as applied to teachers. The empirical basis of the thesis is sourced from a chronological series of twenty biographical case studies in language teaching venues in Australia, New Zealand, Oceania and East Asia. The biographical case study methodology, although rare in applied linguistics, is justified by reference to its wide and growing application in other fields of qualitative research. The case studies are analysed for common patterns of productivity, as well as teaching productivity inhibition or failure. It was affirmed across all of the case studies without exception that external parties could not control or even reliably predict what individual students might learn, and how well, from instances of instructed language teaching. This was regardless of the power of institutional players, external resources, curriculums or the teacher. Student belief in the immediate value of what was to be learned in a given lesson, and personal confidence in an ability to learn it were the most critical factors. Teaching productivity was found to turn, ultimately, on the teacher's ability to influence the probability of student learning. The teacher could best influence learning probability by enhancing student motivation. The most effective environments for teaching productivity were seen to be those where the teacher was professionally equipped and politically enabled to exercise judgements which maximized opportunities for student language learning productivity. A negotiated pact concerning both curriculum and method often proved effective, especially with mature students, and at times required some deception of institutional authorities. Empirically, the encouragement of reciprocal learning relationships between teacher and students was found to be powerfully enabling for language teaching productivity in the case studies. In many venues a small but effective minority of 'intimate learners' were also able to leverage their language learning productivity by forging more personal relationships with the teacher. The wider cultural paradigm within each of the countries represented in the case studies sanctioned different paths and limitations for both language learners and teachers, and hence was seen to influence teaching productivity in critical ways. It was found that under certain conditions, notably (but not exclusively) those prevailing in many East Asian educational institutions, that certification of foreign language skills had a higher cultural, employment and monetary value than the actual ability to exercise foreign language skills. A negative influence on teacher productivity in many of the case studies was an ignorance about language learning and teaching amongst institutional players. The disregard of language teacher professionalism was fed by a belief that being able to speak a language was all that was necessary to teach it, and reinforced by misinterpreting the meaning of test results. Related to this, an imbalance of power relationships between teachers or students with other institutional interests was consistently found to interfere with teaching and learning productivities. Overall, the model of productivity understood in institutions instanced by the case studies tended to reflect a 19th Century economic paradigm of capital, raw materials (students) and labour (dispensable classroom workers) rather than any more sophisticated grasp of knowledge worker productivity. It was demonstrated in the context of the case studies that productivity, and in particular knowledge worker productivity, is a complex concept whose facets require detailed analysis to arrive at a proper understanding of the role that foreign and second language teachers play in educational institutions.

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Kennett, Belinda. "A crossectional study of the Japanese of Australian high school students after one year in Japan." Master's thesis, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/133860.

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One of the perennial problems faced by language teachers is how to assess learners' language skills reliably to place them at suitable levels in courses. Learners who have lived In a community where the target language is spoken pose the greatest problem in terms of where they should be placed because while they frequently lack the accuracy In grammatical form of students who have studied the language formally, they have skills in pragmatic areas (communicative ability) which have traditionally played only a minor role in foreign language teaching.

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Lee, Daniel Cheungsing. "A study of Japanese loanword naturalisation by Australian learners of Japanese." Master's thesis, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/146228.

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Kawaguchi, Satomi. "Referential choice by native speakers and learners of Japanese." Master's thesis, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/144399.

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Krebs-Lazendic, Lidija, University of Western Sydney, College of Arts, and MARCS Auditory Laboratories. "Early vs. late Serbian-English bilinguals' responses to two Australian English vowel contrasts." 2008. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/36713.

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Adults learning a second language (L2) (“late learners”) have difficulty achieving a native speaker’s level of accuracy in both perception and production of L2 phonetic segments. This difficulty often results in deviant production of L2 segments that is perceived as accented speech by native speakers of that language. It is generally agreed that this failure in non native segmental production and perception is caused by previous linguistic experience with the first (L1) language. Late learners are expected to show stronger L1 effects than learners who learnt their L2 in early childhood (“early learners”). However, not all L2 phonetic segments are equally difficult for late learners. The learnability of L2 phonetic segments is thought to be perceptual in nature and depends on the perceived phonetic distance between them and the acoustically, phonetically and/or articulatorily most similar segment(s) in the learner’s L1 phonetic inventory. It is generally assumed that specific L2 segments will be perceptually related or assimilated to the most similar L1 segment(s) even if there is a detectable acoustic difference between them. The studies reported in this thesis examined Serbian-English bilinguals’ perception and production difficulties with two Australian English vowel contrasts that are not contrastive in Serbian: /e/ - /æ/ and /i:/ - //. We compared participants who began learning English before 5 years (“early”) versus those who began after 15 years (“late”). In Study 1and Study 2 early learners discriminated and produced both contrasts equally well, whereas late learners had greater difficulties perceiving and producing /e/ - /æ/. In Study 3 a priming paradigm was applied to discrimination and perceptual assimilation tasks in which the prime and target contain phonologically identical, phonetically similar or phonologically and phonetically unrelated vowels under two interstimulus intervals (ISI) that tap phonological versus phonetic levels of processing, according to prior research. Early versus late group differences suggest that discrimination and production accuracy reflect how listeners assimilate Australian English vowels to native Serbian vowels. “Early” and “late” learners related L2 vowels to L1 differently, which reflects differences in establishment of the L1 phonetic system at the time of L2 onset.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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Armstrong, Irawati Raharjo. "The acquisition of the syntax of negation and adjectives by adult Australian learners of Indonesian." Phd thesis, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/151282.

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McNamara, Timothy Francis. "Assessing the second language proficiency of health professionals." 1990. http://repository.unimelb.edu.au/10187/7110.

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This thesis reports on the development of an Australian Government English as a Second Language test for health professionals, the Occupational English Test (OET) , and its validation using Rasch Item Response Theory models.
The test contains sub-tests of the four macroskills, each based on workplace communication tasks. The thesis reports on the creation of test specifications, the trial ling of test materials and the analysis of data from full test sessions.
The main research issues dealt with are as follows:
1. The nature of the constructs involved in communicative language testing. The term proficiency is analysed, and its relationship to a number of models of communicative competence examined. The difficulty of incorporating into these models factors underlying test performance is identified.
2. The nature of performance tests. A distinction is introduced between strong and weak senses of the term performance test, and related to the discussion in 1 above.
3. The content validity of the OET. This is established on the basis of a questionnaire survey, interviews, examination of relevant literature, workplace observation and test data.
4. The role of classical and Rasch IRT analysis in establishing the qualities of the test. Classical and Rasch IRT analyses are used to establish the basic reliability of the OET sub-tests. The Writing sub-test is shown to be somewhat problematic for raters because of the nature of the writing task involved. Analysis of data from the Reading subtest demonstrates the superiority of the Rasch analysis in the creation of short tests with a specific screening function.
5. The role of Rasch IRT analysis in investigating the construct and content validity of the test and hence of communicatively-oriented tests in general. Rasch analysis reveals that the sub-tests are satisfactory operationalizations of the constructs 'ESL listening/ speaking/ reading/ writing ability in health professional contexts. For the Speaking and Writing sub-tests, the analysis reveals that responses of raters in categories associated with perceptions of grammatical accuracy have a more important role in the determination of the candidate's total score than was anticipated in the design of the test. This finding has implications for the validity of communicatively oriented tests in general, and illustrates the potential of IRT analysis for the investigation of the construct validity of tests.
6. The appropriateness of the use of Rasch IRT in the analysis of language tests. The nature of the debate about 'unidimensionality' in Rasch analysis is reviewed. It is argued that the issue has been substantialy misunderstood. Data from the two parts of the Listening sub-test are analysed, and statistical tests are used to confirm the unidimensionality of the data set. It is concluded that Rasch analysis is appropriate for a language test of this type.
7. The behaviour of raters in the rating of oral and written production in a second language. The findings reported in 5 above suggest that the behaviour of raters is crucial to understanding what is being measured in a communicative test of the productive language skills.
The research demonstrates the value of Rasch IRT analysis in the empirical validation of communicatively oriented language tests, and the potential of large-scale test development projects for theoretical work on language testing.

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Kato, Akiko. "An acoustic analysis of Japanese vowels produced by Australian learners of Japanese." Master's thesis, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/148693.

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Schmidt, Gabriele. "Re-examining the profile and motivation of German studies students in Australian universities." Phd thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/150548.

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The last comprehensive data on the profile and motivation of German Studies students in Australian universities was collected in the late 1980s and hence does not reflect changes to the Australian higher education sector introduced in the late 1990s. This lack of current data constrains German Studies programs in their options to prepare for the future. The main objective of this thesis is not only to fill the gap of recent data but at the same time to analyse the new data in the context of relevant theories of language learning motivation. The analysis establishes a theoretically informed and data-based platform for future course design which will assist German Studies programs in designing their courses. The thesis begins with a review and critique of former research on German Studies students in Australian universities as well as pertinent models of language learning motivation. It will be argued that previous studies related their findings to Gardner's dichotomy of integrative and instrumental motivation without testing whether their data matched Gardner's model. The thesis' centrepiece is the analysis and discussion of new data collected for this thesis. The data focuses on students' demographic backgrounds, their motivation to learn German, and on their expectations towards course content. Where possible, the new data is compared with data from former studies in order to investigate what changes have occurred over the last two decades. In this context, it will be shown that these changes are primarily a reflection of changes to higher education policies. The data-based analysis of student motivation will reveal that students' reasons for choosing German as part of their degree are more complex than Gardner's dichotomy of integrative and instrumental motivation.

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Bundgaard-Nielsen, Rikke L., University of Western Sydney, College of Arts, and MARCS Auditory Laboratories. "The role of L2 vocabulary expansion in the perception and production of Australian English vowels by adult native speakers of Japanese." 2009. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/42647.

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Research indicates that adult Second Language (L2) learners typically do not become native-like in their perception or production of their L2, likely as a result of interference from their native language (L1). Research also indicates that L2 perception and production nonetheless improves with increased experience with the L2. Until recently, however, theories of L2 acquisition (e.g., SLM: Flege, 1995; PAM: Best, 1994) have been vague in their account of the processes underlying this improvement. The recent PAM-L2 (Best and Tyler, 2007), however, opens up new ways to understand experiential change in L2 perception and production. Centrally, PAM-L2 suggests that a large L2 vocabulary curtails change in L2 perception and production because it forces the learner to settle on an accented version of the L2 phonology. The present thesis introduces the Vocabulary-Tuning Model of L2 Rephonologisation (Vocab Model). This model extends PAM-L2 by highlighting the facilitating effect of L2 vocabulary expansion, in early L2 immersion when the L2 vocabulary is still small, on the perception and production of an L2. It is further argued that the processes underpinning this improvement are analogous to those that underpin L1 acquisition in infants and toddlers. The thesis tests the Vocab Model in a series of studies (cross-sectional as well as longitudinal) of the perception and production of Australian English vowels by native speakers of Japanese, who have recently arrived in Australia for the purpose of acquiring English. The results show that L2 vocabulary size is indeed associated with L2 vowel perception and production and thus support the predictions of the Vocab Model. The thesis examines the usefulness of different criteria for L2-L1 vowel assimilation and discusses the findings in relation to results from L1-vowel perception research. The research design also pioneers a ‘whole system’ approach to cross-language vowel perception research that allows the learners to use all native vowels and all native vowel combinations (all three thesis studies), and to apply them to the full inventory of L2 vowels (Study 1). It is argued that results from such an approach more appropriately reflect the actual perceptual flexibility of the learners in a natural L2-immersion context than would a smaller subset of L1 and/or L2 vowels. This ‘whole system’ approach further suggests that L1 phonotactics is worthwhile to consider in future studies of L2 segmental perception and production.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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Watkins, Megan, University of Western Sydney, of Arts Education and Social Sciences College, and School of Humanities. "Discipline and learn : theorising the pedagogic body." 2003. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/23481.

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This thesis, grounded in an empirically-based study of pedagogic practice in primary school classrooms, examines the corporeality of learning and its role in the process of learning how to write. The central concern in the formation of scholarly habits in the primary years and the degree to which the embodiment of specific dispositions is fundamental in students acquiring the ability and desire to write. This thesis explores the enabling dimensions of embodiment and how these can be generated through the pedagogic practices of schooling. The body is not simply perceived as being shaped by the external, nor capacitated by its ability to retain affects, but rather as mindful, where these affects form the basis of consciousness with embodied understanding being integral to how we learn. This thesis asserts the inseparability of body and mind. Different conceptualisations of the body are examined, and assessed in terms of their usefulness in understanding the role of the body in learning and the need within education to posit an ontology that embraces both the body and the mind. A genealogy of the educative body is provided through an analysis of English syllabus documents within the New South Wales education system. An empirically-based study is conducted examining the pedagogies employed by six teachers and the ways in which disciplinary techniques they employ can contribute to their students’ acquisition of a scholarly habitus and their ability and desire to write.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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Erk, Miranda Richelle. "Prácticas internacionales en el extranjero y percepciones de la mejoría lingüística y competencia cultural: Una evaluación del programa “Auxiliares de Conversación”." Thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1805/3200.

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Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Este estudio analiza las percepciones de mejoría en el español y de conocimiento cultural de los participantes en un programa de ayudantes de inglés, Auxiliares de Conversación, mientras trabajaron en escuelas primarias y secundarias en varias regiones de España. Los participantes provenían de varios países anglófonos, entre ellos los Estados Unidos, el Reino Unido, Canadá, Nueva Zelanda, Australia. Varios participantes rellenaron encuestas a través de internet para evaluar su crecimiento lingüístico y cultural durante el programa, experiencia en los centros educativos y alojamiento. Además, plantearon varias sugerencias para el programa para futuros auxiliares y profesores. Seis auxiliares fueron entrevistados sobre los mismos temas en mayor profundidad.

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Maizonniaux, Christelle. "The contribution of children's literature to the teaching and learning of French language and culture : a case study of an Australian university." Phd thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/151151.

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The focus of this thesis is the use in a university course of reading/literature in French as a Foreign Language of iconotexts written originally for children. The primary objective of the research is to show that works of this nature, proposed ab initio for extensive reading, engage students in the reading and writing process. The research also aims to demonstrate the contribution that creative writing, and in particular writing tasks within set constraints, can make to the teaching and learning of French as a Foreign Language at university level. The research was undertaken during the first semester of 2009 at The Australian National University (ANU) (Canberra), and was based on a case study. The data collected comprise two sets of 26 pieces of writing produced by the students following the study of multimodal works-picture books or illustrated stories-and two questionnaires distributed at the beginning and end of the semester. It is important to note that the teaching environment of the ANU is a multilingual and multicultural one in that there are many international students enrolled in the French programme at this university. The framework for the analysis was developed in order to highlight the extent to which students became engaged both in the reading of the selected iconotexts and in the creative writing task itself. This framework, which was based on the three notions of creativity, "literarity" and "the subjective reader" (Rouxel and Langlade 2004), was adapted to the particularities of each of the two writing tasks. In the first of these it was broadened to include the distinction of the "degree of variation" used by Pintado (2006) and the system of classification according to type of rewrite proposed by Beckett (2002). The conclusion drawn from the analysis of both sets of writing is that all the students involved became engaged in the reading of the selected iconotexts and their investment in the two proposed writing tasks was evident. The analysis also highlights the different ways in which students may engage with writing and emphasises the sophistication, subtlety and richness of many of the pieces, as well as the way in which elements drawn from the iconotexts read in class are blended together with elements from the student reader/writer's own repertoire in the final written production. Furthermore, the results of the analyses and their comparison with the responses provided in the questionnaires completed by the students demonstrate the relevance of ambitious writing activities at a relatively low level of mastery of the target language and show that the use of iconotextual works written for children, that are both accessible and complex, is appropriate for the development of reading and writing skills at this level.

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Hassall, Tim. "Requests by Australian learners of Indonesian." Phd thesis, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/117338.

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This study is an investigation of how Australian learners perform requests in Bahasa Indonesia in everyday situations. Bahasa Indonesia (henceforth BI, or Indonesian), is the national language of Indonesia, and is spoken by the majority of Indonesians (cf. Nababan 1991). For most speakers it is learned as a second language, either formally at school, or informally through the community. However, there is an increasing trend for Indonesians to speak BI as a first language (cf. Nababan 1991). While speakers of BI vary in proficiency, Indonesians who have finished high school are fully proficient in the language, and for most speakers it is “the language of ordinary, everyday communication” (Worsley 1993: 7) . The main objectives of this study are as follows: to provide a detailed preliminary description of the requesting behaviour of Australian learners and native speakers of BI in everyday situations, to offer explanations for the similarities and differences between the behaviour of the two groups, and to determine what the behaviour of these learners tells us about how learners perform requests, and speech acts more widely, in a second language (L2).

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Language and languages Study and teaching Australia'

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