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Analytical assessment of grammar school pupil's ESL writings
Šiprová, Hedvika ; Dvořák, Bohuslav (advisor) ; Hofmannová, Marie (referee)
The theoretical part of this diploma thesis provides a broader academic context for the research presented in the theoretical part and is concerned with the specifics of the writing assessment. It proposes reasons why writing should be assessed, describes methods of assessment and scoring, and also examines writing tests. At the end of the theoretical part, the presumed controlling idea, called the washback effect, which significantly influenced the course of the research in the practical part of the thesis, is presented. The practical part is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on the types of scoring ESL grammar school teachers employ for assessing grammar school pupils. The aim was to discover how many of them use analytical and/or multiple-trait scoring. It was revealed that analytical scoring the most used means of assessment. Holistic scoring was next, followed by multiple-trait and lastly primary-trait scoring. Other scoring procedures are rarely employed. The second part is a case study of assessment criteria of selected teachers which compares these criteria against those used in Cambridge English: Preliminary examination and the Czech state secondary school-leaving exam. The author of the thesis tried to identify criteria or descriptors which appear across these systems and could,...
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Integrating Environmental Education Topics into the EFL Class to Improve Students' Communication Skills
Brzá, Tereza ; Vallin, Petra (advisor) ; Hofmannová, Marie (referee)
This bachelor thesis aims to explore ways in which environmental topics might be integrated into the ESL classroom to improve students' communication skills. The theoretical part is concerned with teaching methods that combine content and language instruction, introduce relevant topics and create an authentic environment for language learning. It further analyses the content and main objectives of Environmental Education as a cross-curricular subject and identifies communication skills as an essential element of soft skills. The thesis examines their possible development through engaging students in discussions about environmental issues. The practical part consists of planning individual lessons whose content derives from topics of Environmental Education and emphasis is placed on communication activities. The lessons were thereafter implemented in an Elementary School ZŠ Drtinova and reflected on using Korthagen's ALACT model. Based on the teaching experience, the practical part contains recommendations for similar lessons. The thesis suggests that English language teachers are in a unique position to promote environmental awareness and improve students' language skills simultaneously.
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Czech-English cross-language mediation in EFL teaching and learning
Bartáková, Stanislava ; Dvořák, Bohuslav (advisor) ; Hofmannová, Marie (referee)
The aim of this thesis is to introduce the concept of cross-language mediation, which is well established in some countries abroad but is not widely used in the Czech environment, from various points of view. The work tries to show that cross-language mediation is an engaging, effective and interesting activity preparing the learners for real-life mediating situations employing both mother tongue and English. The work is enriching for its battery of mediation activities designed for the Czech context, mediation assessment criteria and a survey among Czech and foreign teachers summarizing their attitude towards mediation and its role in EFL lessons. KEYWORDS: cross-language mediation, translation, mother tongue in EFL teaching
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Developing Reading Skills Based on Reading the Bridge Articles
Paclíková, Gabriela ; Dvořák, Bohuslav (advisor) ; Hofmannová, Marie (referee)
This thesis deals with the development of reading comprehension in English language which is considered essential in the study and professional life. Its aim is to design practical activities based on reading articles from the Bridge magazine, to develop reading skills in learners on level B1 of CEFR. Theoretical parts of discussion reflect the need of the teacher to perceive different texts and the importance of the press for developing reading abilities in his/her everyday life to be able to develop pupils' abilities. It gives information about reading comprehension of pupils in their mother tongue, including international context. In developing reading skills in English as a second language, skills are specified and difficulties named. The method for my practical part is the lexical approach that was developed by Michael Lewis and Jane & Dave Willis, based on teaching chunks. In order to develop reading competence, work with dictionary material is developed that should be understood as an integral part for developing autonomic skills, continued by reading with prosody and finally making operations with meaningful chunks. Activities such as reading aloud and making operations with meanings proved effective. Making notes turned ineffective. KEYWORDS reading in english, competence, magazine...
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Continuing Beginner Learners in Adult EFL Classes
Mihulková, Šárka ; Hofmannová, Marie (advisor) ; Dvořák, Bohuslav (referee)
This thesis deals with the issue of teaching continuing beginners in adult EFL classes. It focuses on the description of factors that may influence the learning stagnation among these learners, and it attempts to ascertain the extent to which these factors take effect. Consequently, the thesis aims to characterize Czech continuing beginners as an independent group of learners and to provide scientific evidence which could clarify the assumptions, underlying the continuing-beginner concept. Lastly, but importantly, the thesis also intends to instigate further research in the field. The subject was investigated from the perspective of available pedagogical, andragogcial and psychological literature. Accordingly, four major factors, which may be at the root of continuing-beginner phenomenon, were identified: a mismatch between learning and teaching styles, insufficient study motivation, hindrances to learning and learning disabilities. These four areas were further focused on in a questionnaire survey, using rating scales to determine the importance of the individual areas. The study worked with three hypotheses. Firstly, continuing beginners were expected to report difficulties in at least two of the established areas. Secondly, it was presupposed that the rate of learning disabilities would be somewhat...
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Application of the Computer Programme 'Languages without Barriers' in Teaching English to Dyslectic Children
Blahynková, Veronika ; Hofmannová, Marie (advisor) ; Červinková Poesová, Kristýna (referee)
This diploma thesis is focused on teaching English to dyslexic children, especially on the application of a special computer programme designed for dyslexic pupils, called Languages without Barriers. The aim of the theoretical part was to give a report on who dyslexic pupils are, what textbooks and other special materials that encourage dyslexic children are available in the Czech Republic and to outline the way dyslexic pupils should be approached in English lessons. The aim of the practical part was to look briefly into the current situation of teaching English to dyslexic children in the Czech Republic and find out whether Czech teachers have enough information on how to approach such pupils. The main aim of this part was to focus on the special computer programme Languages without Barriers. This diploma thesis aimed to find the optimal application of this programme. To accomplish this task a research was carried out. The programme was introduced to three lower secondary schools in Prague, where it was applied in several English lessons and later at home to help children prepare for their English lessons. The research was based on a combination of qualitative and quantitative analyses. The research shows that Languages without Barriers is a useful programme for dyslexic pupils as well as for...
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English language teaching in Waldorf schools
Kellerová, Alena ; Hofmannová, Marie (advisor) ; Uličná, Klára (referee)
This diploma thesis deals with the methodology of ELT in Waldorf lower secondary schools. The theoretical part focuses on the historical background and the philosophical premises of Waldorf pedagogy, as well as a general outline of this alternative educational approach. The subsequent chapters are dedicated to the anthroposophical concept of language and the Waldorf methodology of teaching both native and foreign languages. The goal of the practical part is to examine the distinctive features of ELT in this type of schools. The research study is based on the evaluation of the data obtained with the qualitative methods of lesson observation, namely in the 6th and the 8th forms, and interviews with the teachers. The thesis contains a survey of the Waldorf pupils' attitude towards English and the sources of their learning motivation.
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Classroom Instructions in Teaching English
Ševčíková, Linda ; Dvořák, Bohuslav (advisor) ; Hofmannová, Marie (referee)
The diploma thesis Classroom Instructions in Teaching English aims at presenting basic principles of giving instructions during English lessons and their practical use. The thesis is divided into a theoretical and a practical part. The latter is further separated into a list of textbook instructions and a list of instructions used in classes. The theoretical part describes an important relation of instructions and the classroom situation as well as the dependence on the immediate response from the students. The ensuing part deals with applying the theoretical principles in practice. The author gathered instructions used in the third edition of New Headway series textbooks and instructions used by teachers in English lessons at various types of schools (the age of the observed students ranged from 7 to 18 years old) not only to illustrate usage of the theoretical principles in practice but also to show the differences between textbook and classroom instructions and to present a sample of instructions that are used at several schools in the Czech Republic. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
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Mind Maps in English LanguageTeaching
Borovková, Petra ; Dvořák, Bohuslav (advisor) ; Hofmannová, Marie (referee)
The thesis discusses using mind maps in English language teaching. It explains what mind maps are and how to use them effectively. This thesis includes a theoretical as well as a practical part. The theoretical part offers two points of view of the problem - psychological and pedagogical. The psychological part deals with theoretical knowledge of memory and learning. In the pedagogical part, firstly learning styles in connection with mind maps are discussed; secondly some demonstrations of using mind maps in various English textbooks are presented. The practical part focuses mainly on new ideas. First chapter of the practical part shows various classroom or individual mind map activities that concentrate on different language skills. The second chapter is the most important section of the whole thesis as it introduces a new method for learning vocabulary via mind maps. Observations of four students using the method and reflections on it are offered in the following chapters. Finally, the results and conclusions of the observations as well as the advantages and disadvantages of mind maps in general are presented.
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Motivation of Adults in ELT
Antonínová, Radka ; Dvořák, Bohuslav (advisor) ; Hofmannová, Marie (referee)
Tato práce se zabývá neformální výukou anglického jazyka dospělých. Pojednává o motivačních prvcích v jazykovém vzdělávání a jak je na motivační strukturu ve výuce anglického jazyka nahlíženo učiteli a jejich studenty. Cílem práce bylo prozkoumat motivační citlivost učitelů v tzv. one-to-one jazykových firemních kurzech a jaké motivační strategie v těchto kurzech učitelé využívají. Teoretická část této práce se zabývá pozadím tématiky vzdělávání dospělých a praktická čast práce se skládá ze dvou částí - dotazníkového šetření a pozorování výuky.
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