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Self-regulation and executive functions of bilingual and multilingual children
PAŠKOVÁ, Klára
This diploma thesis examines the relationship between bilingualism or multilingualism of children of elementary school age and their executive functions and self-regulatory abilities. The aim of this thesis was to map the language development of the children involved in the context of their language choice in problem situations in which the executive part of the brain is activated. The theoretical framework is mainly based on findings on bilingualism, neuropsychology and studies dealing with the effect of multilingualism on cognitive abilities. Specifically, it focuses on the definition of bilingualism and its classification, the typology of bilingual families and upbringing, as well as the description of individual executive functions and their training possibilities. The empirical part of the thesis uses a qualitative analysis of selected aspects observed in children during the performance of two selected tests involving executive functions (the Trail Making Test and the Tower of Hanoi). It also uses information about the children's language environment and development from their parents through a questionnaire. In addition, it draws on observations of children in the school environment and interviews directly with the participating children. The results suggest that children use their dominant language to complete more challenging cognitive tasks, which provides them with comfort for thought operations and expression. Targeted executive function training for these children, because of the very principle of executive functioning, should be conducted in the language in which they feel stronger and more confident.
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Predisposition to language learning in adolescents from multilingual families
Holkupová, Lucie ; Klinka, Tomáš (advisor) ; Suková Vychopňová, Kateřina (referee)
Language learning predisposition in adolescents from multilingual families' is a paper investigating bilingualism and multilingualism in adolescents who come from multilingual families. The aim of the paper was to comment on the effects on specific aspects of teaching based on the researched approach to language proficiency of bilingual learners. The main research focuses on the question of whether or not it is always true that these adolescents automatically have a talent for foreign languages. There are many stereotypes about bilingualism and bilingual or multilingual education in Czech society and in this paper the author confirms some of them and refutes some of them. The first part of this thesis is more theoretically oriented and explains various concepts related to bilingualism (such as code-switching, bilingual family, types of bilingualism, plurilingualism, second language acquisition, interference, positive transfer, sociolinguistics, etc.). In the second part of this thesis, the author will show in a differentiated perspective the variety of impacts of bilingual learners' backgrounds on language learning. The research has confirmed that the rule about bilingual and multilingual pupils does not always apply as they may be gifted in languages and may have a different focus (humanities,...
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Growing up bilingual
BOŠKOVÁ, Kateřina
The diploma thesis focuses on children growing up in the environment of two languages formed by distinct conditions. The thesis is divided into a theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part includes divergent notions on the phenomenon, characteristics as well as a typology of bilingualism. This part also covers pros and cons of upbringing a bilingual child based on enriching surveys and studies. Theoretical knowledge is implemented into the practical part, where a book analysis is the main focus. Based on the analysis, multiple suggestions, as well as pieces of advice, are going to be explored and proposed to target groups. The aim of the diploma thesis is to inform about the bilingual environment, that may play an essential role in a child development. The thesis appeals to beginning bilingual parents, teachers, carers or practitioners.
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Multilingual Compensatory Strategies of Czech Native Speakers in English
Pokorná, Vítězslava ; Matuchová, Klára (advisor) ; Dvořák, Bohuslav (referee)
The proposed thesis treats the topic of multilingual language acquisition and the occurring language interference. It aims to demonstrate the negative language transfer by the means of the results of a field research. The theoretical part introduces and discusses relevant topics, such as language learning, language processing, bilingualism and multilingualism. Furthermore, it focuses on the character of language transfer itself. In the practical part, two hypotheses are presented, specifically "the interference of the dominant foreign language is considerably higher than the interference of the other language, i.e. L3" and "passive interference reaches a higher degree than the active one". Eventually, the results interpretation is presented and both the hypotheses are verified.
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Musical Activities In The International Pre-Schools in Prague
Gajdová, Magdalena ; Kmentová, Milena (advisor) ; Jiřičková, Jiřina (referee)
This work analyses music activities of English-speaking children of pre-school age, attending international schools in Prague, following the British Curricula. The goal of this work is to develop and to validate teaching materials of musical activities, supporting children with different native languages from the language of the teaching material, those in transition period, and those with communication barriers, and to offer concrete implementation strategies for teachers of music in both Czech and international schools. The theoretical part compares Czech and British music curricula for pre-school children. It defines terms such as transition period and describes its course in Czech and international environments. Furthermore, it addresses the role of music during this stage of development and explains the concepts of project-based learning and music integration project. As theoretical underpinning for the practical portion, the work offers detailed discussion of musical factors, syllabic structure both in English and Czech language, and the variations in interpretation of musical fairy tales. The practical part describes the goals, methods, and procedures of the action research focused on the implementation of the musical fairy tale in Czech and English, as well as reflection and evaluation of...
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Multilingualism in children of preschool and primary school age
Šaumanová, Kristina ; Klinka, Tomáš (advisor) ; Nováková, Sylva (referee)
This thesis focuses on bilingualism and multilingualism in children of preschool and primary school age and is intended as a source of information on multilingual education of young children. This thesis comprises of theoretical research into the technical aspects of bilingualism and multilingualism, based on academic literature, the approach to multilingual education and the linguistic aspects connected to multilingual education. The practical part contains the reflections of families who have personal experience with multilingual education.
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Bilingualism on Social Networks: The Use of Czech, English and other languages among Czech users of Facebook
Pilzová, Zuzana ; Švelch, Jaroslav (advisor) ; Jirák, Jan (referee)
The main goal of this thesis is to find and describe the evidence of bilingual communication of English language among Czech users of the social network Facebook. A qualitative method of both text document and semi-structured interviews with six active users was used to describe the type of bilingualism which occurs in the social media environment, in what situations and what is the user's motivation behind it. Therefore the main theoretical approaches I focus on are bilingualism and its place in the Czech Republic and the role of the English language in this socio-culture context. Furthermore I study the communication in an online environment: what are the specifications and what role does the CMC (computer-mediated-communication) play in relationship of the language and the user. Finally, I search for previous studies in the field of online bilingualism, social media preferably. The results show not only the Czech users are well situated within the discourse of English as (online) lingua franca, moreover they seem to be very active in self-imposed code-switching into the English language. The data acquired through the interviews helped to identify bilingualism occurs on both levels of code-switching and code-mixing. Additionally, Anglicism's in the Czech language were reported widely.
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Multilingual Compensatory Strategies of Czech Native Speakers in English
Pokorná, Vítězslava ; Matuchová, Klára (advisor) ; Dvořák, Bohuslav (referee)
The proposed thesis treats the topic of multilingual language acquisition and the occurring language interference. It aims to demonstrate the negative language transfer by the means of the results of a field research. The theoretical part introduces and discusses relevant topics, such as language learning, language processing, bilingualism and multilingualism. Furthermore, it focuses on the character of language transfer itself. In the practical part, two hypotheses are presented, specifically "the interference of the dominant foreign language is considerably higher than the interference of the other language, i.e. L3" and "passive interference reaches a higher degree than the active one". Eventually, the results interpretation is presented and both the hypotheses are verified.
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