Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemFilm as cultural resource for tertiary learners of English in Vietnam( 2009)The goal of English learning in Vietnam today is linguistic proficiency and competence in intercultural communication. Despite the consequent need for access to native-speaker cultural meanings for developing Vietnamese tertiary students of English to this standard, to date the existing instructional conditions have not accommodated this need. The problem lies largely in the use of decontextualised language learning, traditional methodology and, inappropriate textbooks. This study was designed to begin resolving this problem by examining the potential of a target language feature film, "Million Dollar Baby". The aims were to ascertain the affordances of the film for providing access to the designated learners to native-speaker meanings of language, how these might be realised, and at what cost. A theoretical framework of language and culture drawing from the work of Hymes, Halliday, and Bourdieu was established as the basis on which principles and strategies for examining and teaching the fi lm were developed. Firstly, three cultural themes were identified that were significant in the film and of likely continuing value to learners. Secondly, discourse analyses of key scenes manifesting each theme were made using published resources and the opinions of native speaker informants. Thirdly, a set of lessons were trialled with representative volunteer learners in Vietnam, in which the film was shown and the language and cultural aspects of one key scene for each theme taught through an integrated process of informed discussion, embodied experience and personal reflection. The classroom experience was videoed and also documented in teacher and student journals, supported by interviews. Analysis reveals that film can offer a diverse set of language and culture resources for teaching classroom-bound students to access the cultural base of the meanings of language in use. It suggests that a scaffolded process of both guided cognitive exploration and physical experimentation modeled on an actual scene is necessary if students are to perceive and recognise native-speaker meanings as intended. The demands on both teacher and student were not inconsiderable, but were highly rewarding and the results suggest careful exploitation of a suitable film may be a rich seam to follow for developing learners' intercultural competence far from any real social interaction in the target language.
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ItemCreating useful knowledge: a case study of policy development in e-learning at Chulalongkorn University Language Institute( 2004)This study develops and analyses a process related to online policy development in E-learning at Chulalongkorn University Language Institute. The study involved three identifiable phases. Firstly, phase one involved the preparation of a synthesis paper. It was designed to develop an evidence-based policy. This paper was developed from interviews of online experts as well as from a synthesis of related literature. In addition, change strategies and English language teaching approaches were explored. From the aforementioned, a list of benchmarks of best practice was compiled. Phase two involved the development of a policy. paper. It was designed to tailor a policy to meet the needs of Chulalongkorn University Language Institute, the organization and the staff that were responsible for implementing it. The benchmark findings from phase one were used as the basis for developing guidelines for the policy paper. The policy paper was also. designed to assist in gaining the commitment of administrators towards implementing the policy. In order to gain this commitment, Chulalongkorn University Language Institute , administrators were interviewed to find how they would implement the phase one benchmarks. Phase three involved the linkage of policy and implementation. It addressed the implementation of the policy in the teaching and learning managed by Chulalongkorn University Language Institute teaching staff. Chulalongkorn University Language Institute ajarns who had been involved in developing online courses were interviewed. One experienced ajarn was selected for an in-depth interview to probe the extent to which the benchmarks had been applied in existing Chulalongkorn University Language Institute online courses. The thesis describes and analyses an-innovatory process, a way to initiate and implement � policy in an organization. This,innovatory process provides a `rational' way of initiating policy in an organization. As a means of providing advice to those interested in effective policy development, the thesis provides a critical reflection on the process.