Browsing by Subject "awareness"

The current study is an exploration of native Finnish-speaking Bachelor’s and Master’s degree students’ attitudes toward English as a lingua franca (henceforth ELF). The author of this thesis, like many ELF scholars, harbors serious concerns about the issues of language attitudes and prestige vis-à-vis ELF. The aims of this study are to shed some light on the current situation of language attitudes toward ELF among Finnish degree students, raise awareness of ELF and its implications, and make a contribution to ELF research. A total of 116 native Finnish-speaking Bachelor’s and Master’s degree students at Finnish universities participated in an online survey. The survey was designed to investigate attitudes toward ELF with Likert-scale questions and the Verbal-guise Technique. In addition to the quantitative measurements, qualitative data on the participants’ understandings of ELF and their open-answer comments on the ELF speakers in the selected audio samples were collected in the survey. The findings of this study show that Finnish degree students indicated a good awareness of ELF in general. Overall, the participants had neutral preconceptions of ELF speakers. Furthermore, their attitudes after listening to the ELF speakers in the selected audio samples showed that nativeness is not the superior key to successful ELF communications. In addition, accentedness did not hamper intelligibility. Thus, success in meaning-making and mutual intelligibility should be of higher importance than sounding like a native speaker. Familiarity with the ELF speakers’ accents had a positive influence on the participants’ attitudes toward the ELF speakers themselves. To avoid the opposite scenario, it is important for educators to accommodate students with authentic learning materials that help increase exposure to English speakers with different first languages. This study provides empirical evidence showing that there is some success in raising awareness of ELF in Finland, yet there remains some room for improvement. Importantly, there should be a rethinking of English learning goals and teaching approaches. As increasingly more people participate in ELF interactions, more emphasis should be placed on how to build mutual intelligibility, how to utilize communication strategies to succeed in meaning-making, and how to empower English speakers regardless of their first languages.

Objectives. The aim of the research was to expand the awareness of the leadership and quality of small children pedagogy. The research provides information on how the heads form the awareness of small children pedagogy, early childhood researches and development, as well as on how they lead structures and activities of early childhood education. The aim of the research was to stimulate discussion and reflection on the point of view of small children pedagogical leadership. This particular leadership area has received little attention in the society. Methods. The research was conducted using qualitative methods. The target group consisted of 14 heads of day care units at the same administrative region in the City of Helsinki. The heads received an electronic questionnaire in March 2016. They described positive points of view and views with needs to develop what they saw in the small children´s group environment. The heads described views to build awareness and to develop skills and thoughts about needs and ways to develop small children pedagogy. Material derived from the research were analysed using qualitative methods. Results and conclusions. The results of the research reveal how the heads form awareness of the leadership of small children pedagogy, how they sustain their skills and what are their thoughts on developing the small children pedagogy. In conclusion, the research reveals how important the adults are in terms of the sensitivity represent and the sensitivity to observe and modify the emotional, social and physical situations in operation when needed. High quality pedagogy requires functional structures to face in professional co-operating. Kindergarten teachers are in a significant position to develop and sustain pedagogy in operation. The results can be adapted to develop the leadership of early childhood education. National basics of early childhood education plan were adopted in October 2016. The new local early childhood education plans will be introduced the 1st of August 2017. The effects of the change in small children pedagogy were not yet to be estimated as the research was carried out.