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Different techniques for foreign language learning change and develop over time and mobile assisted learning has been growing in popularity over the past few years. Even though the techniques used in the applications are not new, the gamification aspect of them can motivate students to learn languages and have positive results in overall language knowledge. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to use the language learning application Memrise as an assisting tool for language learning and find out the perceptions of the students using the application and whether they could benefit from it. The study was conducted in a large basic school near Tallinn, Estonia among students from 6th and 9th grade., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5461669*est

Nowadays, the acquisition of digital competence is highly promoted in schools. It has become even more important during the COVID-19 pandemic, where face-to-face lessons could no longer be provided, and other technological alternatives had to be introduced and incorporated into the lessons. To raise the digital competence and digital literacy of teachers and help them find new web-based environments that would achieve their educational goals set, it is important to raise educators’ awareness about different webbased learning environments available. One solution would be to provide research on the strengths and weaknesses and learners’ perceptions of different online platforms. One type of web-based environments are automated writing evaluation (AWE) systems. One of the newly developed but scarcely researched AWE tools is Write & Improve developed by the Cambridge English. The aim of this study is to analyze Write & Improve as a supplementary resource for practicing writing with sixteen 11th grade students and what the strengths and weaknesses of the current AWE tool are. The results of this study are useful for teachers who want to integrate Write & Improve into their lessons to practice writing., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5461740*est

It is agreed that we have to teach language and its culture together. The aim of the current MA thesis is to create learning materials for teaching culture in FL lessons. The materials introduce practical situations from everyday life and are meant for Year Eight and Nine students. The created learning materials should prepare learners to communicate in intercultural communicative situations. Additionally to developing students’ cultural and language competences, the materials promote reflectional and ICT skills. The collection is designed as a WebQuest taking into consideration the Task-Based approach. Moreover, the materials are digitalised and suitable for both: contact lessons and distance learning., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5461966*est

While the inclusion of literature in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching has been debated quite fiercely in the past, it has become a steady fixture by now. Extensive research has been conducted into the benefits and problems of using literary texts for the purposes of EFL teaching and how these texts can be employed. However, the topic has not been studied very much in Estonia, which has prompted the writing of the thesis at hand. The goal of the thesis is to investigate to what extent, how and for what purpose teachers of EFL in Estonia teaching in the II and III stages of basic school and the upper secondary school stage use literary texts in the EFL classroom., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5461320*est

The aim of this study is to research the effects of learner-generated revision videos with revision questions on vocabulary acquisition and speaking fluency in the 9th grade EFL oral communication class. Many students are reluctant to speak in foreign language lessons even when they may participate in activities focusing on other skills, so it is important to find effective techniques to reduce the learners’ speaking anxiety while advancing their vocabulary and fluency skills. Furthermore, while many studies examine the creation of audio-visual materials by adult learners, little is known about the way this technique affects teenagers. The author of the thesis, therefore, aims to find out whether learner-generated revision videos with revision questions positively affect the 9th graders’ perceived vocabulary and fluency skills, and whether they find this technique useful., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5461583*est

Lifelong learning is considered to be of great importance in the whole world, including Estonia. Goals set in education in Estonia prioritise learning other languages as well as increasing the number of adults in lifelong learning generally. Although the number of adult learners in Estonia is increasing every year, more adults could be engaged in non-formal education. Thus, it is of high priority to enhance the quality of courses tailored to adults. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate, which factors support or hinder adult learners enrolled at a non-formal education centre learning English. There are two research questions: 1. What factors support learning English as reported by adult learners in non-formal education? and 2. What factors hinder learning English as reported by adult learners in non-formal education?, https://www.ester.ee/record=b5461580*est

Listening is a receptive skill and spoken language, with background sounds, visual information, previous understandings and the specific situation altogether form listening. Because of all those factors, listening is not a passive process where the listener just registers the aural message, but an active process where numerous aspects all play an important role. (Schmitt 2010) It is this author’s firm belief that listening skill in learning English is extremely important and that the subject has not had enough recognition as it should. Thus, the purpose of this MA thesis is to delve into listening in language learning by outlining the importance of it in foreign language comprehension and examining listening sub-skills., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5461450*est

As phrasal verbs are one of the most difficult topics of English grammar and many errors are made while using these verbs, one has to pay attention to the problem and the results of this thesis. This study endeavors to investigate the main causes of the avoidance or incorrect use of phrasal verbs among the Estonian learners of English studying at the University of Tartu. The first part includes the theoretical background of the use of phrasal verbs and defines the important terms for the thesis., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5414443*est

The present thesis aims to analyze the creation of activities and materials for an American Studies CLIL course. The issue of culture lessons being rather passive and not engaging for high school learners urged the author to create a whole new course and design activities for active culture learning., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5462642*est

The purpose of the current study is to analyze the English coursebook I Love English 4 and recommend exercises, which are more oriented towards teaching the English article system to the students of Grade 6., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5461439*est

Creativity is one of the 21st century skills that students should acquire to succeed after graduation. Fanfiction has the potential to combine developing creativity, critical thinking, language skills and extensive reading. The aim of the study is to compare the vocabulary, text difficulty and narrative complexity of two fanfiction tasks written by secondary school students to identify whether this task indeed helps develop both language skills and creativity., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5461465*est

The lack of engagement is a problem for many students in school and a number of potential ways to solve this issue have been proposed. One such solution is the implementation of gamification. Gamification is “the use of game design elements in non-game contexts” (Deterding et al. 2011: 2). Since games have been characterised as fun, gratifying, involving, and motivating (Prensky 2001: 106), including elements from games into non-game contexts should lead to increased engagement in students. The purpose of this thesis is to analyse whether a gamified activity has any positive effect on the engagement of younger, 6th grade students – a relatively underexplored age group. Additionally, this thesis aims to analyse how three game elements – points, time constraints, and cooperation – affect the engagement of these students. The scope of the study conducted in this thesis is small, but since the students participating in it are part of an underrepresented age group, this thesis still hopes to provide valuable data for further research., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5414717*est

The main aim of this MA thesis is to collect information about different problems that occur while students are developing their English-speaking skills and to investigate the effect of using games to teach English in upper-secondary education. The research questions are: what are the problems that students have when they are developing their English-speaking skill? What are the most beneficial aspects of using games in language classrooms according to the language learning group under study? What kind of games do they prefer?, https://www.ester.ee/record=b5427202*est

Critical thinking skills are important in the twenty-first century. Access to information is relatively easy nowadays, and therefore students need to be able to approach it critically in order to understand whether the information that they are receiving is either true or false. One way how to develop critical thinking skills in students is to use literary texts in English as a foreign language classes. The aim of this MA thesis is to find out whether literature can be used to develop critical thinking skills in upper secondary students. To do that the author created eight lesson plans based on Aldous Huxley’s dystopian novel Brave New World., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5426861*est

Students’ productivity is directly linked to their mental state or state of consciousness. With the positive psychology turn at the end of the 1990s and the present Estonian education strategy explicitly focusing on the subjective well-being of students, research into mental states or states of consciousness in education is timely. Flow, also known as “optimal experience”, is a state of consciousness in which one is both feeling and working at their best. With the aim of potentially increasing flow opportunities in the foreign language classroom, the current thesis presents an exploratory study into the flow potential of language learning activities., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5427182*est

The aim of the thesis is to create the aforementioned materials – drama activities to be used alongside the textbook and workbook of I Love English 5, specifically concentrating on teaching the passive voice and indirect (also called reported) speech. The materials are tested on 7th-graders at a local school in the city of Tartu, Estonia. At the end of the study period, interviews are conducted with the participants to get their feedback on the usefulness of the drama activities. Based on the positive results of using drama in EFL classes described in the literature of the area of study, the three hypotheses are that 1) the use of drama elements will help students perceive the concepts of the passive voice and indirect speech, 2) the use of drama elements will increase students´ confidence to communicate with peers during drama activities and that 3) the use of drama elements will motivate students to learn complicated forms of grammar (the passive voice and indirect speech)., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5427226*est

The advancement of technology is rapid and its use in education has become a norm. Yet it is crucial to be critical about using the technology when teaching and its effects on the students. This thesis aims to discover Estonian students’ perceptions regarding the use of information and communication technology (ICT) tools in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning and compare them to the literature dealing with the subject., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5428156*est

Foreign language anxiety (FLA) has been a subject of a growing body of research because FLA is an intense as well as frequent experience. The purpose of the study is to investigate whether and how can vlogging reduce students' foreign language anxiety and promote their self-confidence when performing oral tasks in the EFL classroom. The hypothesis was that after completing the program of vlogging and giving feedback on each other’s vlogs in EFL classes, anxious students would show a decrease in verbal anxiety, somatic symptoms and tendency to overthinking. According to the purpose of the study, qualitative research methods were used to carry out the research. Four upper secondary school students whose anxiety was rated high or very high according to the modified Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) questionnaire, participated in an optional subject course in English on vlogging and were later interviewed about their experience and the perceived outcome. The course took place in one of the Estonian upper secondary schools from September 3 to November 15, 2019, and the post-vlogging interview and questionnaire were carried out in December 2019 and January 2020. The students' responses were categorized and the results of the questionnaires and the interviews were analysed., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5427254*est

The aim of this study is to research the effects of teaching vocabulary through the flipped classroom technique in an English for Specific Purposes classroom among upper-secondary vocational students. Considering the lack of research regarding the flipped classroom technique in the vocational education sector, the author of the present paper aims to contribute to the field by examining the students’ perceptions of teaching vocabulary through the flipped classroom technique. Moreover, the strategies the students used to learn vocabulary for flipped lessons were examined alongside the possible advantages and challenges of the flipped model in a vocational setting., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5428321*est

The purpose of this MA thesis is to research motivation to learn English by the students who are already more advanced in the language than their classmates. In addition, factors that may have contributed to students becoming advanced are studied. Being a basic school English teacher, I have come into contact with many students who are more advanced in English than their classmates. For this reason I decided that for my MA thesis I would like to know what are the factors that have contributed to such results and what are the opportunities that the more advanced students have had for learning English compared to regular students. The research questions posed in the current thesis are as follows: How does students‟ social background influence their English skills? How do students‟ everyday habits influence their English skills? What are the motivators for regular and advanced students to learn English?, https://www.ester.ee/record=b5237221*est

A great deal of studies have been conducted on vocabulary learning; however, there are still relatively few effective vocabulary learning materials available for upper secondary school students. Research has shown that in the aspect of language learning, mobile apps are quite helpful for memorization and vocabulary learning due to the fact that language learning apps are equipped with vocabulary-learning flashcards and games. The aim of this study is to determine whether mobile app Memrise helps improve the memorization of vocabulary and how Memrise can be integrated into 10th grade students’ regular class learning routine., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5237242*est

This BA thesis investigates the effect of the linguistic interference phenomenon known as ‘false friends’ among Russian-speaking school students who study English as a foreign language. The thesis focuses on one particular type of false friends - partial false friends. The hypothesis of the thesis is: semantic (partial) false friends are the source of negative transfer (direct influence of the mother tongue on the target language) for Russian-speaking learners of English. The thesis consists of two main parts: the theoretical and the empirical part. The theoretical part gives an overview of the main concepts of the field and describes the error and a contrastive analysis used in the thesis., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5239051*est

Finding activities that would motivate students so that they want to study and, as a result, make them acquire information better has always been an important issue for teachers around the world. One possible solution could be using teaching methods that would match students’ personality types. The aim of this MA thesis, therefore, is to find out if students, in fact, like the activities they should presumably prefer based on their personality type, establishing, thus, a connection between students’ preferences for learning activities and their personality types. The study was conducted in a group of 8th grade students in Estonia and the DISC personality testing model was used., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5237249*est

Listening was considered a passive skill for a long time, but recently the approach to teaching listening has evolved and systematically developed. Nowadays listening is acknowledged as a macro skill in foreign language learning which provokes awareness of the target language (Renukadevi 2014). Thus, listening is a skill which needs to be taught consistently. Many scholars, for example Vandergrift (2004), Rost (2009), Masalimova (2016) and Gilakjani (2016) claim that listening comprehension is an interactive process and needs to be taught with the help of special strategies. They have brought out the advantages of using the strategies in foreign language classrooms to improve students listening comprehension., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5237871*est

During the recent years, an increasing number of students with learning difficulties (LD) has been considered as a global trend. When learning difficulties occur and are proved by the consultants of special education, further learning according to the Simplified National Curriculum for Basic Schools (SNCBS) may be suggested. In Estonia, in the academic year of 2018/2019 there were 1311 students in the second and third stage of basic education studying according to the SNCBS. Although Estonian educational system is offering students an opportunity to study according to the SNCBS, teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) is not supported by suitable study materials teachers can rely on. The aim of the present MA thesis is to discuss the principles used when teaching EFL to students with LD and to compile a study material for students with LD learning EFL according to the SNCBS. The main focus is on teaching reading. However, the created study material does not cover the entire course. The author of the present paper has just started compiling the material and on the basis of the experience the conclusions are drawn how the process of creating materials can be organized and what should be taken into account., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5237187*est

The aim of the current thesis is to find out what are the Estonian ninth grade students’ beliefs about learning English in and outside the classroom. This thesis is influenced by similar research conducted by Alastair Henry and Christina Cliffordson in Sweden in 2017. Their research shows that there are many factors that affect how actively students engage in learning in formal situations. English in the context of Estonia and Sweden are somewhat similar and students tend to spend a lot of their free time doing English-mediated activities outside classroom. This trend indicates that looking at students’ use of English outside the classroom is a potential research area also in the context of Estonia., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5237212*est

Many researchers, for example, Day and Bamford (1998), Prowse (2002), Maley (2008) and Grabe (2009) have brought out a number of key characteristics of extensive reading in language learning. Simply put, extensive reading is reading a lot of books that are easy to understand without a dictionary, so that the activity is enjoyable and fun. It is different from intensive reading which is reading a short and troublesome text slowly and deliberately. (Donaghy, 2016) The main purpose of the thesis is to answer the questions whether the amount of reading done has diminished recently and if it has, then how to motivate students to read more literature or any other interesting text during their free time. It also tries to find out the attitudes of students towards home-reading and, based on the results of the research carried out, to suggest procedures that could be used in home-reading lessons. In order to study students’ home reading activities and to enquire into their interest in reading books in general, the author of the present thesis carried out a questionnaire, in three schools in Tartu and one near the city (schools designated with the letters A, B, C and D). Schools A and B are schools with selective student in-take, which are compared to one regular school in Tartu (C) and one outside of the city (D). Making use of other research papers done in the same field and comparing the findings with the author’s own research, the author of the present thesis will suggest activities for an extensive reading programme. The thesis will consist of an introduction, three chapters (chapter I will contain the review of pertinent literature, chapter II will talk about study methodology, its data, analysis and the results, chapter III will contain the materials of home reading lessons that could be added to the extensive reading program) and a conclusion. The conclusion summarizes the results of the paper., https://www.ester.ee/record=b5156574*est

The topic for this research was influenced by the discussions in the field of education on the topics of 21st century learning skills and the concept of a changed learning approach. The aim of this paper is to use authentic texts found in English newspapers with the purpose to teach higher order thinking skills to students at upper-secondary school level as part of English as a second language classes. So as to answer the research question on how newspaper articles could be implemented to teach and assess the acquisition of higher order thinking skills, a set of exemplary tasks are compiled and conclusions are drawn from both the studentsʼ answers and lesson observations. The study is organised into three chapters. The first chapter gives an overview of the researches of thinking and higher order thinking processes. The second chapter of this thesis looks upon the advantages and disadvantages of using newspaper articles as authentic material in language classes. This chapter also focuses on the issues of choosing suitable material as well as on the production of different tasks that could be designed and used in an English class. The third chapter includes an empirical case study conducted among my students from forms 10 and 11 at Rocca al Mare School. An introductory questionnaire was conducted to map the understanding of critical thinking as the highest of the thinking skills, as well as the studentsʼ attitude to the texts found in course books., http://www.ester.ee/record=b5147720*est

Multikultuurse ühiskonna liikmeks olemine nõuab moraaliotsuste langetamise oskust. Läbi aegade on jäetud vastutus õpilastes selle oskuse arendamise ees koolidele, mistõttu seisavad koolid sageli silmitsi keeruliste küsimustega, mis puudutavad väärtusi ning nende õpetamise meetodeid. Seda probleemi on püütud lahendada mitmeti. Lääneriikides on olnud valdavateks väärtuste õpetamise mudeliteks Aristotelese filosoofial põhinev traditsiooniline iseloomukasvatus ning Kanti deontoloogilisel filosoofial baseeruv ratsionalistlik kõlbluskasvatus, mille järel kujunes välja neid kahte mudelit ühendav integreeriv eetiline kasvatus. Kui traditsioonilise iseloomukasvatuse mudeli puhul on olemas teatud väärtused ja tähelepanu pööratakse ka iseloomu kujundamisele ning ratsionalistliku kõlbluskasvatuse mudeli puhul peetakse oluliseks moraaliarutelusid, iseäranis just väärtuste selitamise meetodi abil, siis integreeriva eetilise kasvatusmeetodi puhul rakendatakse iseloomukasvatust, kuid arendatakse ka reflektiivsete moraaliarutelude oskust., http://www.ester.ee/record=b5142579*est

Antud töö eesmärgiks oli luua kolme tunni materjalid koos tunniplaanidega, mis oleksid autentsed ja tõstaksid õpilaste teadlikkust informaalsest keelest ja kõneregistritest. Lisaks keskendusid õppematerjalid kasulike strateegiate õpetamisele, nimelt kuidas õpilased saaksid edukamalt oma lõpueksami sooritada ja kasutada õpitud teadmisi edaspidises elus. Autor defineeris töös nii informaalse kui ka kõnekeele mõisted tuues välja nende iseloomulikud jooned koos näidetega Lisaks sai põhjendatud ka strateegiliste oskuste pädevuse ja verbaalse oskuse strateegiate olemus. Metodoloogia osas kirjeldati, kuidas valiti ja koostati materjalid. Valminud õppematerjale katsetas õpetaja-praktikant kahes kaheteistkümnendas klassis. Seejärel täitsid õpilased tagasisideküsimustiku, mis postitatud sama-aegselt kooli veebikeskkonda. Tagasisidest võib järeldada, et õpilastele üldiselt meeldisid praktikandi koostatud tunnid, materjalid, ja nad põhjendasid selle kasulikkust vastustega lahtistele küsimustele. Kuna tagasiside materjalide kohta oli hea, võib arvata, et hüpotees sai kinnitust., http://www.ester.ee/record=b5142535*est

Tehnoloogia arenedes ei saa mööda vaadata asjaolust, et ühel hetkel võib täielikult muutuda see, kuidas inimesed õpivad. Kuigi õpetajad on enamasti arvamusel, et tehnoloogia kasutamine klassis on kasulik, siis suhtutakse sellesse endiselt eelarvamustega ning see leiab rakendust küllaltki vähe. Võib-olla oleks kasulik keskenduda hoopis õpilastele? Selle töö eesmärk ongi luua digitaalsed õppevahendid – õpiobjektid, mis muudaks inglise keele grammatika õppimise tõhusamaks. Antud töö koosneb kahest suuremast peatükist. Esimeses peatükis antakse teoreetiline ülevaade arvutite kasutamisest keeleõppes, õpiobjektide definitsioonist, kuidas õpiobjekte luua ning miks neid üldse vaja peaks olema. Teises peatükis antakse ülevaade selle töö käigus tehtud empiirilisest uuringust. Esmaseks eesmärgiks oli luua kolm õpiobjekti, mis aitaks inglise keele grammatikat tõhusamalt õppida. Teine eesmärk oli neid õpiobjekte rakendada klassiruumis ning seejärel leida vastus hüpoteesile, et õpilased, kes kasutavad õpiobjekte, omandavad õpitava teema paremini, kui need, kes õpiobjekte ei kasuta. Kolmandaks eesmärgiks oli saada tagasisidet õpiobjektide kohta. Õpiobjekte rakendati ühes Eesti põhikoolis. Katses osalesid kaks rühma kuuendatest klassidest, mis valiti mugavusvalimi põhimõtete järgi. Antud töö autor oli ka katseperioodil antud rühmade inglise keele õpetajaks, http://www.ester.ee/record=b5142560*est

Töö eesmärk oli koostada õppematerjalid, mis on väärtuskasvatusliku suunitlusega ning aitavad õpilastel korrata ja kinnistada sõnavara, mida nad on õpikust „I Love English 6“ on õppinud. Koostatud töölehti on viis ning nad vastavad õpiku peatükkidele 2-6. Iga tööleht algab sissejuhatava harjutusega, mis on kas teemasse sissejuhatav või võimaldab üle korrata mingit teatud sõnavara. Sellele järgneb umbes 300-400-sõnaline tekst, mille tegelased seisavad silmitsi eetiliste probleemidega ning peavad tegema otsuseid lähtuvalt oma väärtustest. Harjutused, mis järgnevad on tekstimõistmisharjutused, diskussioonid, lünktekstid, rollimängud ja mõned üksikud grammatikaharjutused. Kõikidel harjutustel on vähemalt kaks funktsiooni: näiteks kasutada korratavat sõnavara ja anda sõbrale nõu või harjutada otse- ja kaudkõnet ning samal ajal mängida läbi dialoog, mille tegelased väljendavad sallivat suhtumist endast millegipoolest erinevate inimeste vastu (nt vaesed, teiste rahvuste esindajad, jms). Väärtuskasvatusliku suunitlused teemad, mida töölehtedes käsitleti olid järgmised: vaesus, vanemate lahutamine, erinevad rahvused, kiusamine, lapse-lapsevanema suhted, valetamine, lapsed religioossetest perekondadest, sallivus, õpiraskustega õpilased, erinevad intelligentsustüübid., http://www.ester.ee/record=b5142576*est

Eesti kuulub nende riikide hulka, kes rakendavad hariduses kaasamise põhimõtteid. See tähendab, et põhiharidus on võrdselt tagatud igale inimesele, hoolimata tema sotsiaalmajanduslikust taustast, rahvusest, soost, elukohast või hariduslikest erivajadustest. Lapsevanematel on õigus oma lapsele kool valida ning põhikool peab vastu võtma kõik õpilased, kelle jaoks see on elukohajärgne kool. Selle tulemusena on tavakoolis järjest rohkem neid õpilasi, kes veel üsna hiljuti said hariduse erikoolides. Nende hulka kuuluvad ka õpiraskustega õpilased, kes ei suuda saavutada põhikooli riikliku õppekava (PRÕK) õpiväljundeid ning kelle puhul tuleb kohaldada põhikooli lihtsustatud õpekava (LÕK). Inglise keele õpetamine LÕK õpilastele ei ole Eestis siiani saanud piisavalt riiklikku tähelepanu: puuduvad spetsiaalsed õppematerjalid; puudub selgus selles osas, kuidas oleks LÕK tunniplaani kõige õigem kohaldada; milliseid õppemeetodeid kasutada. Käesoleva magistritöö eesmärgiks on kirjeldada olukorda inglise keele õpetamisel LÕK õpilastele Eesti põhikoolides. Põhitähelepanu pööratakse järgmistele aspektidele: LÕK õppe korraldamine koolides (kas õpilasi õpetatakse tavaklassis või eraldi, missugune on tunnikoormus, kas kasutataks tugispetsialistide abi); õppe sisu (õppematerjalid, õppemeetodid, hindamine); kas inglise keele õpetamine LÕK õpilastele toimub kaasava hariduse tingimustes; mida õpetajad arvavad inglise keele õpetamise kohta LÕK õpilastele, kui enesekindlalt nad end tunnevad ning millised on nende vajadused. Selleks viidi läbi kvalitatiivne deskriptiivne uurimus, mille käigus intervjueeriti kaheksat Eesti üldhariduskooli õpetajat ajavahemikus märts-aprill 2018. Uurimuses kasutati poolstruktureeritud intervjuud ning tegemist oli mugavusvalimiga., http://www.ester.ee/record=b5142520*est

Selle magistritöö eesmärgiks on analüüsida eesti kultuuri elemente „I Love English” õpikuteseerias ning samuti ka kultuuridevahelise keeleoskuse arendamise võimalusi mainitud õpikute abil. Töö koosneb sissejuhatusest, kahest peatükist ja kokkuvõttest. Sissejuhatuses kirjeldatakse uurimistöö teema olulisust, autori isiklikku motivatsiooni ja lõputöö struktuuri. Esimeses peatükis analüüsitakse varasemaid uuringuid, mis puudutavad kultuuri õpetamist võõrkeeletundides. Lisaks määrataletakse ja klassifitseeritakse kultuurielemendid, antakse kultuuridevahelise suhtluse pädevuse definitsioon, analüüsitakse õppevahendite (sealhulgas ka Eestis ilmunud inglise keele õpikute) võimalusi kultuuri esitamiseks. Teine peatükk tutvustab „I Love English“ õpikuteseeria analüüsi ja esitab saadud tulemusi: identifitseeritakse ja klassifitseeritakse õppematerjalis esinevad olulisimad eesti kultuuri elemendid, sealhulgas kultuuriväärtused, analüüsitakse ülesandeid, millel on kultuuridevahelise pädevuse arendamise potentsiaali. Kokkuvõttes esitatakse uurimuse tulemusi kultuuriõpetuse laiemas kontekstis ning pakutakse võimalusi nende edasiseks kasutamiseks., http://www.ester.ee/record=b5142581*est

Antud töö eesmärk on uurida, kas LAK-õppe meetodit on võimalik rakendada noorte õppijatega, kes on võõrkeelt õppinud umbes aasta. Kuigi LAK-õppe meetodit on viimasel ajal palju uuritud ja selle hüvesid esitletud, siis Eesti koolides lõimitakse õppeaineid väga ebaühtlaselt. Tihti on probleemiks see, et puudu on asjakohastest LAK-õppe materjalidest, mida kasutada noorte õppijatega. Selleks, et lihtsutada LAK-õppe rakendamist noorte õppijaga, loodi inglise keele/loodusõpetuse Inimkeha LAK-õppe projekt koos sinna juurde kuuluvate tunnikavade ja ülesannetega., http://www.ester.ee/record=b5142586*est

Käesoev magistritöö analüüsib erinevusi inglise keele õpetajate ja õpilaste arusaamades kujundava hindamise kohta kahes Eesti väikelinna gümnaasiumis. Üha rohkem Eesti inglise keele õpetajaid kasutab oma töös regulaarselt kujundavat hindamist, et aidata õpilastel jõuda paremate tulemusteni ning toetada nende õppimist. Õpetajate ja õpilaste kujundavat hindamist puudutavate arusaamade erinevusi tuleks põhjalikumalt uurida, et õpetajad oleksid teadlikud nende poolt kasutatavate hindamismeetodite mõjust nende õpilastele, nende tulemustele ja õpimotivatsioonile. Antud magistritöö eesmärk oli analüüsida õpilaste ja õpetajate vaateid ja arusaamu kujundava hindamise kasutamise ja kasulikkuse kohta ning selgitada välja, kas nende vahel on erinevusi. Uurimuse käigus üritati leida vastus küsimusele kas gümnaasiumi inglise keele õpetajad ja nende õpilased tajuvad hindamist ja tagasisidet, mida nad annavad või saavad erinevalt ning millised need erinevused on., http://www.ester.ee/record=b5142506*est

Antud magistritöö eesmärk on Põltsamaa Ühisgümnaasiumi küberkaitse suuna pilastele erialase inglise keele ekursuse teoreetiline ja praktiline planeerimine; kursuse koostamine, läbiviimine ja tagasiside analüüs. Huvi antud teema vastu tekkis praktilisest vajadusest kuna Põltsamaa Ühisgümnaasium on esimene kool Eestis, kes pakub õpilastele küberkaitse suunal õppimist. Erialane suund koosneb akadeemilisest õppest, mis on seostatud praktiliste tegevustega ning kooli juhtkond otsustas pakkuda õpilastele erialase inglise keele kursust suunaõppe osana. Seetõttu on vaja leida, koostada ning kohandada teemakohased materjalid, kuna erialase inglise keele õpikud ning õppematerjalid puuduvad. Antud magistritöö koosneb neljast osast. Sissejuhatus selgitab teema valimise põhjuseid ning annab ülevaate erialase inglise keele tähendusest. Kuna kursus on planeeritud e-õppena, siis sissejuhatus selgitab selle tähendust ning eeliseid., http://www.ester.ee/record=b5142550*est

Käesoleva magistritöö eesmärgiks oli viia läbi Eesti Kaitseväe tegevväelaste inglise keele vajaduste analüüs, et koostada erialakeele õppekavad, mis vastaksid õppurite vajadustele ja soovidele. Tegemist on esmase uuringuga pikema vajaduste analüüsi projekti raames. Töö koosneb teoreetilisest osast, mis kirjeldab sõjalise inglise keele olemust ja eripära ning annab ülevaate koolitusvajaduse analüüsi meetoditest ning allikatest. Tuginedes teistele olulisematele militaarvaldkonna keelevajaduse analüüsi uuringutele (nt Aho 2003, Lett 2005, Park 2015) viidi käesolev uurimus läbi lähtuvalt ülesandepõhise keelevajaduse analüüsi teooriast (vt Long 2015)., http://www.ester.ee/record=b5142530*est

Käesolev magistritöö keskendub lõimitud aine- ja keeleõppe võimaluste kasutamise uurimisele, ajalootundide läbiviimiseks Viljandi Jakobsoni Koolis. Töö eesmärk on esiteks, uurida lõimitud aine- ja keeleõppe (LAK) metoodika põhimõtteid ning nende sobivust hariduse ja õppekava arengu suundadega ning teiseseks, selgitada välja põhikooli riiklikus õppekavas esitatud võimalikud teemavaldkonnad, mille põhjal koostada õppematerjalid 8. klassi ajalooteemade käsitlemiseks inglise keele ja ajaloo lõimitud tundides., http://www.ester.ee/record=b5142513*est

Although the research of English as a lingua franca (ELF) is a relatively recent development, it has nevertheless rapidly become an acknowledged field of study that also causes considerable debate among linguists and English language teaching professionals. Over the past decade or so, ELF scholars have compiled several spoken corpora to explore the features of ELF and have described them from the perspective of pronunciation (Jenkins 2000, Walker 2010), pragmatics (Kaur 2011, Seidlhofer 2011, Walkinshaw & Kirkpatrick 2014) and lexicogrammar (Seidlhofer 2004, Dewey 2007b, Breiteneder 2009, Önen 2014). Jenkins (2007) and Seidlhofer (2011) have both elaborated on the topic of attitudes towards ELF and identity regarding ELF. The sociolinguistic aspects of ELF have also been explored in the Estonian context (Soler-Carbonell 2014, 2015), but the lexicogrammatical aspects have not. To fill that gap, a mini-corpus of spoken ELF was compiled for this thesis to see whether any of the lexicogrammatical features identified by previous ELF research occur with Estonian ELF speakers as well. Another aim of the thesis was to discuss the possible pedagogical implications of these findings. The Introduction of the thesis presents a brief overview of previous research into ELF, its relation to pedagogy, the aims of the thesis and why the thesis is of relevance. The first chapter provides a more detailed account of the development and relevance of ELF research along with how spoken corpora have been and are compiled and used to describe ELF. In addition to that, the points of contact between ELF and English language teaching and the need for reconciliation between the two paradigms are discussed together with a short summary of the criticism that has been directed at the concept of ELF. The second chapter provides a description of the compilation process of the spoken ELF mini-corpus, the participants involved and the transcription and annotation of the interviews that were recorded to compile the corpus. The corpus is analysed from the perspective of innovations in the use of articles, prepositions and collocations with verbs of high semantic generality. Comparisons are drawn with similar studies by other scholars. The thesis ends with a discussion on the underlying motives for the innovations found in the corpus and their pedagogical implications. The limitations and possibilities for further research are also outlined together with a summary of the findings of the study in light of the theoretical framework presented in the thesis., http://www.ester.ee/record=b4678096*est

Extensive reading, or reading large quantities of interesting and easily understandable text, has been promoted for many decades by now (Day and Bamford 1998, Grabe 2009). Empirical findings consistently show positive benefit in various aspects of language (Nakanishi 2015, Jeon and Day 2016). Still, adopting this method in foreign language courses has not been as prevalent as many proponents would hope. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the evidence that supports extensive reading programmes and the specific qualities of these, and to use this knowledge in designing a better, more evidence-based reading programme, which would be compatible with the Estonian national curriculum for upper secondary schools and suit the students in advanced English groups at Põltsamaa Co-Educational Gymnasium. The introduction of this thesis gives an overview of the purposes and structure of the paper; in addition, it gives the definition of extensive reading as it is used in this thesis and its main characteristics, and a short overview of how the method emerged. It also describes the possible meeting points of extensive reading principles and the expectations for teaching English in Estonia. The first chapter provides a literature review on extensive reading, which focuses on the most widely studied benefits, possible limitations and practical characteristics, such as where and how much to read. The second chapter establishes reading goals in terms of the number of words to be read, and describes the methodology, results, limitations and implications of a study into existing reading materials at Põltsamaa Co-Educational Gymnasium. It also includes a set of tasks designed to supplement the extensive reading that the students would do. The conclusion summarises the findings., http://www.ester.ee/record=b4678168*est

The aim of this study was to explore whether adult EFL learners prefer to receive grammar explanations in class or via short videos watched as homework as the flipped classroom model suggests. Drawing upon the existing STEM studies the learners were assessed using short tests to determine the difference in knowledge of applying grammar rules of learners who received grammar instruction in class and those who received it via videos. It has often been many years since adult EFL learners last regularly learned something before beginning to study again, at a language school. They might not be aware of more innovative approaches to learning. With the rise of the popularity of the flipped classroom, the aim of the author was to introduce it and request feedback from the students in order to better prepare grammar explanations in the future. As many adult EFL learners have limited amount of time to take part in face-to-face instruction, being occupied with work, the author wishes to learn how adult EFL learners study outside of class, make learning materials more available to learners wherever they may be and make the valuable time spent in class more beneficial in terms of student progress. The thesis consists of two chapters. In the first chapter, background information on the use of the flipped classroom model and the use of it in language lessons is provided and the benefits and hardships of the implementation of the flipped classroom model as well as studies that have been carried out so far, are discussed. There has been limited research on the flipped classroom topic in Estonia, even less so in EFL lessons. In the second chapter, the use of the flipped classroom technique in teaching grammar to EFL students is discussed and illustrated with the methodology of the study. The materials and activities created for the study and the use of them are discussed, quantitative and qualitative data analysis is provided. The aim of this paper is to comment on the use of teaching grammar to adult EFL learners using the flipped classroom model and the learners’ perception of it. The review of the results of the study is followed by a discussion and conclusion., http://www.ester.ee/record=b4678186*est

This thesis explains and illustrates how motivational teaching materials based on songs and music may be used to enhance the classroom environment by making the most of pop songs.It consists of the theoretical and empirical parts. The theoretical part investigates various aspects of exploiting songs in the English language teaching and explores the ways of creating and maintaining student motivation by using songs. The empirical part focuses on the process of creating, teaching and analyzing song-based lessons. Firstly, it provides an analysis of how and to what extent the songs are exploited in two English course books: Key English 7 by Ene Airik and Ene Paks, and English in Mind 2 by Herbert Puchta and Jeff Stranks. Secondly, additional materials are created. Thirdly, lessons are given and data are collected. Lastly, ananalysis based on the student feedback of ten song-based English lessons is presented.The conclusion summarizes the main findings of the thesis., http://www.ester.ee/record=b4601914*est

http://www.ester.ee/record=b4452289*est