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Abstract: For early foreign language learning, it is typical that it is carried out in a dynamic, varied and child-friendly way. This means that there is a wide variety of media used in these lessons, which enrich the learning process and make learning more efficient and, most importantly, more interesting for the students. One of the many media is also didactic games, which is being used more and more in practice. Due to the actuality of the topic of didactic games, the purpose of this Master’s thesis is to analyze didactic games in selected coursebooks for English in the fourth grade of primary school. In the theoretical part the terms “(child’s) play”, “game” and “didactic game” are defined, based on the technical literature. The importance of child’s play for the development of children and the significance of games in the educational process are presented. Numerous types of didactic games are listed and presented, along with their use in the classroom. Furthermore, the term “coursebook” is defined and the importance of its role in the educational process illustrated. At the end of the theoretical section, the requirements for coursebook design are presented and the characteristics of a quality coursebook listed. In the empirical section of the thesis, the analysis that was carried out based on the selected coursebooks is presented. The research shows that there is a small share of didactic games in the selected coursebooks and that language games and communicative games prevail. The majority of games are intended for practicing vocabulary, speaking and listening. The research also reveals that didactic games encourage all forms of work (individual work as well as pair work and group work).
Keywords: child’s play and games, didactic games, early ELT classroom, coursebooks, coursebook design, analysis of didactic games
Published in DKUM: 15.06.2017; Views: 1813; Downloads: 186
Full text (2,04 MB)

Abstract: The diploma thesis addresses the use of music in teaching English and discusses many aspects of music and language learning. The theoretical part introduces music as an important factor in people's lives and presents reasons for its decisive role in acquiring a foreign language. It also provides a comparison between language and music and their effect on human brains. The attention is paid to songs which are presented as an effective pedagogical tool indispensible especially in young learners’ classroom. The aim of the empirical part is to give insight into the use of songs in current English classrooms by examining six English coursebooks which are used with fourth and fifth graders. The study clarifies the function of songs and analyses their presentation based on chosen criteria which define a good language learning song. My research also focused on pupils and their experience of songs in chosen coursebook. The sample included 124 pupils. The aim was to find out which songs are pupils' favourite and which criteria are the most important to them when choosing a favourite song. The findings of the research have been set in the conclusion.
Keywords: foreign language teaching, early language teaching, English coursebooks, Primary School, music, song, human brains, motivation
Published in DKUM: 09.05.2013; Views: 4256; Downloads: 405
Full text (1,11 MB)