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Abstract: Exposure to mass media in today’s world is metaphorically starting to equal the process of breathing air; scrolling through social media has become a part of everyday routine, and students use their smartphones for lengthy durations and for a variety of chores that stem from responsibilities as well as from their hobbies. The aim of this master's thesis is to offer an insight into the possibility of integrating TikTok and English language education, as perceived by Slovene students in the third triennium of primary school. We employed a questionnaire to explore the opinions of students (grades 7 – 9) in the Podravje region. The results revealed that students are loyal users of the app, on which they encounter English content to a greater extent and share a good understanding of the language. They recognize TikTok’s potential for improving different language skills (predominantly speaking), and are familiar with English teaching channels on the app. The results portray a moderate preference for using TikTok in the ELT classroom, mostly due to inexperience and linking social media solely to leisure time. Teachers should at least consider incorporating TikTok in accordance with their students’ needs and preferences or share advice on finding valuable resources on the platform.
Keywords: ICT, social media, English language learning, extramural activities, language skills
Published in DKUM: 04.10.2024; Views: 0; Downloads: 4
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Abstract: The rapid spread of the English language, which is frequently referred to as a lingua franca, has had a significant impact on other languages and the peculiar language of computer-mediated communication. What is more, the Internet, social media and digital influencers are the key agents of both language change and changes in the modern society. Due to the globally growing popularity of social media influencers, the purpose of this thesis is to explore the ways in which their language use is affected by the globality of English, with a focus on Croatian influencers. Therefore, data for this paper are drawn from altogether 270 social media posts published by the eight most successful Croatian influencers on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. The research methods include linguistic, thematic and content analysis. The results reveal that the use of ‘ad hoc loanwords’ and intra-sentential code-switching are more common among Croatian influencers in comparison with outdated Anglicisms and inter-sentential code-switching. While the most frequently used loanwords among Croatian influencers belong to the categories of cyberculture and popular culture, the use of loanwords belonging to particular semantic fields is not strongly related to their thematic content categories. The importance and originality of this thesis are that it is the first study to provide new insights into the language use of Croatian influencers in relation with English as a global and leading online language. However, due to practical constraints, it is limited in terms of the research sample size and generalizability, which offers implications for further research.
Keywords: English as a global language, influence of English on Croatian, Croatian social media influencers, computer-mediated communication, loanwords, code-switching
Published in DKUM: 04.01.2024; Views: 544; Downloads: 53
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Abstract: The theoretical framework in the master’s thesis entitled “The Use of False Friends among Slovene Students of English” covers concepts that are fundamental to false friends and translation studies in general. The theoretical part discusses the authors’ perspectives on definitions and classifications which include various examples of equivalence, cognates and false friends. It then highlights some examples and ideas regarding teaching and learning false friends in the classroom. It is argued that focus on false friends is a useful tool for teachers who incorporate the concept of false friends in their classes. The empirical part of this thesis presents the results of the research which examines the use and knowledge of Slovene-English false friends among Slovene students of English. The research was conducted through a questionnaire which had 26 questions and was distributed online with the help of the tool 1ka. The study included 244 Slovene learners of English. 118 participants were primary school learners from 6th to 9th grade and 126 participants were secondary school learners from years 1 to 4. The results show that Slovene students of English are aware of a significant number of false friends included in the survey, although there are still plenty of Slovene-English false friend pairs that remain unfamiliar. The questionnaire results indicate that more than half of the participants have not heard the expression “false friends” as a linguistic concept at the time of the testing. In general, secondary school learners were more successful in the use of Slovene-English false friends pairings than primary school learners. At the same time, the results do not show that learners with higher grades in English are more familiar with false friends than those with lower grades.
Keywords: false friends, equivalence, cognates, language learning, teaching English as a second language
Published in DKUM: 17.08.2023; Views: 507; Downloads: 50
Full text (1,25 MB)

Abstract: In this diploma work the author deals with describing Mancunian, Cockney and Standard English dialect and the accents of Mancunians, Cockneys and RP. The author presents the main characteristics of each dialect and then compares the three mentioned dialects where the emphasis was on the comparison between Mancunian dialect, Standard dialect and RP accent and between Cockney dialect, Standard dialect and RP accent. The author discusses the differences between the three dialects and the language and dialect differences in general. She also discusses the language and the dialect which tends to be described as ‘wrong’, ‘correct’, ‘ugly’ and so on. The methods that were used in this diploma work are: the descriptive method; the comparative method; the method of analysis and synthesis; the method of abstraction and concretization; the method of generalization and specialization and the historical method. The author found out that there are differences and similarities between all three dialects and that the greater differences are between Mancunian and Cockney dialects on one side and the Standard dialect and RP accent on the other side. She also found that all languages and dialects are equal and that there should be no description of a dialect as ‘ugly’, ‘correct’ etc.
Keywords: Key words: Standard British English, Received Pronunciation, Mancunian dialect, Cockney dialect, accent, correct language, ugly language.
Published in DKUM: 21.02.2023; Views: 669; Downloads: 0

Abstract: The Master’s Thesis focuses on gender stereotypes in English language coursebooks with special emphasis on the comparison between two editions of the coursebook series Messages. The analysis of coursebook series consists of descriptive, qualitative, and quantitative analysis of gender stereotypes in the linguistic (text) and visual (photographs, illustrations) forms. The Master’s Thesis classifies gender stereotypes as those instances in which women and men are portrayed stereotypically e. g. in their profession, through physical appearance, assumed binary traits etc. The found stereotypes are represented descriptively and statistically. Both editions of the coursebook series Messages are compared in terms of gender stereotypes in them. The findings of the study show an increase in gender stereotypes in the visual imagery between the two editions, unequal male to female characters ratio, and underrepresentation of women in occupational roles and activities.
Keywords: gender stereotypes, English language textbooks, coursebook analysis, Messages, sexism
Published in DKUM: 09.09.2022; Views: 802; Downloads: 115
Full text (2,42 MB)