Child programming: an adequate domain specific language for programming specific robots

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Informática

The Impact of Bilingualism on Acquiring Second Language Vocabulary: A Case Study

Trabalho de Projecto apresentado para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtençao do grau de Mestre em Didáctica do Inglês,

Language and culture: representations of English-speaking cultures in 1st year secondary english language coursebooks in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Dissertação apresentada para o cumprimento dos requisitos necessários á obtenção do grau de Mestre em Didáctica de Inglês

Making connections: engineering and language issues in teaching english for specific purposes

Tese apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Doutor em Línguas, Literaturas e Culturas

English Language Learning Inside and Outside the Classroom in Portugal

This study investigates the way of learning the English language in Portugal. First-year students of the faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of New University of Lisbon were selected as participants in the case study. As data collection tools a questionnaire and focus-groups were used. 115 students completed the designed questionnaire and after that 12 students were selected for the more detailed focus-group discussions. Results of the research show that most part of the students´ English knowledge is received from outside the classroom by means of movies, songs, computer games, the Internet, communication with friends and other sources. Also, the results show that motivation is very important in language learning process and motivated students acquire the language faster and easier.

A domain specific language for domotic systems

To cope with modernity, the interesting of having a fully automated house has been increasing over the years, as technology evolves and as our lives become more stressful and overloaded. An automation system provides a way to simplify some daily tasks, allowing us to have more spare time to perform activities where we are really needed. There are some systems in this domain that try to implement these characteristics, but this kind of technology is at its early stages of evolution being that it is still far away of empowering the user with the desired control over a habitation. The reason is that the mentioned systems miss some important features such as adaptability, extension and evolution. These systems, developed from a bottom-up approach, are often tailored for programmers and domain experts, discarding most of the times the end users that remain with unfinished interfaces or products that they have difficulty to control. Moreover, complex behaviors are avoided, since they are extremely difficult to implement mostly due to the necessity of handling priorities, conflicts and device calibration. Besides, these solutions are only reachable at very high costs, yet they still have the limitation of being difficult to configure by non-technical people once in runtime operation. As a result, it is necessary to create a tool that allows the execution of several automated actions, with an interface that is easy to use but at the same time supports all the main features of this domain. It is also desirable that this tool is independent of the hardware so it can be reused, thus a Model Driven Development approach (MDD) is the ideal option, as it is a method that follows those principles. Since the automation domain has some very specific concepts, the use of models should be combined with a Domain Specific Language (DSL). With these two methods, it is possible to create a solution that is adapted to the end users, but also to domain experts and programmers due to the several levels of abstraction that can be added to diminish the complexity of use. The aim of this thesis is to design a Domain Specific Language (DSL) that uses the Model Driven Development approach (MDD), with the purpose of supporting Home Automation (HA) concepts. In this implementation, the development of simple and complex scenarios should be supported and will be one of the most important concerns. This DSL should also support other significant features in this domain, such as the ability to schedule tasks, which is something that is limited in the current existing solutions.

About using serious games to teach (Portuguese) sign language

Sign language is the form of communication used by Deaf people, which, in most cases have been learned since childhood. The problem arises when a non-Deaf tries to contact with a Deaf. For example, when non-Deaf parents try to communicate with their Deaf child. In most cases, this situation tends to happen when the parents did not have time to properly learn sign language. This dissertation proposes the teaching of sign language through the usage of serious games. Currently, similar solutions to this proposal do exist, however, those solutions are scarce and limited. For this reason, the proposed solution is composed of a natural user interface that is intended to create a new concept on this field. The validation of this work, consisted on the implementation of a serious game prototype, which can be used as a source for learning (Portuguese) sign language. On this validation, it was first implemented a module responsible for recognizing sign language. This first stage, allowed the increase of interaction and the construction of an algorithm capable of accurately recognizing sign language. On a second stage of the validation, the proposal was studied so that the pros and cons can be determined and considered on future works.

Improving Learners’ Motivation through Feedback in English Language Teaching and Learning at Polytechnic School in Benguela, Angola

Currently, it is widely perceived among the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching professionals, that motivation is a central factor for success in language learning. This work aims to examine and raise teachers’ awareness about the role of assessment and feedback in the process of language teaching and learning at polytechnic school in Benguela to develop and/or enhance their students’ motivation for learning. Hence the paper defines and discusses the key terms and, the techniques and strategies for an effective feedback provision in the context under study. It also collects data through the use of interview and questionnaire methods, and suggests the assessment and feedback types to be implemented at polytechnic school in Benguela

A Educação Estética e as Técnicas Teatrais no Ensino e Aprendizagem do Português Língua Materna e do Francês Língua Estrangeira

O nosso trabalho consiste numa reflexão teórica sobre a aplicação prática da educação estética e das técnicas de teatro no ensino e aprendizagem das línguas e das literaturas. Pretendemos estabelecer relações entre a educação estética e o ensino, visando uma aproximação, em termos didáticos, entre a cultura, as artes e a educação literária e linguística, mas também conduzir a aprendizagem no sentido da observação atenta e refletida para o desenvolvimento do pensamento crítico e autónomo através da ação. A relação da imagem com o texto, tendo em vista a interpretação dramática, é uma forma de consolidar conhecimentos da obra literária inserida num contexto artístico mais amplo, e essa relação, para a realização de jogos dramáticos, serve a concretização em imagem viva, que é a do ator ou intérprete. Mas, acima de tudo, ela visa a formação integral e desenvolve a criatividade. A contemplação e o ato de criar só são possíveis se o aluno usufruir de uma educação estética, que fomenta em grande escala o gosto pelo texto inserido numa determinada cultura e na época em que se produziu. Nesta proposta, incluímos o exercício e a interiorização do conhecimento linguístico através das técnicas teatrais, enquanto práticas intrínsecas ao teatro, numa atitude comunicativa que implica interpretar e compreender, e que fomenta a autonomia do indivíduo. Pretendemos estimular o conhecimento integrado do aluno, associando a estética e as artes à aprendizagem das línguas, como meios impulsionadores da criatividade, da reinvenção e do fazer.

A utilidade da aprendizagem criativa na aula de língua estrangeira

Este relatório surge no âmbito da minha Prática do Ensino Supervisionada e representa uma reflexão sobre a minha iniciação como professora de Inglês e de Francês no 3º ciclo do Ensino Básico e no Ensino Secundário. A reflexão teve como objeto o conceito de ‘aprendizagem criativa’ na teoria do ensino da língua estrangeira e a sua aplicação na prática letiva, nas duas escolas onde desenvolvi o meu estágio, a Escola Secundária de Sebastião da Gama e a Escola Básica do 2º e 3º Ciclos de Aranguez, ambas em Setúbal. Para além de uma tentativa de sistematização das abordagens teóricos, de modo a tornar a noção de ‘criatividade’ mais aplicável na prática da docência da língua estrangeira, a nossa reflexão procura evidenciar como e em que situações a aprendizagem se revela criativa e demonstra a sua utilidade para a aula de língua estrangeira.