OpenUCT :: Browsing by Author "Young, Douglas"

Browsing by Author "Young, Douglas"

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Open Access
Acquiring & forgetting a second language : a study of three children aged 5-11 years
(1983) Keogh, Susan Elizabeth; Young, Douglas
This investigation is concerned with what three children remembered or had forgotten of a second language after an interval of two years. An in-depth study, consisting of recognition and recall tests, was made of 13-year-old identical twin girls and their 9-year-old brother, who previously had been English/French bilinguals. A phenomenological approach was taken, which included the children's reaction to the tests, and their description of the personal framework within which the learning and forgetting had taken place. The findings, which are suggestive due to limited data, are: first, cognitive and maturational differences between the children caused the twins to retain more recognition and active recall of French than their brother; second, the twins showed a surprising difference in their recognition of French, pos9ibly caused by affective factors; third, all three children showed strongest recognition in the area of semantics, while in recall they retained phonology best; fourth, in the tests, habit memory and episodic memory were more durable than semantic memory. The investigation is a first step towards understanding how children forget a language in which they have been submersed.
Open Access
An ethnographic investigation into the development and trialing of more accessible text materials for second language teaching and learning in physical science
(1993) Clark, Jonathan; Clark, Jonathan; Pickerill, Roy Thomas Alan; Young, Douglas
This dissertation discusses the development of alternative science curriculum materials for a secondary schooling context where English, the medium of instruction, is a second language for both teachers and students. The research is located in an interpretative ethnographic framework and the data gathered during the classroom-based trialing of the materials highlights the vital role of language in the teaching and learning of school science. An interactive reading model coupled with a discourse approach to text analysis explores some of the language difficulties which black students experience with their science textbooks. That many students fail to develop adequate reading strategies is identified as lying at the heart of many learning problems. It is suggested that the key to comprehension is instruction from a base of more accessible text materials. Furthermore, although science practical work does not automatically advance students' knowledge and understanding, relevant and contextualised learning activities do equip students to become more self-directed and reflective learners of science.
Open Access
The application of some second language teaching/learning principles in multimedia language design : a case study of a multimedia approach to an undergraduate course in Swahili
(2002) Kouame, Germain Noel; Young, Douglas
This study investigates aspects of the learning process that takes place in the Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) classroom in the Department of Linguistics and Southern African Languages at the University of Cape Town. It also studies how a small sample of students make adjustments in language learning with the help of the multimedia Swahili programme. The sample comprises four UCT learners (mixed Ll 's) studying a (CD-ROM) multimedia Swahili language programme.
Open Access
Building bridges to primary education in Mauritius? emergent literacy experiences in a foreign language context : a case study of preschool children
(2008) Owodally, Ambarin Mooznah Auleear; Young, Douglas; Abel, Lydia
In the context where English, as a foreign language, is the main language of literacy and the written medium of instruction throughout the Mauritian education system, this thesis explores (1) preschoolers' early literacy experiences, (2) the outcomes of these experiences, and (3) the extent to which these experiences prepare them to use English in Standard 1. The theoretical and empirical research on emergent literacy, second/foreign language learning and teaching, second/foreign language literacy instruction and new literacies was reviewed in order to find some "anchor points" (Hamilton, 2006) in the literature. These "anchor points" guided this exploratory study on emergent/early literacy experiences in a multilingual context. After a pilot study, I embarked on a yearlong case study ofa group of preschool children and their teachers using an ethnographic approach.
Open Access
Classroom communication and schooling: a case-study of teaching and learning in a secondary school in Soweto
(1986) Simons, Ronnie; Young, Douglas
Open Access
Criteria in English language assessment : a South African perspective
(1991) Dommisse, Anne; Young, Douglas
The study recorded in this dissertation was undertaken in the School of Education at the University of Cape Town (UCT) during the period 1986-1990. It was motivated by perceived anomalies in the administration of State regulations for endorsement of teachers' diplomas in respect of ability in English (E/e). The study commences with an analysis of the relevant requirements of the regulations for teacher bilingualism, as set out in sections 10 and 11 of Criteria for the Evaluation of South African Qualifications for Employment in Education, 1988. Theoretical and practical problems of evaluation and endorsement identified at UCT are considered in relation to the concept of test failure, as opposed to testee failure. Responses to a questionnaire sent to other teacher training centres indicate similar concerns elsewhere. Arising from a review of recent literature on language testing, and against the background of the multilingual target groups tested at UCT, a proposition is put forward for a distinction between communicative competence and language proficiency as criteria in language assessment, depending on whether English is the medium (communicative competence), or the subject (proficiency), of instruction. Assuming that English will remain a medium of instruction in a changing socio-political dispensation, at least in the short and medium terms, the study then focuses on test design, construction and scoring, where the objective is to test communicative competence in English, rather than proficiency. The role of English in the curriculum in a future South Africa is discussed briefly. It is concluded that current regulations for language endorsement are in urgent need of review. The following recommendations are made in this regard: that the relevant requirements for teachers in State schools be reformulated to account for one level, rather than two, of endorsement in English as the medium of instruction; that such endorsement be required only in the case of non-English medium graduates, thereby recognising the integrity of the English medium teachers' diploma itself; that procedures for assessment for the purpose of diploma endorsement be standardised; and that the State support further research in this area.
Open Access
English as a weapon of power : a double-edged sword
(2005) Pamegiana, Andrea; Young, Douglas; Kapp, Rochelle
This mini-dissertation explores the effects of the growth of English as an international and an intranational lingua franca with a focus on the South African debate about language and socio-economic empowerment. This exploration is carried out through an extended review of some of the theories that have challenged the notion that the spread of English is empowering for the majority of the world's population. I refer to these theories as the "critical discourse" about the power of English and argue that within this discourse there is a tendency to be exceedingly dismissive of the idea that the spread of English can in any way empower native speakers of other languages. I refer to this tendency as the "critical model" for looking at the power of English and analyze three metaphors that are often used as tropes to exclude from the "critical discourse" arguments that can be made for using English as a weapon of empowerment. These metaphors characterize English as a "linguistic poacher" that threatens endangered language species with extinction, as a "gatekeeper" that excludes the masses from socio-economic mobility, and as a "colonizer of the mind," or a mechanism that imposes Western-centric values. I argue that while it is important to be aware of these negative effects, the critics of English should not rely too heavily on negative constructions of this language, lest they create theories that are marred by epistemological fallacies that have negative pedagogical and political consequences. Epistemologically, sealing the border of a discourse can lead to tautological arguments that rely excessively on determinism and essentialism. Pedagogically, being exceedingly critical of the power of English can create obstacles in finding ways to teach this language effectively.
Open Access
An ethnographic study of a group of first language standard eight pupils in a "model C" school attempting to communicate meaning in writing
(1997) Spengler, Veronica Eileen; Young, Douglas
This is an ethnographic study of the writing processes and meaningmaking attempts of a group of English first language pupils in a Cape Town secondary school. The project was based on a twostage design. During the first stage, pupils' writing behaviour was observed, and their writing samples and written reflections provided data for analysis. In the second stage, two "key informants" were selected and interviewed, after a preliminary analysis of their written work. Three main theoretical fields provided the conceptual framework for the project: process writing theory and research, discourse and genre theory, and theories of identity. In the first research stage, process theory highlighted those aspects of the school writing event which were shown to assist or obstruct pupil writers in communicating their meanings in writing. In the second stage, discourse and genre theory, and especially the concept of intertextuality, provided insights into how young writers borrow from other textual resources, and construct roles for themselves and their readers. The text analyses and the interview findings supported those theories of identity which showed how subjects may construct multiple Identities and roles for themselves in conversation and in writing.
Open Access
Exploring the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report as a classroom resource
(2006) Kennedy, Jacqueline; Young, Douglas
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) (1998) report is a five-volume record of the voices of many victims and perpetrators of apartheid giving evidence of their experiences and suffering. It is encoded in sophisticated and often complex English, largely inaccessible to its public South African readership, most of whom use English as a First, Second of even Third Additional language. This study explores the nature and function of the discourse of the TRC Report as a contemporary historical text. The aim of this investigation is to establish the viability of introducing the TRC report into the classroom. It focuses on teenage learners. I examine the ability of Grade 10 and 11 English Primary Language and First Additional Language learners to read the original TRC text and a modified/simplified form of it.
Open Access
An inquiry into the English proficiency of foreign postgraduate students at the University of Cape Town and their academic literacy needs in English
(2001) Duymun, Naailah; Young, Douglas
The aims of this dissertation are to examine the situation of foreign, non-English speaking postgraduate students coming to UCT for their studies and to enquire if they have any difficulties in coping with English as the medium of instruction. Postgraduate students from any country, apart from South Africa, for whom English is a foreign language (EFL) have been my targets. I aimed to identify some of the problems if any faced by those students to determine the possible causes and to propose ways to deal with the problems identified. I used an ethnographic approach to gather my data.
Open Access
Italian undergraduate students comprehending economics and business texts in English as a foreign language : a case study of language-conceptual transfer strategies used in reading domain-specific texts
(2009) Samson, Christina Muriel; Young, Douglas; Paxton, Moragh; Rochford, Kevin; Dunne, Tim
This study, within the Vygotskyian constructivist socio-cultural developmental framework, investigates the interdependence of general and domain-specific conceptual knowledge, cognitive and metacognitive strategies, attitude, motivation and context in the process of bidirectional ItalianΓåöEnglish transfer in Italian undergraduates comprehending domain-specific texts in the Faculty of Economics, University of Florence, Italy. The method adopted is primarily qualitative, with quantitative support.
Open Access
Language and dementia in bilingual settings : evidence from two case studies
(2004) Beckett, Tracy; Young, Douglas; Ferreira, Monica; Makoni, Sinfree
This study used qualitative methodology for an analysis of the conversations of two communication-impaired bilingual elders diagnosed with a mild/moderate stage of Alzheimers's disease (AD). The aim of the study was to investigate the linguistic consequences of cognitive decline on language in English-Afrikaans co-ordinate bilinguals with AD by monitoring the changes in these linguistic outcomes after three months, and to see whether the two languaes are affected by AD in a comparable way. The impact of conversational disorders on clinicians and caregivers needs to be investigated to determine the full impact of a communication disorder such as AD from the perspective of the impaired speaker and the conversational partner, to functionally improve communication, self-esteem and psychosocial well-being. The results are based on observations and audio recordings of conversations with two participants. The results are presented broadly to demonstrate the participants' typical linguistic behaviour and reveal linguistic behaviour as a continuum that includes elements of both languages. Wide use of L1q in conversation domains that were allocated to the L2 was noted. The results show that the severity of AD and language proficiency are major contributing factors for language mixing. As the disease progressed, the conversational partner carried the cognitive responsibility for upholding/maintaining the conversation. Emerging from the study is an enhanced awareness of the need to combine studies in bilingualism with studies in ageing, since research of this nature is still in its infancy in applied language studies and applied linguistics in Africa.
Open Access
Language practices and pupil performance in rural and urban Grade 1 primary classrooms in Swaziland
(2003) Mbatha, Thabile A; Young, Douglas
This study of language practices and pupil performance in Grade 1 urban and rural classrooms in Swaziland attempts to analyse and evaluate the Swaziland Language-in- Education Policy in Grade 1 classrooms. It is derived from an observation that within the Swaziland Education System there are two approaches to teaching that operate side by side within one schooling system in primary schools. On one hand there are schools that offer an "Early English" immersion approach and on the other hand there are schools that offer a "Delayed English" immersion approach. The study identiﬁes and problematises the existence of the Early English and Delayed English immersion approaches in the Swaziland Education System, where in fact the performances of pupils are assessed using a unitary testing system known as Continuous Assessment Testing and the standard Swaziland Primary Certiﬁcate Examination at the end of Grade 7. The study aims to characterise the two approaches and attempt to identity some factors in both approaches that impinge on learners' performance. It also aims to show how the pedagogical practices used in schools under each approach differ from each other respectively, and signiﬁcantly impact on pupils' performances. The disparities that exist between schools using the two approaches are highlighted in terms of textbooks and learning materials, quality of teachers, pupils' exposure to English, facilities and the implications of the Language-in-Education Policy in providing good quality education. Teachers' and parents' perceptions concerning their beliefs and attitudes towards the two approaches are also evaluated.
Open Access
A participant observation study of the feasibility of enhancing student-teacher supervision procedures using Flanders' Interaction Analysis Categories
(1987) Yeld, Nan; Young, Douglas
The dissertation concerns the procedure of teacher supervision as presently conducted at the University of Cape Town's School of Education, and suggests ways in which this can be improved. It is argued that teacher education should be situated in the paradigm of Action Research, and within that, in the approach known as Participant Observation. The language of the classroom is chosen as the means whereby classroom practices can be investigated. A detailed account is provided of a full sequence of clinical supervision, and use is made of complete lesson and subsequent interview transcriptions in this account. The methodological techniques of participant observation, interviews, 'triangulation' procedures and fieldnotes to supplement the analysis of transcripts and interviews, are used. In addition, three different ways of analysing classroom language are described, viz . discourse analysis, insightful observation and coding schemes, and their appropriacy for teacher supervision purposes assessed. Finally, teacher conclusions are drawn regarding an effective model for supervision. It is suggested that FIAC (Flanders' Interaction Analysis Categories) be used in combination with lesson transcriptions, and stress is laid on the need for teacher trainees and trainers to observe at all times the criteria for participant observation. Suggestions are put forward concerning possible implementation of recommendations made, and the need for future research in this area is emphasised.
Open Access
The possible impact of a language rich format on the mathematics performance scores of Grade 8 learners
(2006) Abrahams, Mark; Young, Douglas; Rochford, Kevin
This study reports on the changes which occurred in the performance scores of 89 Grade 8 English first language speakers when they attempted two sets of counter-balanced mathematics tests, each comprising of 17 items. After a preliminary pilot study, the main investigation proceeded through three phases, first two being quantitative and the third phase being qualitative.
Open Access
A qualitative study of language preferences and behaviours of selected students and staff in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Cape Town, in the context of the university's implementation of its 2003 language policy and plan
(2010) Nodoba, Gaontebale Joseph; Young, Douglas
This dissertation seeks to answer the question: What are the language contexts, preferences and behaviours of EAL students and staff in the Faculty of Humanities at UCT? The language contexts EAL students and staff find themselves in are either formal or informal. The former refers to domains such as the classroom and administration offices, while the latter alludes to student residences and generally out-of-class social interaction. Language preferences refer to attitudes of both EAL students and of staff towards language(s) that are used in their linguistic context. The language behaviours of EAL students and of staff are their language practices in the various social contexts within which they find themselves. The following research instruments were used to collect data in order to answer the research question: questionnaires, interviews and observations. I opted for self-administered questionnaires and conducted semi-structured interviews to validate questionnaire responses. Both the questionnaires and interviews had closed-ended and open-ended questions to accommodate a variety of responses. I observed a group of respondents, who were part of purposive samples of convenience (snowball samples), for three months and subsequently processed data qualitatively through thematic analysis. The first finding of this study is that EAL students find the UCT language context to be different to their home language context. In the home context they use their PLs more while on UCT campus the institutional culture forces them to use mainly English. The second finding is with regard to their language preferences. EAL students show an ambivalent attitude towards English and their own primary languages in teaching and learning programmes. This attitude of EAL students towards English at UCT is also documented in research by Bangeni (2001), Bangeni & Kapp (2005), and Thesen & van Pletzen (eds.) (2006). This attitude is in tandem with their language behaviour. EAL students shuttle between their PLs and English. The data show that EAL students code-switch in conversations outside class and in their residences. They mainly use English for instrumental reasons (see also De Klerk & Barkhuizen 1998: 159-160). As for staff members they use English inside and outside class. ix The language contexts, preferences and practices of EAL students constitute part of the UCT institutional culture. This institutional culture is the social context within which institutional policy documents such as the UCT Language Plan (2003) are to be implemented. Implications for the implementation of the UCT Language Policy and Plan could be drawn from the language preferences and behaviours discussed above. The study concludes by making recommendations for the implementation of the UCT Language Policy and Plan. The study recommends that the Multilingualism Education Project (MEP) collaborate with language departments so as to explore possibilities of designing programmes that target EAL students and staff for postgraduate certificate courses. Such courses could focus on workplace-oriented communicative skills. Renewed marketability of African languages, as well as reviewing how they are taught and used within the UCT speech community, should be considered. Though the small sample sizes underpinning this study do not justify generalisation on the UCT community, its findings could nonetheless serve as preliminary evidence of significant language contexts, preferences and behaviours of EAL students and of staff in the Faculty of Humanities at UCT. The outcome of this research could be invaluable for language planning at UCT and similar institutions.
Open Access
Qualitative study of some effects of using English as a language of instruction at Standard 2 and 5 in the Botswana education system, where learners are not primary language speakers of English
(2001) Tsietso-Moses, Biongotlo Alice; Young, Douglas
The purpose of this study is to address the issue of language in education policy in Botswana where English is used as a language of instruction at the lower levels of primary education, in this instance focusing on grades 2 and 5. Bearing in mind that English is not the learners' first language, this dissertation firstly attempts to discover some of the possible effects this could have on learners concerning their acquisition of English as a second language, and their progression into further education. Secondly it looks at the role of the primary language (Setswana) as the foundation for the child's acquisition of new knowledge and hence subsequently his/her learning of L2. The data were collected qualitatively in three primary schools through interviews and classroom observations. All three schools are government-run Tswana medium primary schools. The study is based theoretically on the sociolinguistic perspective of bilingual/multilingual education. It draws on language policy studies, language attitude studies as well as issues of language and culture.
Open Access
Talking democracy in Grade 7 : a discourse analysis of SRC practice in a primary school
(2001) Proctor, Elspeth; Young, Douglas; Thesen, Lucia
My research set out to clarify to what extent democracy education is an identifiable and teachable concept in Curriculum 2005 and to find pedagogically useful ways of conceptualising and teaching active democratic participation. I chose a two-staged explorative qualitative research framework, informed by the New Literacy Studies and Critical Discourse Analysis, with Grade 7 learners in a primary school. I identified school Student Representative Councils (SRC's) as a potential site for 'democracy education-in-action'.
Open Access
The articulation of the South African social formation with the teaching of English as a first language in the Cape Education Department
(1985) Volbrecht, Terry; Young, Douglas
Open Access
Trying to make sense of the Trojan Horse incident: using historical documents to prompt discussion of politically sensitive issues in secondary schools in Cape Town
(2003) Geschier, Sofie M M A; Young, Douglas; McCormick, Kay
In this qualitative research, I hoped to get some impression of ways teachers and learners in five Cape Town schools deal with the process of making sense of a violent past. I offered five teachers material on the Trojan Horse Incident, partly generated by the TRC, and pondered the questions what for them and their learners is politically sensitive and how they position the people involved in the incident and how they position themselves. I understand by 'politically sensitive issues', issues centering on political and social divisions of the past and their ramifications in the present in this country. Applying a 'Foucaultian' approach to discourse analysis, I used the concepts 'indescribable' and 'undiscussable' as structuring categories, next to a differentiation between the discourse of classroom talk, and informal discourses outside the classroom situation. I also differentiated between the sense making processes of teachers, being part of a generation that lived through Apartheid, and of learners, the 'new' generation who didn't have that experience. The results of this research are: Firstly, teachers and learners in the five schools positioned themselves, the people involved in the incident and the researcher through dynamic practices of in- and excluding (shifting between 'us' and 'them') and of past and present framing (shifting between past and present tenses). Both groups seem to prefer to position themselves as 'observers'. In most classes, most of the time was spent on how exactly the Trojan Horse Incident took place (when, where, which tactics the policemen used, consequences,). Moral questions ('why' questions) were left for the end of the period or left implicit. Secondly, there was not a lot of space during classroom interactions for emotions and personal stories. The power/knowledge structure of the discourse of schooling seemed to be very strong, although it was also a matter of personal choices by teachers and learners. An 'official' image of Apartheid, with clear differentiations between victims and perpetrators prevailed. Personal stories were only situated in formal discourses of schooling before or after the actual lesson (learners speaking with the teacher about their personal experiences of or reactions to violence) or when 'others' were present, be it learners from 'another' community than the majority of learners and the teacher, or be it the researcher. Thirdly, a discourse of reconstructing personal histories and identities had more space in informal discourses (for example learners talking to one another during breaks) and during interviews with me. South African youth might have (similar to German and Irish youth) a 'fatigue' towards 'official', 'consensus' knowledge of the past and they might not to be able or not want to make sense of the 'wall' of silenced personal stories of those who have experienced the conflicts in the past. Fourthly, 'sensitive issues' were mostly expressed outside the classroom interactions. These were violence in past and present; moral stances towards violence and responsibility; schooling (teaching but also disciplining); and stereotypes people have of 'other' South Africans and the separate lives they have.