Browsing by Subject "Applied Language Studies"
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- ItemOpen AccessThe 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, DouglasThis 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.
- ItemOpen AccessBilingual education and learning : the case of some Xhosa speaking learners in Cape Town, South Africa(Cape Town)(2003) Doumbia, Wassa; Fléchais, OlivierCette étude s'est inspirée de la nouvelle voie que l'éducation prend au Mali au premier cycle de l'enseignement fondamental (éducation bilingue). Cette nouvelle voie qui concerne l'introduction des langues nationales à I'école a donné des sueurs froides aux maîtres et aux parents d'élèves. En conduisant cette étude j'espère contribuer à clarifier les points sensibles du programme dont l'amélioration ou la négligence peut conduire à la réussite ou à l'echec de l'éducation bilingue. Ce mémoire a pour but d'explorer les conditions de réussite liées a I'introduction de l'éducation bilingue. A cet effet 5 écoles ont été visitées, dont 3 bilingues et 2 unilingues pour se rendre compte de la performance des élèves dont la langue matemelle est différente de celle de l'école. Cette recherche est faite en Afrique du Sud où l'expérience de l'éducation bilingue s'étend sur des années et où les enfants Noirs ont commencé a fréquenter les ecoles ‘pour Blancs’ don’t la langue d'enseignement est l'anglais après l'abolition de l' Apartheid.
- ItemOpen AccessThe change of language and the language of change : a consideration of some of the assumptions behind non-governmental language planning projects : implications for language in education policy(1994) Hughes, Sharon; Young, D NLanguage planning and language policy are currently being debated by both politicians and educationists. Language policy is seen by both Afrikaner nationalists and some progressive educationists as the key to political and economic power. This dissertation argues that language policy-making alone cannot achieve political goals. It also proposes that the most successful and most democratic policies are those which are "facilitatory and enabling rather than compulsory and punitive" (Fishman, 1991: 82) and which are differentiated to take account of existing sociolinguistic contexts. Chapter 1 begins by looking at definitions of language planning and language policy. Following this, it examines some of the terms that people use to speak about language and languages in language planning. The concern here is not with establishing fixed meanings but with how the use of these terms constructs certain "realities", for example relationships amongst languages. This chapter also looks at some of the proposed relations between language and "reality". Chapter 2 briefly outlines the history of language planning in South Africa, focusing on language medium of instruction in education. It examines the Nationalists' and the ANC's language policy positions. A postscript discusses the agreement reached in November 1993. Chapter 3 looks at the role of various non-governmental associations in the language policy debate. It also examines the phenomenon of white advocacy of increased status for African languages. Chapter 4 deals with the process of language planning. Who decides on language goals and through what mechanisms are goals promoted? Chapter 5 asks questions about what bilingual or multilingual medium of instruction models would mean in terms of classroom practice and underlines the lack of consensus in bilingual education research about universally applicable solutions. Chapter 6 summarises the main arguments covered in the dissertation and makes some general recommendations about language-in-education policy.
- ItemOpen AccessThe change of medium of instruction from Chichewa to English in primary schools in Malawi and its impact on pupils' academic performance(2007) Chiphanda, Paul Ellimelech Kankhumbwa; Prinsloo, MastinMalawi adopted a Free Primary Education Policy in 1994 with the ushering in of a multi-party system of government. Since then primary schools have been flooded with many pupils. The current language policy in Malawi. allows learners to be taught through local languages from Standards 1 to 4 and through English from Standard 5 upwards (Mtenje 2002). Teachers' guides for all subjects from STD 1 to 8 are written in English except for Chichewa as a subject. Teachers write their lesson plans for all subjects in English except those of Chichewa as a subject (Mchazime 1996). However, classroom observation suggests that teachers use Chichewa as a medium of instruction even in classes where they are expected to use English (Standard 5 onwards). Similarly. pupils fail to express themselves in English and they answer questions in Chichewa (Mtenje 2002). As a result. learners fail to participate and contribute fully during lessons. This scenario makes the teachers talk more than the learners: hence the lessons become teacher-centred. Pupils are largely passive in class. Many pupils are absent from school they fail examinations and some drop out from school mainly when they reach the upper classes (Standard 5 to 8) of primary education. This dissertation examines what effect the change of medium of instruction made in Standard 5 from Chichewa to English has on the academic achievement of the learners of Standard 5 pupils in primary schools in Malawi. Specifically. the study examines whether or not the use of English results in better academic performance of pupils and whether this change contributes to pupil attrition (the drop-out rate). To investigate how the change of language of instruction affects the academic performance of Standard 5 learners, I used a case study methodology, with both qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis. Then data were collected through questionnaires administered to teachers and Standard 5 learners respectively: by comparing tests results in Mathematics and Social Studies of pupils who learnt through Chichewa in Standard 4 and through English in Standard 5. respectively; through classroom observations; and by interviewing teachers in two primary schools. This work is based on the theory developed by Jim Cummins (1991) which states that learners should acquire a conceptual foundation in their first language to facilitate the acquisition of the second language to positively achieve academic performance. The research came up with the following findings: Firstly, Standard 5 pupils in Malawi performed better in Mathematics and Social Studies when they learnt through the medium of Chichewa than through the medium of English. Secondly, Standard 5 learners lacked the necessary English proficiency to cope with the cognitive demands of Mathematics and Social Studies. As a result the lessons observed were teacher-centred and pupils became passive participants in the learning process. Teachers agreed that pupils participated less in class when they were learning through the medium of English than when the same pupils were learning through the medium of Chichewa. In addition, teachers and learners are not motivated to learn through the medium of English. Furthermore. teachers are not sufficiently trained in how to start teaching Standard 5 learners through English. As a consequence, Standard 5 pupils perform poorly in Mathematics and Social Studies. In comparison, Standard 5 pupils perform at a lower level in Mathematics than in Social Studies when they learnt through the medium of English. From these findings it was concluded that Standard 5 learners, who are taught through the medium of English, are not sufficiently proficient in English to cope with the cognitive academic demands of learning content subjects like Mathematics and Social Studies in Malawi. These results confirm my hypothesis. The results are also congruent with other studies already done in Malawi (Mchazime 2004, Kachaso 1988).
- ItemOpen AccessA constrastive case study of orthodox and alternate adult literacy initiatives, as regards their assumptions about literacy, pedagogy, and curriculum(2009) Fine, Zelma; Prinsloo, MastinThe aim of this study was to investigate and contrast two sites of literacy tuition, the one being an orthodox night school, set-up and run according to departmental requirements, and the other, an innovative endeavour situated within the walls of the South African Museum. My concern was to examine how different constructs of what literacy is and how it should be taught manifested themselves in curricula, pedagogy, and organisation at the two sites. I used ethnographic-style methods to gather data at the two sites. From the perspective of orthodox literacy instruction, as it has developed in adult education, the emphasis in literacy instruction is on the transmission and acquisition of a set of skills, imparted to learners in order that they might 'become literate'.
- ItemOpen AccessCurriculum 2005 and (post)modernising African languages : the quantum leap(1999) Mahlalela-Thusi, Babazile; Esterhuyse, JanThis study examines the status of ALs in the school context. In this thesis I argue that AL syllabi and textbooks are not at the same cognitive, affective and psycho-social level as their English counterparts. The important role of the mother tongue as a powerful platform for cognitive and psycho-social development of the African child is also discussed. My argument is that the low status of the ALs is visible in the textbooks that are in schools. With the introduction of the new Curriculum, there arises a need to write new AL textbooks. As the expertise is lacking among AL speakers to write postmodern textbooks as envisaged by Curriculum 2005, I propose a collaboration between AL and English practitioners as a necessary and feasible transitory step in the development of new AL textbooks.
- ItemOpen AccessDesigning social identities : a case study of a primary school theatrical performance by Zulu children in an English ex-model C school(2004) Alborough, Clare Louise; Thesen, LuciaThis multimodal case study investigates the discourses that emerge in a theatrical performance, constructed and performed by a group of grade seven, Zulu speaking students as a representation of themselves. The performance was set in an ex-model C primary school in Kwa-Zulu Natal and reflects the tensions between the students' identities that are located in the different fields of home, school, traditional settings and urban settings. The study is qualitative in nature, with the performance text being a participatory, creative, multi modal, joint-construction involving the participants and the researcher. The performance was structured so that each scene represents one of the participants' social fields. The analysis of the performance follows this structure and explores the way discourses and identities emerge from the Traditional, Home, School and Urban scenes of the performance. The study draws on the New London Group's Multiliteracies theory, using the concepts of discourse, identity, interest and design, as well as drawing on Bourdieu's notions of field and capital. The study makes use of social semiotic analysis, drawing particularly from Kress and van Leeuwen's visual grammar, to explore the multi modal nature of the performance, analysing the linguistic mode alongside those of the visual, the gestural and the spatial. The study attempts to be consistent with the multimodal nature of the performance and so presents the data through photographs, sketches and video clips integrated with the written text. The study alms to amplify the participants' voice through the richness of their representation. It attempts to contest the notion that marginalised people are powerless in the face of hegemonic discourses, asserting rather that there is always agency.
- ItemOpen AccessDie hantering van identiteite in Afrikaanse voorgeskrewe romans in Suid-Afrika na apartheid : 'n kritiese evaluering = The treatment of identities in Afrikaans prescribed novels in post-apartheid South Africa : a critical appraisal(2001) Scholtz, Danelle; Van der Merwe, Chris NLiterature is an important source of cultural knowledge for young readers. It helps shape their perceptions of reality and teaches them what to expect from the world and the people around them. Therefore, it is important to do a communicative analysis of the literature that is prescribed for schools, in order to determine how identities are ascribed and negotiated, and how this can bear on intergroup and interpersonal relations. The conclusions can then serve to guide the selection of new books and the teaching of existing selections. In this study, the eleven novels that were prescribed in 2000 for Afrikaans First Language in Grade 12 in the nine provinces of South Africa are analysed thematically with respect to ethnicity, gender, and religion. Theories of Intercultural Communication are used to examine these thematic analyses. I conclude that the lists were indeed compiled for the purpose of transformation, and that ethnicity in particular gets awarded prominent treatment. The voices that are heard, however, belong overwhelmingly to one group, so that theirs is central to all reality, and the reality of others is seen only in relation to their reality. More or less the same applies to the aspects of gender and religion. There is also little awareness of gender issues, and gender roles are stereotypical.
- ItemOpen AccessThe differences in medium of instruction for the lower primary phase in teacher education and schools in Namibia, with reference to the Kavango educational region, are a barrier to effective teaching and learning(2011) Hausiku, Scholastika Mbava; Alexander, NevilleThe study aims to investigate whether the difference in the language of teaching in teacher education and the language of teaching in the lower primary phase is a barrier for effective teaching and learning in the targeted institutions. Furthermore, would additional focus on mother tongue education in teacher education benefit educational achievement in the Kavango educational region specifically and in Namibia as a whole?
- ItemOpen AccessEngaging differences linguistic diversity and critical literacy pedagogy in the classroom(2012) Williams, Cristan; McKinney, CarolynThis study developed out of my own experiences as a high school English teacher and my engagements with the intertwined issues of language and diversity in the classroom.The study foregrounds the nature of students' and teachers' engagements with linguistic diversity and the role of the teacher in critical literacy. In South Africa there is very little classroom based research which shows how students and teachers are engaging with issues of diversity, power and inequality, post-apartheid. This research focuses on how my students and I interact with issues of linguistic diversity in an English Home Language, Grade 8 classroom context using critical literacy pedagogy as the means by which to engage with these issues.
- ItemOpen AccessEnhancing the reading conditions in a multilingual grade six class : exploring the possibilities(2004) Verbist-Serekonyane, Anne; Baxen, JeanThe qualitative study described in this research addresses the question of ""how to enhance reading conditions in a grade six class with learners from different language backgrounds, but taught in English as a medium of instruction"". The conceptual framework helps to carve a path through the maze of definitions about reading, independent readers, reading models and Cambourne's reading conditions, which were the focus of the research. The grade six classroom, in which the reading conditions, mainly ""immersion"" and ""engagement"", were to be enhanced, consisted of 42 learners and one teacher. The observation period started in February 2002, but the actual research described in this dissertation lasted two months (August and September 2002), and happened in different phases: the initial phase and the main research period. The latter was made up of the intervention and the final phase. In the initial phase the reading conditions In the classroom layout, the learners' profile, the teaching practices and the attitudes towards reading were explored through observations, field notes and interviews. Other qualitative data was gathered using a reading survey and a cloze procedure test, which were both developed by the researcher. The collected data helped to set up the intervention, in which several challenges had to be faced. During that intervention the physical conditions in the classroom were enhanced to create an encouraging and comfortable space for the learner-reader. A wide variety of interesting and relevant books were brought in the classroom in order to make it a literacy rich environment. At the same time, organising activities based on prediction and sequencing studied the learners' meaning making process. These activities were created to stimulate the learners' engagement in reading. In the final phase possible changes in reading engagement and attitudes were registered through the same cloze procedure test and a second reading survey. Significant results of the research showed that reading became a social experience, an interaction between learners and teacher, in an environment where learners read for pleasure. Even though the intervention took place over a short period of two weeks, the results indicate that there are ways in which teachers can enhance reading conditions and a stimulating environment can be created to engage learners in reading.
- ItemOpen AccessEveryone has a view of literacy : learners' perceptions of literacy and their practices at home and at school(2007) Kendal, Charmaine Allana; Van Pletzen, ErmienThis is an ethnographic study of how learners write about, speak about, depict and value their literacy activities at home and how this links with their performance at school. It also examines the shift in learners' perceptions of literacy through their involvement in the research project. The theoretical framework for the research is drawn from the New Literacy Studies with its emphasis on the autonomous and ideological models ofliteracy (as formulated by Street) and on literacy as situated practice. The data is a series of literacy activities, of seven learner profiles made up of their writing, literacy inventories, photographic depictions, focus group discussions, semi structured interviews, and tasks assessed in the formal academic domain. Critical Discourse Analysis is used as a tool for the analysis of some of the data and traces the similarities and differences in the kinds of literacy activities that learners engage in, ranging from homework to hobbies, cell phones, conversations, computer games and so forth. Interpretation of the data also draws on Gee's theory of primary and secondary Discourses.
- ItemOpen AccessAn examination of classroom practices for the development of writing in English as a second language in a Malawian primary school(2008) Nthara, Ivy Jeb; Prinsloo, Mastin; Plüddemann, PeterThis study arises out of an awareness of the history of Malawi' s language in education policy from the era of British colonialism to the present multilingual era. English is given a high status in schools despite the fact that many more teachers and pupils speak local languages. Malawi's new language in education model stipulates that "English should be offered as a subject from Standards 1 to 3; English should be offered as medium of instruction from Standards 4 to 8" (MOE. 1996). The Malawi in education bilingual model is thus subtractive, which impacts negatively on second language learning. I discuss various theories that underpin the teaching of literacy in a second language. namely bilingualism and cognition, social learning, and theories with an educational or classroom orientation to establish a framework for my empirical investigation.
- ItemOpen AccessExploring the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report as a classroom resource(2006) Kennedy, Jacqueline; Young, DouglasThe 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.
- ItemOpen AccessFactors shaping learners' engagement with science texts in grade 8 : a study of learners' perspectives(2003) Welff, Joy Judith; Baxen, JeanThis investigation provides a learner perspective of the factors that affected the way in which they made meaning of science texts in Grade Eight where the medium of instruction was English. The investigation outlines the origins and objectives of the new curriculum within which the learner is located as this informs the extent to which learners have to engage independently with texts. It also describes the role of the textbook in society and education, the readability of texts and reading as factors that affect and therefore have an impact on the way learners make meaning from texts. While the aim of study was to gain a learner perspective of the factors shaping learners' engagement with texts, it also includes responses from teachers and textbook writers as these two groups have a direct influence on the way learners make meaning. The study highlights the contextual realities of where learners are at and provides strong evidence to suggest that learners' engagement with texts are affected by their low reading levels and the choices made by teachers and textbook writers in their selection and writing of texts, and points conclusively to the role of the teacher in mediating between learner and text.
- ItemOpen AccessAn 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, DouglasThe 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.
- ItemOpen AccessLanguage and dementia in bilingual settings : evidence from two case studies(2004) Beckett, Tracy; Young, Douglas; Ferreira, Monica; Makoni, SinfreeThis 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.
- ItemOpen AccessLanguage education and national identity : a comparative study of Flemish and Afrikaans L1-instruction materials since 2000(2003) Kusendila, Bénédicte; Esterhuyse, Jan; Cuvelier, PolIn an attempt to answer the question as to what views on national identity can be found in language textbooks, this study examines the categories and nature of themes and situations that appear in a recent Flemish and Afrikaans language school textbook. Central to the study is the clarification as to which themes the situations and texts in these books are linked. Since 1991, a gradual political move towards New Right has been made 'visible' through democratic elections with sweeping victories for right-wing parties. Halfway around the world, South Africa was gradually moving out of the Apartheid-era. With a democratic win for the African National Congress in the 1994 national elections, this period seemed to be closed and relegated into history. However, based on the assumption that traces of these socio-political developments and consequent evolutions should be found in recent textbooks, I set out on this study.
- ItemOpen AccessLanguage purism and prescriptivism in an African context : a case study of a siSwati radio programme 'Nasi-ke siSwati'(2001) Vilakati, Annah Phindile; Mesthrie, RajendThe study aims at assessing purists' and prescriptivists' concerns about language as reported in Western and non-Western settings, as to find out whether they share the same views about language correctness. The data base is a series of a siSwati radio programme, called Nasi-ke siSwati 'Here is (genuine) siSwati' hosted by Jim Gama, known as 'Mbhokane'. I try to assess his attitudes to what he considers 'inferior' use of the language, with the aim of understanding what issues are at stake when African prescriptivists make their pronouncements.
- ItemOpen AccessLearner involvement in discourse : a contextualised discourse analysis of undergraduate online discussions(2001) Mlotsa, Faith Busisiwe; Walton, MarionThe study analyzes the discourse from online discussions in a Language and Communication Economics course at the University of Cape Town. The study critiques claims made by several researchers in Computer Mediated Communication that CMC as mode of Communication enhances interaction and produces hybrid discourse.