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1
Hwang, Hee-Jeong 1968. "The impact of high-stakes exams on teachers and students : a washback study of the university entrance exam at the secondary school level in South Korea." Thesis, McGill University, 2003. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=79776.
Full textAbstract:
The notion that tests have a strong influence on teaching and learning is referred to as 'washback' or 'backwash'. Questioning the assumption that washback occurs automatically, without the basis of empirical research, studies have been conducted in various contexts of English teaching and learning. No research, however, on the washback effect of tests within the Korean English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context has been carried out. The present study was designed to examine the washback effect of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), a university entrance exam, on EFL teaching and learning in Korean secondary schools.<br>This study first investigates the relationships among the curriculum, the school textbooks, and the CSAT: (1) the relationship between the curriculum and the textbooks and (2) the relationship between the curriculum and the CSAT. Second, this study examines if a washback effect from the CSAT exists. This study further discerns the nature of washback and the variable(s) influenced by the washback effect. The results indicate that the curriculum corresponds to the textbooks, while the CSAT does not represent the curriculum, and that there is a negative washback effect of the CSAT on EFL teaching and learning. The variable(s) influenced by the washback effect are negative attitudes that the participants of the study have toward the test.
2
Kim, EunYoung 1979. "A study of culture teaching in English classes in Korea and rural elementary schools in the Republic of Korea /." Thesis, McGill University, 2005. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=83188.
Full textAbstract:
This study explores culture teaching in English classes in urban and rural elementary schools in Korea from the perspectives of both teachers and students. Language and culture theories provide a framework for the data interpretation. As well, qualitative research methodology depicts a picture of much deeper understanding for teachers' and students' perceptions. Interviews were audiotape recorded as a primary tool to gather information for the inquiry for three months (May-July, 2004). Data also included document analysis and participant observations in schools. From the research findings, I conclude that not only can teachers not fully engage in culture teaching in elementary English education, but also students are not exposed to sufficient cultural education. Sociocultural contexts significantly affect teachers' and students' perceptions of English-speaking cultures and their English education. Elementary English textbooks also play an essential role in culture teaching in Korea.
3
Yeo, Inung. "Effective writing instruction for English-as-a-foreign-language university students in Korea." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2003. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/2300.
Full textAbstract:
Beginning with an analysis of current problems in English education in South Korea, this project is intended to suggest various ways to implement effective English education, especially for writing instruction. The project is designed for students who have low English proficiency in South Korean colleges and universities.
4
Koo, Bonhee. "Developing the English interactional competence of junior college students in Korea." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1998. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1449.
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5
Kim, Hyun Jung 1976. "A case study of curriculum and material evaluation : elementary English as a foreign language in South Korea." Thesis, McGill University, 2001. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=32920.
Full textAbstract:
English as a foreign language (EFL) is quite different from English as a second language (ESL) in many respects. Few EFL studies, however, have been conducted with consideration given to the unique EFL environment. This case study of South Korean elementary EFL was designed to evaluate the previous (1997--2000) and new (2001-- ) curricula and materials based on the researcher's experience and a review of the literature.<br>This study first suggests communicative language teaching (CLT) criteria appropriate for elementary school pupils who are beginning to learn EFL in Korea, and then evaluates the two CLT-based curricula for the 4th grade based on the suggested criteria. Second, this study aims to examine the two different material sets for the two curricula focusing on spoken language communicative activities. For the material comparison, the Sisayoungasa Co. material set, one of 16 sets based on the previous curriculum, is compared to the new material set based on the 7th curriculum.<br>Perceptions of the curriculum and material change were considered from three perspectives: three teachers, a policy maker and a researcher. It was revealed that opinions from the three perspectives vary considerably. The study also found that despite the recent attempt to implement CLT-based elementary EFL, there are still deficiencies in the Korean elementary EFL curriculum and materials.
6
Cha, Jae Guk. "EFL in Korea : the teaching and learning of English as a foreign language in the context of South Korean culture." Thesis, University of Stirling, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/2208.
Full textAbstract:
The objective of the present research is to explore the present state of EFL (English as a foreign language) in Korean culture which is assumed to be different from that of English speaking countries, and to investigate learners' attitudes toward needs and motivation for the English language. Since it seems to be recognised that language and culture are inseparable, EFL in the Korean cultural context might reflect its own typical aspects. Chapter 1 deals with problems in EFL in Korea, and the relationship between foreign language acquisition and cultural background. The meaning of culture and its importance in a foreign language learning and teaching is elaborated. Chapter 2 reflects the characteristics of Korean culture, with an account of her history, education system and national policy of EFL. Current implementation of English language teaching at Korean universities, with its developmental history, is presented with evidences obtained from previous research. Chapter 3 reviews the theoretical literature on needs, attitudes, interest, anxiety and motivation in foreign/second language learning, since they are recognised as central to foreign language acquisition. Research studies on these variables are introduced, compared with each other and critically discussed. In Chapter 4, research questions and hypotheses are drawn, based on the theoretical framework reviewed in Chapter 3. The research design (sampling, methods of and procedures for data-collection) is elaborated. Chapter 5 begins with a description of data-interpretation methods employed in the study. Data obtained from these instruments were statistically analysed through a computer programme `SPSS'. The findings of the research are presented, followed by a discussion of the results. In Chapter 6, more detailed profiles of analysis than those given in Chapter 5 are presented. Particularly, item-by-item comparison is made between the college students' and graduates' questionnaires. Chapter 7, as a closing chapter of the present research, reviews the foregoing chapters and derives conclusions, suggesting implications for further research. Key implications arising from the research are: priority for teaching EFL from intercultural perspectives, and (so far as learners are concerned) to tolerating the new approaches to teaching that are required.
7
Sung, In Ja 1968. "A comparison of class activities led by teachers in English kindergarten : Korean children's attitudes." Thesis, McGill University, 2006. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=99395.
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This study explores the issues related to the comparison of native English teachers and Korean English teachers, in the context of children's English education in a private language institute, Smarty English Institute, in Seoul, Korea. Specifically by analyzing class activities led by native and Korean English teachers as well as a full bilingual English teacher, I investigate the strengths and weaknesses of class activities led by English teachers whose first languages are different. I challenge the wide-spread notion in Korea that native English speakers are inherently better English teachers. I offer an holistic portrait of the activities in Kindergarten language classrooms in a private language institute in Korea from the diverse perspective of Korean teachers, parents, legislators, and administrators. I used participant observation of classrooms and interviews with teachers and children as the main tools of data collection. I examined the class activities in terms of the communicative interactions between teachers and children, the relevance of the class activities to the children's interest, and their authenticity. Based on this analysis of class activities, I also present recommendations for improved English education, particularly teacher education programs customized for the teachers' needs and their differing levels of English proficiency as well as more specialized curricula for native English teachers and Korean English teachers.
8
Moon, Chanmi. "Computer-assisted project-based learning in English for specific purposes." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2001. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1868.
Full textAbstract:
The aim of this project is to address the need for effective English learning and develop an English curriculum which practically meets learners' needs. The project is for students who study business English in Korean community college. This project presents effectiveness of English learning in the content concerning with English for specific purposes, project-based learning, cooperative learning, computer-assisted language learning, and technological literacy. These ideas are incorporated into the project to develop the unit, Creating a Company, which consists of six lesson plans.
9
Won, Kim Jong. "A model of the writing process applied to English writing for Korean college students." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1998. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1440.
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10
Macrae, Claire Elisabeth. "Examining of the novel in the senior secondary phase (English first language higher grade): a study of conflicting aims." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1989. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001423.
Full textAbstract:
This study deals with the problems of external examining, the inflexible demands of which dominate and dictate to literature teaching in South African schools today. The aims of teaching literature are discussed, and it is suggested that the negative attitudes among pupils resulting from the present examining system defeat many of these aims. The opportunities for the enjoyment of literature are minimised by the process of preparation for external examinations. Creative teaching methods are abandoned in favour of coaching for specific types of questions, which are determined and limited by the practical constraints of a mass external examination. In catering to the demands for admininstrative reliability and efficiency, the educational validity and efficiency of the examinations are sacrificed. In Britain the Newbolt and Bullock Reports, among others, have made forceful recommendations for alternative approaches to external examining. Subsequently, much experimentation with internal examining, course-work and open-book examining has followed, aspects of which are discussed in this study. There has been limited experimentation in these areas in South Africa. The TED conducted a successful internal examining experiment in English literature, the results of which are considered in this thesis. The national English Olympiad open-book examination is a further example of the success of an alternative approach. By contrast, a comparison of examination papers set by the JMB and CED over the last ten years, shows clearly that the stated syllabus aims of teaching literature and the aims of examining the subject were wholly incompatible. Recommendations are made for the adoption of alternative examining strategies in order to address the shortcomings identified
11
Dison, Arona. "Crossing boundaries: facilitating conceptual development in relation to culture in an English for academic purposes course." Rhodes University, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002627.
Full textAbstract:
This research was undertaken as the first cycle of an action research project. The aim was to develop a course within the English Language 1 for Academic Purposes (ELAP) course at Rhodes University, which would facilitate the conceptual development of students in relation to the topic of Culture. The implementation of the course was researched, using students' writing, interviews, staff meeting discussions and video-taping of certain classes. Ten students volunteered to 'be researched'. The types of initial 'commonsense' understandings of culture held by students are outlined and the conceptual development which they underwent in relation to Culture is examined. Students' perceptions of the approaches to learning required in ELAP and the Culture course in particular are explored. The involvement of the ELAP tutors in the course and in the research was a learning experience for them, and this became-another focus of the research. The findings of the research support the argument for using challenging subject matter in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses, provided that the learning process is carefully scaffolded. An underlying assumption is that ways of thinking and learning in university courses need to be explicitly taught to students and the study concludes that lecturers of mainstream courses could also learn from the findings of research such as this. The study also shows the potential power of participatory action research to involve practitioners in research and enhance their understandings of aspects of their practice. Finally, it notes the need to value subtle developments in students and to see them as being part of a longer term process.
12
Clarke, Linda Colleen. "A critical analysis of the examining of poetry in the English First Language Higher Grade course at senior secondary level in Cape Education Department schools." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1993. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003354.
Full textAbstract:
The study of poetry has become entrenched in most secondary school English syllabuses, including the English First Language Higher Grade syllabus of the Cape Education Department. This acceptance of poetry as a part of the formal academic programme has, however, been accompanied by a demand that could be considered contrary to the spirit of poetry: that an examination should conclude the study. The problem is exacerbated if this examination is set and controlled by an external body, since the nature and objectives of a standardised, mass examination frequently conflict sharply with the aims of studying poetry. The implications of such control over the examining of poetry go beyond this, however. These include the defining and narrowing of the course of study by means of lists of prescribed poems selected by a committee often far removed from the world of the candidates and the significant combined effect of these lists and the style of questioning adopted by the external examiners on methods of teaching. Furthermore, the influence of the external examination is not restricted to the final year of study; the approach to poetry during the entire senior secondary course (of three years) tends to conform to the pattern laid down by the final examination paper. This domination of the external examination over the study of poetry is acknowledged but not condoned. There is undoubtedly a need for further research into alternative ways of assessing a poetry course. In the face of reality, however, this study seeks to identify and analyse the many features of external control that influence the study of poetry; and to consider ways in which examinations in poetry can be devised, approached and used to the best effect in order to fulfil the aims of studying poetry. The most important of these aims are held to be the pleasure and enjoyment of personal engagement with a poem, where there is a meeting of minds, a generation and deepening of emotion and feeling, extension of awareness and stimulation of imagination.
13
Quinn, Lynn. "An examination of the drafting-responding process used to develop students' writing in an English Language for Academic Purposes Course." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002642.
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Many students when they arrive at university do not possess the “cultural capital” (Bourdieu 1977) which is favoured by the institution. The purpose of the English Language for Academic Purposes (ELAP) course and the drafting-responding process is to help students to begin to acquire the “cultural capital” required to succeed at university. The research reported on in this thesis examined the drafting-responding process as it is used to develop students’ writing in the ELAP course at Rhodes University. The process involved students submitting drafts of their essays on which they received constructive and formative feedback from their ELAP tutor. This feedback was then used to revise their essays before a final version was submitted for assessment. The research took the form of a case study with an essentially interpretive orientation. I examined the drafts (with the tutor’s comments) and final versions of seven students’ ELAP essays. Additional data was obtained by interviewing the students and the tutor. Underpinning my beliefs regarding the role of writing in learning as well as my orientation to research is an understanding of knowledge and learning as being socially constructed. All writing is embedded in and dependent on, not only the immediate social circumstances, but also the broader social and cultural context. In analysing and discussing the data in this research I used Halliday’s (1985) definition of context, in which he draws a broad distinction between the immediate context of situation and the broader context of culture The research findings showed that the drafting-responding process can help students with the process of developing the academic literacy they need in order to write essays within specific situational contexts, in this case, the context of the ELAP course. In addition, at a broader level, it can help students to begin the process of being initiated into the culture of the university as a whole.
14
Chand, Rajni Kaushal, and n/a. "Listening needs of distance learners : a case study of EAP learners at the University of the South Pacific." University of Otago. Department of English, 2008. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20080827.114047.
Full textAbstract:
This study focuses on student listening needs in the context of the English for Academic Purposes program taught by distance education at the University of the South Pacific. It explores the relationship between learners� awareness of the learning strategy they use for developing their listening skills and their teachers� knowledge of the strategy use and listening needs of learners.
Using an ethnographic case study approach, the study was conducted at various campuses and centres of the University of the South Pacific. Interviews were conducted with five EAP/study skills teachers, five subject/course teachers, 19 past learners and 10 present learners of the EAP/study skills course. Questionnaire data was also obtained from 19 past learners and 153 present learners. In addition, a course material analysis was carried out.
The study confirms and adds weight to the conclusions of earlier researchers such as Berne (1998), and Mendelsohn (2001) who explain that discrepancies exist between L2 listening research and practice. The findings of this research indicate that teachers differ from their learners in terms of learners� knowledge and understanding of listening skills and learning strategies in use. The findings also indicate that even though learning had taken place in this distance education context some face-to-face teaching would have been desirable. A combination of distance teaching with longer teacher-learner contact for distance teaching of listening skills is recommended, since regular contact between teachers and learners is seen by learners as very beneficial and more likely to lead to a better development of listening skills. It also helps create an awareness of learners� present and future listening needs. The nature of distance teaching at the University of the South Pacific, and the challenges faced by both teachers and learners are discussed in this study, and the requirement for further needs analysis in regard to distance EAP courses are noted.
The study concludes with recommendations for strategy training for distance learners as well as for raising teacher awareness about the importance of strategy teaching. It is also recommended that similar studies be undertaken in other language skills courses offered by distance at universities like USP such as reading, writing and speaking courses.
15
Aziakpono, Philomina. "The attitudes of isiXhosa-speaking students toward various languages of learning and teaching (LOLT) issues at Rhodes University." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002621.
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This study aims at eliciting opinions and beliefs of isiXhosa-speaking students to revealtheir attitudes toward various languages of learning and teaching (LOLT) issues at RhodesUniversity, and to determine the influence of a number of variables (such as age, gender,schooling background, level of study and field of study) on these attitudes. Another aim of the study is to compare the findings of this research to the recent findings on isiXhosaspeaking students’ language attitudes at the University of the Western Cape (Dyers 1999) and the University of Fort Hare (Dalvit 2004). Qualitative and quantitative methods were used: data was gathered using a survey that employed a questionnaire and interviews (individual and focus group). The questionnaire data is analysed through using percentage scores as well as mean values coupled with Chi-square tests, while the interviews are analysed qualitatively to further confirm the results of the quantitative analysis. Results are also compared with other recent surveys at South African universities. The results reveal that respondents had a generally positive attitude toward English as LOLT, based mainly on instrumental motivations. More importantly, there was a positive attitude toward the use of isiXhosa alongside English. The motivations for the use of isiXhosa were both instrumental and integrative in nature. The majority of respondents who supported a bilingual arrangement did not, however, believe that a fully-fledged bilingual policy would be practical, mainly because of the multilingual nature of Rhodes University. They felt, however, that providing English and isiXhosa exam question-papers, bilingual tutor support and isiXhosa definitions of discipline-specific technical terms would facilitate learning. Most of the variables mentioned above had an influence on the relevant language attitudes, often confirming the findings of other studies. For instance, schooling background greatly influenced the language attitudes of respondents. Those from previously advantaged English-only schools showed very positive attitudes toward an English-only policy, while most respondents from formerly disadvantaged DET bilingual schools were favourably disposed toward a bilingual policy of English and isiXhosa at Rhodes University. A comparison of the findings of this study with those of recent findings on isiXhosa students’ language attitudes at other universities reveals that respondents at the University of Fort Hare were most favourable toward a bilingual policy, those at the University of the Western Cape were to some extent favourable toward a bilingual arrangement, while respondents at Rhodes University were least favourable toward a bilingual policy.
16
Magxaki, Akhona. "The effect of English as a medium of instruction on the academic performance of students in life orientation at Dower Campus of the Port Elizabeth College." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/14697.
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South Africa is a country with 11 official languages including English. English, however, dominates the educational sector, as medium of instruction. This is despite a plethora of research that shows the cognitive advantages of mother tongue instruction and language policies that promote additive bilingual approaches. As subtractive language approaches characterise poor schooling contexts, the outcomes for students are poor. This is because they do not develop proficiency in any language. The abolition of apartheid in South Africa and the advent of democracy in 1994 resulted in dramatic changes in the education system. Nevertheless, the medium of instruction from Grade four has remained English. Consequently, for the majority of the population the education is in their second language. This study takes place in the higher education setting of a TVET college, namely the Dower Campus in Port Elizabeth. It focuses specifically on Level 2 (first year) Life Orientation students to consider the effect English has, as medium of instruction, on the academic performance of students. There is concern about the status of TVET colleges. Even though the higher education sector has transformed, these skills based colleges are still given inferior status in the eyes of the general public and students themselves. These students may be particularly at risk of success given that they have lower entry requirements than other students in the higher education sector. The subject Life Orientation was used to examine the effect of English on student performance. Life Orientation has come under scrutiny for its usefulness and it cognitive value. This study argues that it is a valuable subject for students at colleges, equipping them with knowledge to succeed at studies and in society at large. However, the pass rates for Life Orientation have been consistently low. The study wanted to probe the role of English in this performance. To address the aims and objectives of this study, relevant literature and various multilingual approaches were reviewed to determine which strategies might be most effective in helping students cope with English as medium of instruction. The study also presents a case for the development of indigenous languages as medium of instruction. The study used a mixed methods approach, that is both qualitative and quantitative methods, to explore the use, attitude and perceptions of English among lecturers and students. The research used an interpretive approach and the study took the form of a case study. The researcher took the stance of being a non-participant observer. Qualitative data was obtained through the use of interviews while quantitative data was obtained through the use of questionnaires. The interviews were recorded and transcribed by a transcriber. Data was analysed using a thematic approach. The results showed that majority of the students did not speak English frequently nor had it as a home language yet they all had a positive regard for the language. Many factors were responsible for student performance in Life Orientation such as attitude to subject, theoretical versus practical components of the subject and student background. However, the medium of instruction played a large role in this performance. Though lecturers foregrounded the importance of English as medium of instruction, they recognise that it was a barrier to understanding and affected student performance. Analysis of the lecturer interviews and the questionnaires with students revealed that students were experiencing difficulty speaking, reading and writing in English. Lecturers adapted their teaching strategies when teaching by including translanguaging strategies of code-switching to facilitate understanding. The data also indicated that code switching was considered by the lecturers to be the most suitable method in teaching to student. Code-meshing and written translations of material were not strategies employed by lecturers. Students indicated that they would prefer to write assignments drafts initially in mother tongue. The findings also suggested that it was necessary for the lecturer to use a variety of multilingual strategies to ensure that students enjoy success in Life Orientation. Based on the findings, this study makes recommendations regarding the teaching and learning of English to students which includes the use of multilingual classroom strategies, collaboration with language lecturers and development of a multilingual language policy to aid in the understanding and acquisition of English terminology used in LO content. Such a language policy should also seek to develop indigenous languages as mediums of instructions at the college.
17
Crain, Patricia Ann. "Crumpled hearts." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015676.
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A middle-aged woman, living in Johannesburg, has an experience which catapults her into changing her life. In the process of confronting her alcoholism, she realizes how patterns of addiction extend to other areas of her life and tries to make sense of the tragic events that have occurred. Her world becomes a different place as she questions everything that she has been taught about relationships, religion, race and her place in society. In the search for answers she uncovers stories about the lives of her parents, grandparents, relatives, friends and acquaintances. Embarking on a journey of discovery and rediscovery through her experiences and those of others, she explores the ways in which the things that she thought she knew defined her behaviour and expression of herself.
18
Dyantyi, Mbongisi Orlean. "A bone fragment." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015677.
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This novella presents three characters, each occupying a different sphere of reality. One is a ‘living dead’ who is forced to return to the land of the living for his continued existence. The other is a young woman who, having lost the will to live, must find a purpose if she is to continue living. The third is a young man who dwells more in the inner than the external world. Their lives intersect through the scripture known as ‘a fragment of a bone.’
19
Mncwango, Jabu Busisiwe. "An exploration of the discrepancy between classroom-based assessment and external summative assessment in English first additional language Grade 12." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/96945.
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Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2015.<br>ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Classroom–based assessment, also referred to as continuous assessment
(CASS), is a formal and important part of the evaluation of South African learners.
The weight attached to CASS varies according to the levels of grades. More
importantly, it is only in Grade 12 that CASS marks of all the learning areas or
subjects are combined with external summative assessment marks for a decision
of awarding a National Senior Certificate.
Continuous assessment (CASS) is formative in nature. This implies that learners
receive feedback on their performance throughout the year. The feedback learners
receive ought to prepare them well for the external summative assessment. If
learners have been prepared well for the external summative assessment, we
would expect their marks to be consistent with their level of achievement in CASS.
However, according to the Department of Education (2003c), having witnessed the
first year of CASS implementation in 2001, both national and provincial
examination authorities realised that the implementation of CASS was problematic
in certain schools. In the analysis of the 2001 and 2002 Senior Certificate
examination results by the South African Certification Council (SAFCERT), huge
discrepancies were found in certain schools between the raw CASS marks and the
adjusted examination marks of the same learners in a number of subjects. The
SAFCERT reported that in 2001 a total of 10 182 examination centres supplied
CASS marks that were more than 20% above the adjusted examination marks. This document-based study examines the extent of the discrepancies between
learners’ CASS marks and the marks they obtained in external summative
assessment. It also tentatively suggests possible reasons for the discrepancies.
To this end, this study compares scores for CASS marks of English First
Additional Language (ENGFAL) to scores for the same learners in the external
summative assessment. The documents recording learners’ CASS marks come
from four schools in Ilembe District, KwaZulu-Natal.
Although my mini thesis focuses on the extent of the discrepancy, my analysis
also makes some initial suggestions of some possible reasons for the
discrepancies between CASS and external summative assessment marks. These
tentative reasons are a lack of teacher knowledge in administering CASS; large
classes; the demanding administrative load of teachers; an interest in passing as
many learners as possible; not wanting to create tension, especially within small,
close-knit communities; and in many cases, generally dysfunctional schools.
My main suggestions for addressing the problem of discrepancies include:
providing better in-service training for teachers in regard to their knowledge of
subject content and assessment practices; making available to teachers an item
bank with samples of assessment questions and tasks; encouraging teachers to
become active participants of professional teacher organisations; encouraging
greater parental participation in informal assessment; and by establishing
assessment committees in schools. In addition, the government could appoint
more teachers to reduce overcrowded schools and classrooms, fund the
establishment of functional libraries, promote and monitor English as a medium of
instruction from as early as the Intermediate Phase.<br>AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: ’n Ondersoek van die Teenstrydighede by Punte vir Deurlopende Evaluering en
Eksterne Summatiewe Assessering by Engels Eerste Addisionele Taal in Graad12
Deurlopende evaluering (DE) is ʼn formele en belangrike aspek by die evaluering
van Suid-Afrikaanse leerders. Die gewig wat aan DE toegeken word, varieer na
gelang van die vlakke van die onderskeie grade. Dit is belangrik om daarop te let
dat die DE-punte net in Graad 12 by al die leer areas of vakke gekombineer word
met eksterne summatiewe assesseringspunte om die toekenning van ʼn Nasionale
Senior Sertifikaat te bepaal.
Deurlopende evaluering (DE) is formatief van aard. Dit beteken dat leerders
gedurende die jaar deurlopend terugvoer ontvang oor hul prestasie. Die terugvoer
wat hulle ontvang, is veronderstel om leerders deeglik voor te berei vir die
eksterne summatiewe assessering. Indien leerders deeglik voorberei is vir die
eksterne summatiewe assessering, sou verwag kan word dat die punt wat hulle
behaal by die eksterne summatiewe assessering ooreenstem met die vlak van hul
prestasie by DE.
Volgens die Departement van Onderwys (2003c) is daar egter na die eerste jaar
van die implementering van DE in 2001 deur beide die nasionale en provinsiale
eksamenowerhede tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat die implementering van DE in
sommige skole probleme skep. By die analise van die 2001- en 2002-uitslae van
die Senior Sertifikaat eksamen deur SAFCERT is groot teenstrydighede by sommige skole opgemerk tussen die onverwerkte DE-punte en die aangepaste
eksamen punte van dieselfde leerders in ʼn aantal vakke. SAFCERT het verslag
gedoen dat ʼn totaal van 10 182 eksamen sentra in 2001DE-punte verskaf het wat
20% hoër was as die aangepaste eksamen punte.
Die doel van hierdie studie is om die omvang van die teenstrydigheid tussen die
punte wat leerders tydens DE behaal het en die punte wat hulle in eksterne
summatiewe assessering behaal het, te ondersoek. Die studie sal ook tentatiewe
voorstelle maak oor die redes vir die teenstrydigheid. Om dit te kan doen, sal ek
die DE-uitslae en die uitslae van die eksterne summatiewe assessering van
dieselfde leerders vir Engels Eerste Addisionele Taal vergelyk. Die leerders is
afkomstig van vier skole in die IIembe Distrik, KwaZulu-Natal.
Alhoewel my minitese op die omvang van die teenstrydigheid fokus, bied my
analise ‘n paar moontlike oorsake vir die afwyking tussen DE-punte en eksterne
summatiewe assessering aan. Dit kan tentatief toegeskryf word aan: ʼn gebrek aan
kennis by onderwysers oor die toepassing van DE, groot klasse, die veeleisende
administratiewe las op onderwysers, die strewe om soveel as moontlik leerders te
laat slaag om nie spanning veral in klein geslote gemeenskappe te veroorsaak nie
en oor die algemeen in baie gevalle bloot disfunksionele skole.
My belangrikste voorstelle om die probleem van teenstrydighede aan te spreek, is
om meer insette aan onderwysers te voorsien om sodoende hul kennis van
vakinhoud en assesseringspraktyke uit te brei, om ʼn item bank met voorbeelde
van assesseringsvrae en -take beskikbaar te maak, om onderwysers aan te
moedig om aktief deel te neem aan professionele onderwyser organisasies, en om groter ouerbetrokkenheid aan te moedig by informele assessering om
assesserings komitees in skole tot stand te bring. In aansluiting hierby moet die
regering meer onderwysers aanstel om die oorbevolking in skole aan te spreek,
die instel van funksionele biblioteke befonds en Engels as ʼn medium van onderrig
van so vroeg as die Intermediêre Fase bevorder en monitor.
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Wright, Jennifer Lynne. "The role of discourse in the constitution of radiographic knowledge : a critical realist account /." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2008. http://eprints.ru.ac.za/1532/.
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Thesis (Ph.D. (Education)) - Rhodes University, 2008.<br>Title on the programme: The role of language in the constitution of radiographic knowledge : a critical realistic account. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 271-280).
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Kirsten, Monica. "Multilingual/multicultural aspects of visual literacy and interpretation in multimodal educational communication." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2004. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&.
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The aim of this thesis was to investigate the use of visual images in print texts produced for language teaching and learning. It tested the manner in which learners from different cultural contexts relate to selected visual images in language textbooks prepared for use in secondary schools. More specifically it aimed to gain clarity on how certain visual elements, relevant to the illustration of people, contribute to encouraging students to access their learning material. The research aimed to gain insight into the way in which visuals can be bridges or barriers to reading and thus also to learning in learner-centred language education in a multilingual/multicultural South African context.
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Vongo, Mthuthuzeli Rubin. "A case study of the goals of the business communication course at Technikon Witwatersrand." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003949.
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At Technikon Witwatersrand, Business Communication is offered as a service subject, which is compulsory for a variety of diplomas and the majority of students are obligated to do the course. Its broad intention is to assist students in developing their proficiency in English, enabling them to cope with studying at Technikon and preparing them for the workplace. Despite the fact that the course is designed to assist them, many students question why they have to do the course and whether it is simply a repetition of high school work. The study attempts to examine the implicit and explicit goals of Business Communication, to explore the process through which the goals have been developed and changed over the years (i.e. how the goals have been constructed), and to elicit and compare the perspectives of the different stakeholder groups as to the goals. Both a qualitative and a quantitative approach are used in the research design. Interviews with four fulltime lecturers were conducted and a self-designed questionnaire was administered to students. These were the main means of data collection. The data reveals that the goals of Business Communication are implied rather than explicit. Despite this, students and lecturers see the course as important. Recommendations are made to help the Department of Business Communication to reflect on their practice with particular emphasis given to material development and the application of OBE principles.
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Hollis-Turner, Shairn Lorena. "Higher education business writing practices in office management and technology programmes and in related workplaces." Thesis, [S.l. : s.n.], 2008. http://dk.cput.ac.za/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1072&context=td_cput.
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Niven, Penelope Mary. "Acquiring academic reading practices in History I : an ethnographic study of a group of foundation year students at Rhodes University." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007860.
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This thesis reports on a critical, ethnographic investigation into the reading practices of a group of 14 foundation year students at Rhodes University in 2002. The university had identified all the student-participants as 'underprepared' for university learning: they were from poor, socio-economic backgrounds, used English as an additional language, and had been educated in township or rural schools. Using the Socio-cultural model of literacy (Heath, 1984; Gee, 1990 & Street, 1993), the study explores the culturally-shaped attitudes and assumptions about reading that the students brought with them into a tertiary learning context from their homes, communities and schools. It reports on their subsequent efforts to become academic readers in the disciplinary context of History. Framing Theory (Reid and MacLachlan, 1994) was employed to analyse the kinds of matches and mismatches that arose between the students' frames about the nature and purpose of reading, and those implicitly accepted as normative by teachers in the History department. It accounts for the students' difficulties in achieving epistemological access in terms of a conflict of frames: both the students and their teachers usually failed to recognise each others' constructions about the nature and purpose of 'reading for a degree'. The study'S critical purpose required that its potential for generating emancipatory consequences needed to be investigated. Thus the study reports on how both sets of participants began to reframe their understanding of academic reading, by describing the ways in which they reflected on the findings in the final stages of the research process.<br>KMBT_363<br>Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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Beyers, Marike. "How to open the door." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011502.
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A collection of mostly lyrical poems. The poems explore moments of experience and thought relating to longing and belonging, in terms of relations, memory and place. The poems are mostly short and intense. Silence and implied meanings are often as important as what is said; shadows are evoked to recall substance. Though short, the poems are not tightly closed – on the contrary, meanings proliferate in the process of exploration
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Vivier, Lincky Elmé. "One leg at a time." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012945.
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This collection of poems explores the boundaries between certainty and uncertainty, between the desire for meaning and the destabilisation of meaning. The content encompasses everyday life, love and loss, and the ambiguities are reflected in the forms used, so that, for instance, the linear continuity of narrative and the musicality of the lyric may be juxtaposed with the fragmented and imagistic leaps of the associative poem.
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Bila, Freddy Vonani. "Grieving forests." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020880.
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This is a collection of village narrative poems mainly set in rural Limpopo that searches into the complexity of the past and how historical events impact on the present. Although the poems are imagined along the Marxist dialectic, they’re fresh imaginative creations featuring a strong element of surprise, spiritual mysticism, experimenting with form, delving into unknown poetic avenues, creating new music, exploring new sounds and taking risks. The long and intense poem, Ancestral wealth, which is a tribute to the poet’s father, reflects on death and its impact through the effective application of various stylistic elements and poetic devices, thus immortalising the life of a rural South African. Overall the poems, including retrospective and experimental ones, condemn the free market economic system and all that it seems to necessitate: the degradation of ecology, indifference to human suffering and the alienation of vulnerable social groups.
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Bamjee, Saaleha. "My grandmother breaks her hip." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020881.
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A collection of narrative and confessional poems. The poems are mostly short, cinematic, physical, imagistic: moments in time. They explore the poet’s own life, body, memories, and family relationships, and the tensions between power, duty, love and faith. Several poems concern the navigation of meaning and belonging in a time when international urban culture often clashes with tradition.
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Roodt, Jolette. "The role of a tutoring programme in a first-year English course : student and tutor perceptions." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/85815.
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Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.<br>ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Over the last two decades, the deteriorating academic performance of first-year university students has led to the implementation of teaching and learning interventions, such as tutorial programmes, in various subjects at universities world-wide, including in South Africa. The changing nature of higher education has also led to the incorporation of more student-centred teaching approaches (such as tutorials) along with the traditional teacher-centred approaches (such as lectures). Consequently, tutorial programmes have become the topic of many research projects aimed at describing the function or operation of these programmes, or assessing their efficacy.
As a compulsory or potentially compulsory subject for at least seven courses in three faculties at Stellenbosch University, English 178 has one of the highest annual student intakes at the institution. Considering the important role the subject is generally perceived to play in equipping all manner of students for the professional environment, it was imperative that the English 178 course’s primary learning intervention – its tutorial programme – be thoroughly evaluated in order to ensure its usefulness and the accomplishment of its purposes. This study investigated the role of tutors in the achievement of the English 178 course outcomes as perceived by students and tutors respectively. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed to effect this assessment.
The study found that when students arrive at English 178, they are underprepared for academic writing. According to the results, the course then equips students for the more basic aspects of this skill, such as formulating and developing an argument, and structuring an academic essay. However, advanced skills such as independent research and referencing are still problematic for many students by the end of English 178. In supporting students to acquire these academic skills, tutors have four roles, according to student and tutor perceptions: expositor, chairperson, teacher, and scaffolder. Based on these results, the English 178 course can be seen as an example of facilitated textual enquiry (FTE), a teaching and learning model introduced by this study, which constitutes a selective application of problem-based learning (PBL) principles to literary studies. FTE entails the scaffolded, partially-guided instruction of close reading, critical thinking and academic writing skills by a tutor-facilitator. The study posits that this type of model is indispensable in the achievement of course outcomes in the 21st-century academic landscape.<br>AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In die afgelope twee dekades het eerstejaar-universiteitstudente se verswakkende akademiese prestasie gelei tot die implementering van onderrig- en leerintervensies, soos tutoriaalprogramme, in verskeie vakke aan universiteite wêreldwyd, insluitend in Suid-Afrika. Die veranderende aard van hoër opvoeding het ook gelei tot die inlywing van meer studentgesentreerde onderrigbenaderings (soos tutoriale) by tradisionele dosentgesentreerde benaderings (soos lesings). Gevolglik het tutoriaalprogramme die onderwerp van vele navorsingsprojekte geword wat daarop gemik is om die funksie of werking van hierdie programme te beskryf, of die doeltreffendheid daarvan te assesseer.
As ’n verpligte of potensieel verpligte vak vir ten minste sewe kursusse in drie fakulteite by die Universiteit Stellenbosch het Engels 178 een van die hoogste jaarlikse studente-innames aan die instelling. Gegewe die belangrike rol wat die vak volgens algemene persepsie speel in die toerusting van allerlei studente vir die professionele omgewing, was dit noodsaaklik dat die Engels 178-kursus se primêre leerintervensie – die tutoriaalprogram – deeglik geëvalueer word om die dienstigheid en die vervulling van die doelwitte daarvan te verseker. Hierdie studie het die rol van tutors in die bereiking van die Engels 178-kursusuitkomste ondersoek vanuit die oogpunt van onderskeidelik studente en tutors. ’n Kombinasie van kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe navorsingsmetodes is gebruik om hierdie assessering te doen.
Die studie het gevind dat wanneer studente by Engels 178 aankom, hulle ondervoorbereid is vir akademiese skryf. Volgens die resultate rus die kursus hulle dan toe vir die meer basiese aspekte van hierdie vaardigheid, soos om ’n argument te formuleer en ontwikkel, en om ’n akademiese opstel te struktureer. Gevorderde vaardighede, soos onafhanklike navorsing en verwysings, is egter teen die einde van Engels 178 steeds vir baie studente problematies. Wanneer tutors studente ondersteun om hierdie akademiese vaardighede aan te leer, het hulle volgens studente en tutors se persepsies vier rolle: uitlêer (expositor), voorsitter (chairperson), leermeester (teacher), en steieraar (scaffolder). Gegrond op hierdie resultate kan die Engels 178-kursus gesien word as ’n voorbeeld van gefasiliteerde tekstuele ondersoek (facilitated textual enquiry of FTE), ’n onderrig- en leermodel wat deur hierdie studie bekendgestel word en wat bestaan uit ’n selektiewe toepassing van probleemgebaseerde leerbeginsels op letterkundestudie. FTE behels die gesteierde (scaffolded), gedeeltelik geleide onderrig van stiplees (close reading), kritiese denke en akademiese skryfvaardighede deur ’n tutor-fasiliteerder. Die studie voer aan dat hierdie soort model onontbeerlik is in die bereiking van kursusuitkomste in die 21ste-eeuse akademiese landskap.
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Dalvit, Lorenzo. "Attitudes of isiXhosa-speaking students at the University of Fort Hare towards the use of isiXhosa as a language of learning and teaching (LOLT)." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2004. http://eprints.ru.ac.za/16/.
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Van, Heerden Karen Ilse. "A phenomenological investigation into undergraduate students' experience of acquiring the discourse of engineering." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003581.
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The area of discourse acquisition and writing in higher education has become a much researched field. In South Africa the interest in discourse acquisition and writing has been partly in response to the change in student profile, particularly over the past ten years. While South African researchers and academics are increasingly focusing their interest in discourse acquisition and writing on the unique circumstances here, they rely on theories based on research done in very different social contexts. These theories are not necessarily universally appropriate. South Africa is currently undergoing a period of transformation in higher education aimed at greater access and equity for black students and academics. The accompanying sense of frustration and disillusionment among students and academics underlines the need to reappraise all aspects of higher education. Much of the research on discourse acquisition and writing is undertaken in arts programmes: vocational fields - such as engineering education - tend to be neglected. If the envisaged growth in science and engineering education is to be realised, it is essential that research in discourse and writing be undertaken in engineering programmes. This study investigates discourse acquisition as experienced by students in a South African engineering faculty. The experiences of six final year technikon students are investigated to gain a better understanding of what it means to acquire the discourse of engineering. The phenomenological method used requires that the researcher suspends or brackets a priori theoretical notions or pre-conceptions so that that which the students experience, rather than what the researcher expects in terms of theory, can emerge. What emerges from the students' experiences is partially congruent with established discourse and writing theories. However, some of the student experiences of discourse acquisition differ in significant ways from what is described in mainstream writing and discourse acquisition theory. The differences in the manner in which these students experience their acquisition of engineering discourse leads to a new understanding of the phenomenon. The students do not experience the alienation or struggle described in mainstream theoretic accounts of discourse acquisition. Students' approaches to writing are affected by their awareness of their multiple identities and the different locations in which they learn. Their approaches to writing are significantly different in some respects from descriptions in mainstream theories in some respects. The description of their experiences gives a different understanding of what it means to acquire the discourse of engineering, and may contribute to the reappraisal of engineering education in a contemporary South African context.
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Park, In-Ryang. "Encouraging motivation using songs and cooperative learning to improve intercultural understanding." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2000. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1754.
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The purpose of this study is to explore the students' motivation using songs and cooperative learning to improve intercultural understanding and to achieve communicative competence. The target level is the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) intermediate level students in South Korea.
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Woo, Jung-Im. "Culture teaching in EFL through computer/critical thinking." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2000. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1677.
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The purpose of this project is to develop computer-assisted language learning (CALL) lesson plans using the Internet and to offer an example for academic senior high school teachers in South Korea of exemplary treatment of cultural topics that promote critical thinking and incorporate crosscultural understanding based on cooperative learning.
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Mkaza, Linda Olive. "Exploring the potential of digital storytelling in the teaching of academic writing at a higher education institution in the Western Cape." Thesis, University of The Western Cape, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/7508.
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Doctor Educationis<br>Writing is an important skill throughout learners’ schooling trajectory because it is through writing that learners need to situate meaning and sense-making across the curriculum. Writing proficiency becomes even more important when learners access tertiary studies. Yet studies suggest that most students struggle with academic writing. Various authors suggest that writing has not been taught appropriately especially in secondary schooling contexts in South Africa and that writing becomes even more daunting for Second Language speakers of English when they reach tertiary education. There is abundant literature on students’ challenges with academic writing and ways to address academic writing challenges but the use of digital storytelling in relation to academic writing development is recent and distinctively underexplored in the literature.
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Park, Myongsu. "The effects of partial captions on Korean EFL learners' listening comprehension." 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/12695.
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Potter, A. M. "The integration of a greater degree of language teaching into current university English courses." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/9144.
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Murray, Bokyung. "Self-determination theory in a collectivist educational context: motivation of Korean students studying English as a foreign language." Thesis, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/1638.
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Mgqwashu, Emmanuel Mfanafuthi. "English studies and language teaching : epistemological access and discursive critique in South Africa." Thesis, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/1060.
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This study investigates ways in which English Studies at Rhodes University, the University of the Witwatersrand, the University of Natal, and the University of Sydney responded to linguistic and academic literacy needs of entrance level students. Both qualitative and quantitative data from these research sites are integrated with an
autobiographical narrative based on my own personal experiences of learning English and in English at secondary and tertiary levels in South Africa. Dealing with data this way made it possible for my study to examine strategies through which different English departments negotiate the challenge of enabling students to access the discourse of the Discipline. I relied on the principles underpinning Genre Theory and Grounded Theory to engage critically with participants’ responses to interview questions and documentary evidence from research sites. It appears from the study that modules designed to develop students’ linguistic and/or academic literacy skills need not maintain a pedagogic practice that is either grammatical rules or academic writing and critique based, without an attempt to integrate the two. This separation is seen as artificial, and reflects pedagogic practices that tend to mystify the discourse of the Discipline of English Studies. Given the fact that not all students posses relevant
cultural capital to negotiate meanings successfully within this discourse, many of them are excluded during lectures. Literature and research findings in this study indicate that this exclusion manifests itself when such students fail to choose grammatical structures according to the purpose for which they construct texts, both
in speaking and in writing. Within this context, there is a need for an alternative model to inform theory, module design, and pedagogic practices in entrance level modules.<br>Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.
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Swemmer, Derek. "Developing English communicative skills : a reassessment of the role of university departments of English in meeting the needs of English second language students." Thesis, 1992. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/16161.
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Prompted by increasing demand in South Africa for the development of a focused but flexible English Second
Language (ESL) curriculum at university level, this thesis contends that substantial theoretical under-pinning is
needed for decisions on ESL course materials. Once the theoretical constructs are determined, a model based on a systematic approach to course design is proposed. It maximizes the individualization of experiential learning,
despite the large numbers of students who take these courses, through a multi-form course structure offering
four streams of study at three levels of difficulty. Entry is possible at the start of the year and at mid-year. The empirical research which forms the basis of the study is an analysis of the 1985 student group at the University
of South Africa (UNISA). Several methods are used, including post-course questionnaires, diagnostic assignments and a detailed language and stylistic error count linked with a clause analysis of a sample of
assignments and examination scripts. The model curriculum meets the contextually basic science requirements of a university course, within the parameters of response needed in regard to the ESL student profile determined by the needs and role analysis completed in Chapter 2. Model aims and terminal learning objectives are presented in Chapter 3 as the foundation on which the rest of the thesis is constructed, and include comprehension, applied composition, oral and aural skills, use of reference works, methods of thinking, and occupationally relevant specialist language. In Chapters 4 and 5, in-depth analyses of appropriate course content and methods emphasize the use of Afrocentric English literature in contemporary settings with appropriate readability levels, language in use in specified contexts, development of vocabulary, remedying incorrect usage, comprehension skills, composition skills, development of cognitive processes, oral and listening skills, and the purpose and place of grammar. The final chapters outline approaches to criterion-referenced assessment and evaluation, and suggest appropriate set works and criteria for their selection. The course materials aim at improving English communicative performance. The underlying principles used in developing this course design and its associated materials can be valuably extrapolated and applied at universities and other tertiary institutions.<br>English Studies<br>D. Litt et Phil. (English)
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Smit, Marius Johann. "Language across the curriculum in English second language context." Thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/13400.
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Shange, Thembeka. "The English proficiency skills of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Foundation students at a University of Technology : assessing the effectiveness of the English Word Power program." 2016. http://encore.tut.ac.za/iii/cpro/DigitalItemViewPage.external?sp=1001915.
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D. Tech. Language Practice<br>Additional language learning in South Africa is a challenge, partly as a result of the country's past history which promoted certain languages in official domains, while others that were spoken by the majority of the citizens remained underdeveloped, and marginalised. As English is a language of learning and teaching at most universities in South Africa, students with a very poor command of English find it severely challenging when they enroll at university. This study assessed the possible, significant effectiveness of the English Word Power (EWP) program, which is used as a form of intervention on the poor English proficiency skills of ICT Foundation students at a University of Technology in Gauteng.
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Southey, Lynne. "Applying literary theory in teaching reading strategies to English L2 college students." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/8970.
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Shin, Chang Won 1972. "Korean EFL learners' knowledge of semantic, morphological, and syntactic properties of English verbs: the relationships of lexical and grammatical knowledge." Thesis, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/3583.
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The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between lexical and grammatical knowledge in the L2 acquisition of English by Korean EFL learners by examining how the depth of lexical knowledge that Korean learners have about English verbs is related to their grammatical knowledge. For this study, L2 research into depth of lexical knowledge and generative syntactic theory have been reviewed to suggest the interdependent nature of vocabulary and grammar in L2 acquisition (Nation, 1990, 2001; Chomsky, 1981, 1986, 1995; Herschensohn, 2000). Data were collected from Korean EFL learners through a depth of vocabulary knowledge test which focused on semantic, morphological, and syntactic properties of English verbs and a grammar test. The results showed that there was a high positive correlation between vocabulary and grammar knowledge in L2 English acquisition by Korean learners, and that semantic, morphological, and syntactic properties of lexical knowledge all contributed to the prediction of L2 learners' grammatical knowledge. In particular, the syntactic property of lexical knowledge was found to be the most important predictor of grammatical knowledge. However, it was also found that the morphological property was not as important in the prediction of L2 grammatical knowledge as the syntactic property. Based on these findings, it was argued that the in-depth view of L2 lexical knowledge might be appropriate for explaining the interdependent nature of lexical and grammatical knowledge, since this in-depth perspective sees lexical knowledge as consisting of various properties such as semantic, morphological, and syntactic features. On the other hand, a generative view on syntax also seems to provide an account of how each property of lexical knowledge would be related to overall grammatical knowledge. Thus, the syntactic property of word knowledge such as argument structures and subcategorization frames might serve as a connector which links lexical and grammatical knowledge. Finally, some possible accounts of why the morphological property of vocabulary knowledge did not contribute as much to the prediction of L2 grammatical knowledge as the syntactic property were provided on the basis of the notion of argument structures, the characteristics of morphological knowledge assessed by the in-depth vocabulary test, and L2 lexical development model proposed by Jiang (2000).
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Evans, Moyra. "A language-based approach to literature teaching for ESL undergraduates." Thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/14746.
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M.A. (Applied Linguistics)<br>To account for the characteristic linguistic needs of second language students, psycholinguistic theories of second language acquisition are taken into account. Sociolinguistic factors such as possible future language policies regarding English in the South African context, and societal attitudes towards English are also considered. An overview of the more significant approaches and methods in second language teaching is followed by a brief survey of undergraduate ESL courses in South Africa and other third world countries ...
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Butler, Ian. "Integrating language and literature in English studies : a case study of the English 100 course at the University of North West." Thesis, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/1663.
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This thesis is a case study, conducted within a paradigm of action research, of the English 100 course at the University of the North West (now the Mafikeng campus of North West University), as taught by the author in the years 2000 - 2001. Its aim is to investigate the effect of the integration of language and literature on the first year of the undergraduate programme.
The case study is placed in context through a consideration of educational change in South Africa. This includes changes taking place in the study of English as a second language at tertiary level, as well as the broader innovations to South African education brought about by government legislation. Two aspects of the latter are singled out for special attention: outcomes-based education and quality assurance.
The case study is also contextualized at an international level through a survey of the theory and practice of an integrated approach to the teaching of language and literature to ESOL students. A survey of the literature, mainly in the last twenty years, reveals a growing interest in this approach. An attempt is then made to encapsulate this research in the form of fourteen statements about the supposed benefits of integrating language and literature. Through a detailed analysis of the performance of the first-year students, the case study subsequently attempts to test the validity of these claims.
The study is presented as a process involving syllabus design, materials development, implementation of the course and an evaluation of its efficacy by the teacher-researcher. In line with the methodology of action research, a variety of methods is used to gather data. These include introspection and reflection (through the use of a teacher's journal and lesson reports), the analysis of written work produced by students, classroom observation by a `critical friend', triangulation (through the use of questionnaires, students' journals and self-reflective tasks) and documentation from the Department of English and university administration. The analysis of these data is both quantitative and qualitative. In keeping with the philosophy of action research and current educational practice, an attempt was made to incorporate and act upon the insights of students and colleagues. Reports on work-in-progress were also published in a number of fora: references are given in the thesis. The assumptions of action research are also apparent in the way in which the study is situated within cycles of action, reflection and improvement of pedagogical practice.
The conclusion of the thesis is partly stated in terms of quality assurance: an attempt is made to assess the suitability of the integrated approach with regard to its fitness of and for purpose. It is concluded that a number of contextual factors, such as the conditions under which the English 100 course was taught and the under-preparedness of many of the students, militated against its success. The case-study is also assessed in terms of its contribution to international research in the field, and the personal development of the researcher. As is commonly found both in action research and in case study research, the findings of the study are context specific: consequently, no claim is made that they are generalizable to all other contexts.<br>English Studies<br>D.Litt. et Phil.
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Seligmann, Judy. "Integrating language and subject content in higher education : a pedagogy for course design." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/9508.
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D.Litt. et Phil. (Higher Education)<br>This study investigates the design of a Reading-to-Write programme for students who enter a university with limited literacy competence in English. The history of the design and development of the programme are tracked, examining the design principles that were extracted from the literature and how these were employed in the programme over a period of five years. Having identified that there were no theory-based design principles for literacy programme development in this context, the purpose of the thesis was to capture the evolvement of the literacy course in a design-based format addressing both literacy experts and relevant university administrators. Design-based research has the potential of informing innovative approaches to learning and teaching that can bring about change in educational practice showing how designs develop and require modification. Sustainable innovation, however, requires an understanding of how and why an innovation works within a setting over time and across settings (Brown & Camplone, 1996). The distinct advantage of such a methodological orientation is that it addresses the relationship between research and instructional practices while attempting to find workable solutions that accomplish educational goals (Reinking & Bradley, 2004). In South Africa, where many students come from an impoverished educational background with limited access to books and libraries, the dominant modes and literacy practices of higher education are often unfamiliar and alienating. Because students enter university without the prerequisite intellectual and linguistic basis needed for academic study, there is often a fundamental mismatch between their 'ways of knowing' and the expectations of the institution. For the majority of students the preferred language of instruction is English which is seen to provide access to .a global community. However, English is a primary language for a very small percentage of the South African population and in many instances, students have not acquired it adequately even as a second language at school, because of ineffective teaching methods. At university, students have to expand their often inadequate knowledge of the language of instruction, while they are busy learning their new content subjects.
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Masebenza, Benson James. "Sociocultural factors as variables in the written output of students of English at the University of Venda : a semantic-conceptual perspective." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/9325.
Full textAbstract:
M.A. (Applied Linguistics)<br>The central concern of the research study is the academic underachievement of the student. The problem is probed by looking at the language and learning difficulties encountered by the student as he strives to cope with the demands of his academic programme. The research target group consists of students registered inter alia, to do English 100, a course that exposes the students to literary texts. Since the group is at the entry level to university education, the complex of adjustments which confront the student offer stimulating theoretical possibilities. Illumination to the problem is sought in three related directions, viz the semanticconceptual, the sociocultural and an encapsulation strategy. In its general orientation the study looks beyond the student and the lecture room in seeking answers to vexing educational problems. The research method used is, in the main, eclectic with a predilection to approaches that lend themselves more amenably to the sociocultural and experiential undergirding of the investigation as a whole. . The main findings identify the key players on whom initiatives towards alleviation and amelioration largely depends. Above all, the problem is conceived as sociocultural, for which only a socioculturally adequate solution can ever be viable. The perceived significance of the research study is its serious attempt to ask educationally significant questions. It however, does not claim to offer answers in such an intricate area of human endeavour.
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Rautenbach, Eunice. "Developing curricula for English for occupational purposes : a case study at a university of technology." 2014. http://encore.tut.ac.za/iii/cpro/DigitalItemViewPage.external?sp=1001608.
Full textAbstract:
D. Tech. Language Practice<br>The focus of this study was to determine how best to develop EOP curricula. This was accomplished by doing an EOP wants and needs analyses, including all stakeholders. A case study was conducted at a University of Technology, and a Pragmatist approach was used, utilising both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. The wants and needs, which would form the basis of an EOP curriculum, emerged as themes from the analysis. There was a particular focus on: the students, because EOP is learner-centred; authenticity of learning materials per field of specialisation; and, collaboration among departments rendering language services and service-requesting departments in the university. The conclusion drawn was that English proficiency plays a central role in the success of learning EOP. Direct feedback from industry, regarding student wants and needs, emerged as essential in planning a curriculum.
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Jacobs, Cecilia. "Negotiated understandings of the academic literacy practices of tertiary educators." Thesis, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/3247.
Full textAbstract:
This study explores the process that occurred between a group of language lecturers and disciplinary specialists at a tertiary institution in South Africa as they negotiated common understandings of an integrated approach to the teaching of academic literacies. The focus of the study is on both the process underpinning this approach, as well as how the participants understood this process and constructed themselves within it. The unit of analysis in this study is the co-ordinated integrated approach to the teaching of academic literacies.
This is a retrospective case study that engaged participants in a process of reflection on their interactions, over the three-year life of an institutional project, which resulted from the collaboration of language lecturers and disciplinary specialists. The overarching approach to data production was narrative methodology. Drawing on life history research methods, various strategies (such as participant observation, survey of documentation, analysis of policy documents, stimulated recall, individual interviewing and focus group sessions) were used to
collect data about participants' experiences retrospectively. Three levels of analysis were applied to the primary data set, which comprised the narrative interviews, freewrites and focus group sessions.
The findings from the study suggest that sustained interaction between language lecturers and disciplinary specialists is an important process in reshaping how both parties construct their roles and academic identities within higher education, a necessary element in shifting mindsets
regarding the practice of academic literacy teaching in higher education. The most important factors in bringing about this shift are presented in the report as a theoretical model for the process of integrating academic literacies into disciplines. These factors and the processes linking them, represent important considerations when designing integrated approaches to the teaching of academic literacies, and are instrumental in bringing about changes regarding the practice of academic literacy teaching in higher education. The data suggest that the creation
of productive institutional discursive spaces, which transgress narrow disciplinary boundaries, could bridge the separate academic Iifeworlds of language lecturers and disciplinary specialists.
In a shift away from the 'study skills' view of academic literacy which supports an autonomous model of literacy, and the 'acculturation' view of academic literacy which supports an uncritical academic socialisation model, this study proposes a critical understanding of the teaching of
discipline-specific academic literacies and introduces an inside/outside model of academic literacy teaching. This model proposes that disciplinary specialists need to be working within their disciplinary Discourse communities, while simultaneously having a critical overview of this
'insider' role, from outside of it. It is in engaging with language lecturers who are 'outsiders' to their disciplinary Discourses that disciplinary specialists find themselves at the margins of their own fields, and are able to view themselves as insiders from the outside, as it were. This
shifting location from a purely insider perspective, to an insider perspective from the outside, shifts lecturers towards a critical understanding of the teaching of discipline-specific academic literacies. This model, and the· study informing it, theorises the process by which this dual critical identity can be crafted in practice.<br>Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.
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Seligmann, Judy. "Rural teachers' learning of English in a distance education programme." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7274.
Full textAbstract:
M.Ed.<br>This dissertation sets out to examine the feasibility of teaching English to rural black teachers by distance education. It argues that the retraining of teachers is central to the reconstruction program of the ANC government and that English, as medium of instruction in most schools, is an area of weakness that needs to be addressed. It claims that failure to tackle this language issue creatively will contribute to the continued failure to achieve educational goals in South Africa. While it recognises the inability of formal institutions to cope with the enormous task of teacher retraining programmes, it seriously questions the effectiveness of teaching communicative competence by distance education. It claims that distance education does not achieve parity with conventional provision either in quality, quantity or status. It therefore sets out to find some of the 'missing links' to successful language learning and teaching in existing distance systems and to offer suggestions and recommendations for future consideration. A critical discussion of the literature on distance education, learning theories and adult second language learning, provides the context in which the training of black teachers is situated. The theoretical debates highlight the deficiencies in many of our existing language programmes and illustrate the need to implement the concept of mediated learning in the development of distance language study courses. The dissertation proposes the thesis that autonomous learning, which is central to the concept of both open and distance systems, conflicts with the general characteristics of black teachers who are products of the Bantu Education system. It emphasises the need to recognise these barriers to learning and advises the creation of a distance learning context in South Africa which exhibits a greater 'continuity of concern' (Sewart,1978) by providing for a two-way dialogue through both tutor-learner and learner-learner interaction. The dissertation therefore deals with two prime concerns: the need to equip underqualified black teachers with communicative competence in English, which will facilitate learning in the classroom and the difficulty of teaching a skills based course at a distance (see also fig. 1 on p.1).