My PhD study explores humour in British academic lectures and Chinese students' perceptions of it. The research interest was derived from my personal experience as an international student in Britain, when I repeatedly encountered occasions on which the lecturers' jokes fell flat for me. Britain is one of the most popular destinations for international students, but there are hardly any investigations into humour in academic contexts or international students' understanding of it, and none on Chinese students' problems with humour in lectures. In my study, instances of humour, referred to as 'humour episodes' (REs), were identified and analysed in a large number of lectures recorded in the British Academic Spoken English (BASE) corpus and nine academic lectures recorded by me. Some Chinese students, non-Chinese students and all of the lecturers at the lectures in my corpus, commented on selected REs in interviews and group discussions. Analysis of the REs was informed by interactional sociolinguistic and pragmatic theories. Major formal, semantic, and functional properties of humour in the lectures were identified. Humour arose from the incongruous interplay between these properties. The lecturers used humour to carry out teaching tasks and interpersonal activities. Humour heightened the lecturers' stances toward their topics. These stances embodied sociocultural values. The Chinese students had evident problems comprehending their lecturers' humour. Some expressed a feeling of alienation at having to laugh with other classmates without understanding the cause. The lecturers were often unaware of the Chinese students' perceptions of their humour, and sometimes appeared to be insensitive to their negative feelings. Expression of stance in the humour was particularly problematic to the Chinese students, but they tended to consider it peripheral to the main purpose of their studies. My study has implications for Chinese students' experience in British universities, and the internationalisation of British higher education.

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This empirical study examines politeness phenomena in the English of first and second language students at an academic institution. Using the theoretical framework of the CCSARP, a OCT and a qualitative questionnaire were used to analyze the speech act realizations of requests and apologies. The main objective of the study was to establish the extent of differences in the choice of speech act realizations and whether distinct patterns of speech act behaviour obtained. Findings show evidence of a difference in preference for positive and negative politeness strategies. The L2's expressed more of a concern for solidarity, than for social distance and deference, using in-group markers to signal social closeness. The L 1 's use of internal modification, in the form of downgraders, exhibited negative politeness. The frequent use of indirectness, especially hints, reflected a hesitancy to impose. Results from the investigation could have implications for enhancing cross-cultural communication. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (Linguistics)

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. / English Studies / D. Litt et Phil. (English)

This empirical study examines politeness phenomena in the English of first and second language students at an academic institution. Using the theoretical framework of the CCSARP, a OCT and a qualitative questionnaire were used to analyze the speech act realizations of requests and apologies. The main objective of the study was to establish the extent of differences in the choice of speech act realizations and whether distinct patterns of speech act behaviour obtained. Findings show evidence of a difference in preference for positive and negative politeness strategies. The L2's expressed more of a concern for solidarity, than for social distance and deference, using in-group markers to signal social closeness. The L 1 's use of internal modification, in the form of downgraders, exhibited negative politeness. The frequent use of indirectness, especially hints, reflected a hesitancy to impose. Results from the investigation could have implications for enhancing cross-cultural communication. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (Linguistics)

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. / English Studies / D. Litt et Phil. (English)

This study uses a predominantly quantitative approach to explore the effect of different error correction feedback mechanisms on students’ English as a Second Language writing (narrative and descriptive) amongst high school students in Botswana. A longitudinal, quasi-experimental design is used, with a control group that received no correction feedback while the experimental groups received direct, coded and uncoded feedback. Three hypotheses define the study in terms of fluency, correction success and accuracy development over time. No significant increases in fluency were found between the pretests and posttests. Correction success achieved by the three treatment groups when rewriting texts reflected the explicitness of the feedback, with the direct group highest, followed by the coded and uncoded groups. Findings were mixed on the important issue of accuracy development, although they strongly suggest that for spelling, any type of feedback is significantly better than none and that coded feedback is better than direct feedback despite the latter being more explicit. Students from all the treatment groups expressed similarly positive opinions on correction feedback. / Applied Language / M.A. (Spec. in Applied Linguistics)

This study uses a predominantly quantitative approach to explore the effect of different error correction feedback mechanisms on students’ English as a Second Language writing (narrative and descriptive) amongst high school students in Botswana. A longitudinal, quasi-experimental design is used, with a control group that received no correction feedback while the experimental groups received direct, coded and uncoded feedback. Three hypotheses define the study in terms of fluency, correction success and accuracy development over time. No significant increases in fluency were found between the pretests and posttests. Correction success achieved by the three treatment groups when rewriting texts reflected the explicitness of the feedback, with the direct group highest, followed by the coded and uncoded groups. Findings were mixed on the important issue of accuracy development, although they strongly suggest that for spelling, any type of feedback is significantly better than none and that coded feedback is better than direct feedback despite the latter being more explicit. Students from all the treatment groups expressed similarly positive opinions on correction feedback. / Applied Language / M.A. (Spec. in Applied Linguistics)

This research aims to contribute to the improvement of writing in English as a second language in South African schools. It is based on transfer theory: what is known in one language may transfer to another. Much of the transfer of structural aspects of languages as different as Xhosa and English is likely to be negative. This research focuses instead on aspects of writing at discourse level in the expectation that a positive transfer of learning will take place at that level. The main hypothesis is that certain discourse level writing skills transfer to a second language (English) if they have been taught in the mother tongue (Xhosa) but not in the second language. The skills in question are • using topic sentences appropriately to introduce a paragraph • writing suitable support sentences in the rest of the paragraph • achieving paragraph unity in relation to the topic sentence • using linking words and other cohesive devices effectively. The writing corpus was obtained from 66 Grade 8 learners in the researcher’s school. Thirty three of the learners were in the Experimental Group in 2005 and 33 different learners were in the Control Group in 2006. The difference between the groups was that the Experimental group were taught the writing skills in Xhosa but not in English, whereas the Control group were taught the same skills in both subjects. Both groups were taught Xhosa and English by the researcher himself. The corpus comprises a total of just under 80 000 words of composition writing, half of which was written at the beginning of the academic year and the other half at the end. Comparisons were made to determine how much learning had taken place individually and by the different groups and subjected to statistical analysis to measure significance. The findings provide persuasive evidence of a transfer of learning. The impressive amount of learning that occurred in the first place was also rewarding, providing proof, as it did, that learners are capable of responding to greater demands than we might assume. / African Languages / M. A. (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)

This research aims to contribute to the improvement of writing in English as a second language in South African schools. It is based on transfer theory: what is known in one language may transfer to another. Much of the transfer of structural aspects of languages as different as Xhosa and English is likely to be negative. This research focuses instead on aspects of writing at discourse level in the expectation that a positive transfer of learning will take place at that level. The main hypothesis is that certain discourse level writing skills transfer to a second language (English) if they have been taught in the mother tongue (Xhosa) but not in the second language. The skills in question are • using topic sentences appropriately to introduce a paragraph • writing suitable support sentences in the rest of the paragraph • achieving paragraph unity in relation to the topic sentence • using linking words and other cohesive devices effectively. The writing corpus was obtained from 66 Grade 8 learners in the researcher’s school. Thirty three of the learners were in the Experimental Group in 2005 and 33 different learners were in the Control Group in 2006. The difference between the groups was that the Experimental group were taught the writing skills in Xhosa but not in English, whereas the Control group were taught the same skills in both subjects. Both groups were taught Xhosa and English by the researcher himself. The corpus comprises a total of just under 80 000 words of composition writing, half of which was written at the beginning of the academic year and the other half at the end. Comparisons were made to determine how much learning had taken place individually and by the different groups and subjected to statistical analysis to measure significance. The findings provide persuasive evidence of a transfer of learning. The impressive amount of learning that occurred in the first place was also rewarding, providing proof, as it did, that learners are capable of responding to greater demands than we might assume. / African Languages / M. A. (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)