The purpose of the research was to investigate academic writing challenges faced by first year B.Ed. students at the University of the Witwatersrand in order to assist tutors support these students. One of the main findings is first year B.Ed. students find it challenging to move from school literacies to academic literacy, and thus they need to be ‘initiated’ into academic literacy. The findings indicate that students need assistance with reading the articles on which essays are based, with understanding what essay questions require them to do, with quoting and referencing from sources and with the ‘mechanics’ of writing. A further finding is that some students face academic writing challenges because they resist being initiated into academic conventions for several reasons. The study concludes with some recommendations to course designers and tutors including the recommendations.

Magister Educationis - MEd / In South Africa's educational system, many learners' academic literacy is substantially affected by the multi-language background and its inconsiderate language policies. From time to time, South African Education board have formulated, amended and re- implemented language policies to guide the use of language in learning and teaching in schools, in order to enhance the notion of academic bi literacy. However in different areas, some of these language policies had their successes and failures. Amongst the educational language policy for each university in South Africa, the University of the Western Cape (UWC) began its language policy implementation in 2003. Despite the aim and objective of this policy over a decade ago, students are still struggling to effectively learn in the language of instruction. And the fact remains that problem of students' language proficiency leads to poor academic literacy and performance during their undergraduate study period. In this study, I seek to investigate the effective translanguaging strategies of some undergraduate bilingual students at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). It will focus on how the two closely intertwined sociolinguistic aspects: translanguaging and bilingualism impact on students' academic collaboration. The theoretical framework will draw on Weiner's attribution theory of motivation (1974, 1986). The conceptual framework that will be used will cover: language proficiency, additive and subtractive bilingualism, translanguaging and learning strategies. The main aim of this proposed project is to examine how effective translanguaging is as coping learning strategies by some bilingual students at University of the Western Cape (UWC). I propose the following research objectives: (i) to determine the forms of challenge(s) faced by bilingual students learning in a less proficient language at UWC (ii.) to investigate and analyze the translanguaging strategies that might assist bilingual students cope with learning in a less proficient language at UWC (iii.) to examine the patterns of use of translanguaging strategies on academic collaboration of bilingual students’ at UWC (iv.) to find out areas in which the practice of translanguaging strategies differs to the stipulations of the UWC language policy. I plan to use a qualitative method to achieve my research objectives. I adopted interpretive/ constructive approach in my study. The research techniques that I use includes: questionnaires, interviews, observations and document analysis. A semi structured questionnaire is given to thirty (30) first year bilingual undergraduates from three (3) tutorials groups in the Faculty of Education. The interviews were face to face and semi-structured. The interviews conducted with each of the 12 students are intended to know their linguistic background and how it plays a role during their first year of undergraduate study. Two out of the three groups are randomly selected and closely observed. The classroom observation helps me to identify the types of translanguaging strategies used by bilingual students and also see the various patterns in which the translanguaging strategies are used during their academic collaboration. The three documents use for analysis are the UWC language policy (2003) and two different academic tasks of my participants. All ethics for my study was strictly adhere to. I categorize my findings according to the research questions and the four questions serve as main themes during data analysis. The data findings of my study indicate that during the first term, most first year bilingual student had difficulty in the use of English medium of instruction. Some of the language related challenges include English academic writing, inadequate vocabulary in English and accent and pronunciation of other bilingual speakers in English. This shows that there is the need for the struggling bilingual students to adopt learning strategies. Translanguaging strategies were minimally used during in class activities. This suggests that bilingual students did not see the justification to adopt translanguaging in the classroom. However, it was used outside of the tutorial space and other academic collaboration amongst students for various purposes. My research shows that majority of the first year bilingual undergraduate students’ benefit from the use of translanguaging as coping learning strategies. Data findings also reveal that the first year bilingual undergraduate students are more motivated to add to their translanguaging strategies, other metacognitive learning strategies that they consider as helpful and related to their specific language challenges. The conclusion of my thesis is that as much as the adoption of translanguaging strategies is a useful language support for bilingual students, there are contributory factors that can make its use a success or failure in educational context. The most pertinent of these factors are translanguaging space and the complement of translanguaging in schools' language policy. I recommend that translanguaging using speaking skills of bilingual students should be put to use during teaching and learning in a recognized learning space.

Magister Educationis - MEd / 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. In this study, I seek to explore the potential that digital storytelling has in the teaching of undergraduate academic writing skills. I will focus on first year students' academic writing skills, how they are taught currently and how technology in the form of digital storytelling can help first year students improve their academic writing skills. The theoretical framework for the study is largely based on the New Literacies Studies which is championed by members of the New London Group such as Street and Street (1984) Lea and Street (2006) among others. The theoretical framework will draw on the notion of literacy as social practice rather than a set of reading and writing skills which explains why educators need to find new ways of teaching academic writing skills. I use semiotics and multimodality as a foundational concept for using digital storytelling in academic writing. That is because semiotics and multimodality further support the idea that literacy goes beyond words but that audio and visual elements are also part of learning and can help engage students in their academic work. The main aim of this proposed research is to explore both students and lecturer practices of digital literacies in the teaching and learning of academic writing at The Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT).

Magister Educationis - MEd / In this study, I seek to explore the potential that digital storytelling has in the teaching of undergraduate academic writing skills. I will focus on first year students' academic writing skills, how they are taught currently and how technology in the form of digital storytelling can help first year students improve their academic writing skills. The theoretical framework for the study is largely based on the New Literacies Studies which is championed by members of the New London Group such as Street and Street (1984) Lea and Street (2006) among others. The theoretical framework will draw on the notion of literacy as social practice rather than a set of reading and writing skills which explains why educators need to find new ways of teaching academic writing skills. I use semiotics and multimodality as a foundational concept for using digital storytelling in academic writing. That is because semiotics and multimodality further support the idea that literacy goes beyond words but that audio and visual elements are also part of learning and can help engage students in their academic work. The main aim of this proposed research is to explore both students and lecturer practices of digital literacies in the teaching and learning of academic writing at The Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT).

Published Article / The pass rate of grade 12 learners is shockingly low and this is supposed to be the feeding ground for Higher Educations in South Africa. Alet Rademeyer quotes from a document of Advocate Paul Hoffman, SC, and director of the Centre for Constitutional Rights, that the South African School System only delivers one out of 29 functional literate Black matriculants. It is a national crisis and is an indication of gigantic proportions. The aim of the Academic Literacy Programme (ALP) at the CUT is to improve student's academic literacy skills which will ultimately boost the student throughput rate at the CUT. The programme will help students develop their academic language skills whilst creating a positive attitude towards the English language.

Published Articles / The four year extended degree (ED) with a foundation provision is one of the academic intervention tools available to underprepared students in higher education institutions (HEIs). University of Venda (Univen) introduced this form of assistance in 2007 to students enrolled in the Schools of Human Sciences, Management and Law (HML). The 15% completion rate for this first cohort is a cause for concern. This paper examines the implications of this result in terms of Univen's implementation of EDs. EDs can be variously applied dependent on the peculiar situation in an institution and it can be assumed that Univen chose the current format after due consideration of all factors. The poor throughput rate of these students, however indicate otherwise, motivating this investigation. An examination of the curricula for the various degrees indicates that Univen is implementing a blend of the various academic interventions without the necessary reconfiguration of teaching and learning and this might be the cause for the poor performance. The final sections of the paper contribute to the debates on topical issues related to academic literacy and support such as an extended high school period and a four year generic bachelor's degree.

Este trabalho se propõe a analisar a construção do endereçamento nos textos de alunos do primeiro ano do ensino médio de uma escola da rede pública de ensino. O conceito de endereçamento que se toma é o de Bakhtin (2011), segundo o qual o endereçamento é o traço constitutivo e fundamental de todo enunciado. A concepção de escrita e enunciado que subsidiam nosso estudo se fundamenta em uma perspectiva enunciativo-discursiva que tem respaldo nos estudos de Pêcheux (1969, 1975, 2002), Voloshinov/Bakhtin (1926, 1930); entendendo a escrita não apenas como registro ou tecnologia, mas como um modo de enunciação (CORRÊA, 2013). A hipótese levantada é a de que os textos produzidos pelos alunos na esfera escolar apresentam múltiplo endereçamento, isto é, além do endereçamento previsto pelo gênero discursivo proposto, apresentam outros não previstos. A metodologia que orientou a percepção do múltiplo endereçamento foi a de uma perspectiva etnográfico-discursiva (CORRÊA, 2011) de observação dos dados aliada ao paradigma indiciário proposto por Ginzburg (1989) como um modelo epistemológico adequado para pesquisas no campo das ciências humanas. O procedimento quanto à determinação dos indícios foi a busca por marcas de dialogia presente nas rupturas da interlocução prevista pelo gênero a partir das quais foi possível perceber o múltiplo endereçamento do texto. A análise possibilitou a caracterização de dois tipos de endereçamento: um previsto pelo gênero discursivo, nomeado de endereçamento transparente e outro, mais difuso, da ordem do discurso, nomeado de endereçamento opaco. Para explicitação do endereçamento opaco, buscou-se pelas rupturas genéricas, argumentativas e de voz presentes nos textos. Além do endereçamento ao destinatário previsto pelo gênero, contatou-se o endereçamento ao professor, como um destinatário sempre representado, além de outros interlocutores como colegas de classe, professores de outras disciplinas, a família, a escola como instituição. Tal constatação lança luz sobre problemas textuais, comumente interpretados como inadequação ou erro, defendendo a compreensão dessas inadequações como decorrentes do processo enunciativo-discursivo pelo qual o escrevente se insere na escrita. / This doctoral thesis aims to analyze the construction of addressing in the texts of students of the first year of high school in a public school. The concept of addressing is that of Bakhtin (2011), according to whom addressing is the constitutive and fundamental feature of every statement. The conception of writing and statement that support our study is based on an enunciative-discursive perspective that has support in the studies of Pêcheux (1969, 1975, 2002), Voloshinov/Bakhtin (1926, 1930), understanding writing not only as a record or technology, but as a mode of enunciation (CORRÊA, 2013). The hypothesis raised is that the texts produced by the students in scholar sphere have a multiple addressing, that is, besides the addressing provided by the proposed discursive genre, there are other unanticipated addresses that can be observed in the statement discursive materiality. The methodology that guided the perception of multiple addressing was that of an ethnographic-discursive perspective (CORRÊA, 2011) of observation of data allied to the indicial paradigm proposed by Ginzburg (1989) as an adequate epistemological model for research in human sciences. The hypothesis that guided the search for the clues was the dialogue and the ruptures were considered the indications from which it was possible to perceive the multiple addressing of the text. The analysis of the texts allowed the characterization of two types of addressing: one predicted by the discursive genre named transparent addressing and the other more diffuse, since it is of the order of discourse, called opaque addressing. In order to explain the opaque addressing, it was searched for generic, argumentative and voice ruptures of the text. It could be noticed that these ruptures were related, many being effect of displacements of the address of the text. Therefore, multiple address could be attested, since it was detected in the analyzed texts, besides the intended genre addressing, also the teacher as an addressing always represented, as well as others such as classmates, teachers of other disciplines, the family, the school as an institution. This finding sheds light on textual problems, commonly interpreted as inadequacy or error, pointing to their understanding as arising from the enunciative-discourse process that the scribe is inserted into when they are writing.

Magister Educationis - MEd / This study aims to investigate the assessment of students in the English for Academic Purposes course at the University of Namibia Language Centre. There has been increasing criticism of standardised test and examinations and it has brought into question the value of other indirect approaches to language assessment (Reeves, 2000; Sharifi, & Hassaskhah, 2011; Tsagari, 2004). The study draws its theoretical foundation from the constructivist’s view of education (Canagarajah, 1999; Schunk, 2009; Vygotsky, 1962). The study embraces the interpretivist approach to research which tends to be more qualitative, and is open to diverse ways that people may understand and experience the same non-manipulated objective reality. The participants in this study are students and lecturers of the English for Academic Purposes course at the University of Namibia Language Centre. The study employs a qualitative research design, along with triangulation, where qualitative data was collected through lecturer interviews, lesson observations, multiple intelligence inventory, and student focus groups discussions. The study adapted the thematic approach of data analysis where the data were analysed and presented under themes derived from the research questions of the study. The findings indicate that, there was a limited stock of assessments that suits the classification of alternative assessment, namely: checklists, student-lecturer question techniques, and academic essay. The findings reveal some factors that influence the integration of alternative assessment in academic writing instruction, such as: lecturers and students’ knowledge of assessment, students’ assessment preferences, authenticity, classroom setup, and feedback. The findings also showed that the assessment practices that were used by the lecturers did not seem to fulfil the ideologies advocated in Gardener’s (1984) theory of Multiple Intelligences. However, the study found that the students and lecturers’ attitude which was skewed towards the positive direction may be an indication that there could be hope for success in attempts to integrate alternative assessment in academic writing instruction.

Magister Artium - MA / Instructional verbs (such as analyse, summarise, apply, evaluate) have been referred to as performatives and have become the object of initiatives around developing and assessing students' academic literacy competencies. Although there are extensive studies on developing and evaluating performatives such as analyse, apply, create, there is one instructional verb that has not received much attention. It is the verb 'define'. The neglect of 'defining' as a performative in the relevant research on academic literacies may be explained by the low value attributed to this performative in different taxonomies of educational outcomes where it is placed along with verbs such as 'list', 'identify', 'recall' identified as lower-order thinking skills. As a result of the dearth of studies of definition in academic literacy contexts, there are a number of questions that have not been addressed. We do not know the extent to which definitional knowledge may be central to efforts at developing the overall academic literacy of students. We do not know if the language in which students read academic texts (home language or second/third language) affects their ability to differentiate definitions from non-definitions, or to formulate definitions of concepts. This point is especially important as it is all too often assumed that (even without attention to relevant academic literacy development) the use of the home language of students necessarily enhances academic performance. Also, our knowledge is rather limited with respect to how different definitional structures affect the ability of students to recognize definitions in their study materials. It is also not clear how to intervene in order to make it explicit to students what may be expected of them in terms of defining in their academic work. Given the foregoing, this research analyses the notion of ‘definition’ as an integral component of the academic literacy of university students, with the focus being on determining the knowledge around definitions possessed by students in the Linguistics and Xhosa departments of the University of the Western Cape. Specifically, the study assesses the following: the structure of definitions in selected textbooks; students' awareness of the existence of different definitional structures in their textbooks; their ability to identify the concepts being defined in specific passages; their ability to define concepts; their ability to distinguish definitions from non-definitions; and their awareness of how definitions may be introduced. The study also investigates how the language of the textbook (home language versus second/third language of the students) may impact on the performance of students in assessments of definitional knowledge. In terms of theoretical framing, the study is informed by an approach to definitions taken in the field of terminology and by the academic literacy framework which stipulates that students' academic literacy practices are inextricably shaped by different factors such as basic skills possessed by them, institutional ideologies, contexts and issues of power. The research uses a mixed-method paradigm. A total of 100 definitions excerpted from English and isiXhosa textbooks were analysed qualitatively to describe the structure of definitions (in the textbooks), using as parameters the following: definiendum (item to be defined), definiens (meaning) and definitor (link between definiendum and definiens). Quantitative data on students' knowledge of different aspects of the notion 'definition' were collected by means of questionnaires completed by 50 students from each of the Linguistics and Xhosa departments of the University of the Western Cape. While the former have English as their major language of academic literacy, the latter have isiXhosa. Chi-square tests were administered to examine whether or not there was a significant relationship between the language of the questionnaire and students' performance. Overall, the research findings suggest that definition writing is not an autonomous phenomenon; rather, it is socioculturally (e.g. language, discipline) shaped. In this respect, the way definitions are structured in English (in a linguistics textbook) is in many respects different from the way they are constructed in isiXhosa (in books on cultural studies). With regard to students' performance on a range of definition tasks in the questionnaires administered, the findings reveal that the major language of academic literacy (also home language in the case of Xhosa students) may have a positive impact on how students perform tasks requiring them to, for instance, identify definienda (concepts being defined) and definientia (meanings), and/or to spot a definition within a passage. Unlike with these datasets, other findings show that the main language of academic literacy is not a significant explanation of students' underperformance in tasks requiring them to identify a definition that is wrongly introduced and also to produce definitions of their own. The findings underscore the need for explicit teaching as recommended by the academic literacies model. A pedagogical guide outlining how a course on definition could be structured is proposed.

This study is positioned within existing debates about the meaning and role of academic literacy, how it shapes and then frames the academic and professional writing practices of business students. It explores relationships between literacy, individual writers and the academy. It goes beyond merely locating these relationships, pointing more to the need to understand how particular student and staff groups within the faculty describe academic writing practices, and in turn act upon these descriptions. Current formulations of academic literacy reflect a heavy emphasis by academic and professional communities on the commodity value of 'literacy skills'. This happens despite the fact that not much is known about the details and current culture of literacy practices in Australian universities, and how these are inflected by different disciplinary areas and cross-cultural factors. Given the divergent applications of literacy that exist across the business professions, there remains a distinct lack of consensus over the meaning of literacy in business higher education communities. Institutional responses reflect this lack of consensus, and are expressed as inflections around a perceived 'crisis' in tertiary literacy standards. Business and professional faculties, while simultaneously embracing the economic and policy imperative underlying mass education, are seen to remain scornful of the service obligation this brings. Implicit in current understandings of academic literacy are the taken for granted connections between basic literacy, reading and writing, schooling, education and employment. These connections underwrite the relations of institutional arrangements, everyday practices, policy construction, and the conditions for student evaluation in the faculty. This study begins from where literacy is located 'bodily', and provides in the first instance a content analysis which explicates and presents student discussions on various ways of thinking about, framing and reframing academic writing. The project then turns to contemporary literacy theory for an explanation of how a community discourse of 'academic literacy' is conceived, produced and in turn reproduced. Contemporary literacy theory has embraced three theoretical frameworks in its move away from a traditional uni-dimensional view of literacy, namely critical social theories, discourse and textual studies, and ethnographic research methodologies (Smith 1988). This trinity of frameworks is used in the second instance to examine a series of interviews with student writers. This data makes visible the means by which institutions value certain literacy practices over others, practices which support the naturalized world of writing required by the faculty and its professional communities. Dominant literacy practices are identified, and interpretive procedures from the field of Ethnomethodology are used to account for the ways in which discourses on academic writing both reflect and produce social and community realities. Theories of discourse are used to examine the social construction of student writing practices within this local faculty community by identifying the attributes and assumptions that are attached to different community members to account for aspects of writing practice. The key to understanding academic literacy practices is found in explication of the social processes and practices that organise the 'everyday' world of the business faculty. This project discloses how the subjective world of academic literacy is organised, and how this form of organisation is articulated 'to the social relations of the larger social and economic process' (Smith 1988:152). In the strict context of this study, this means being able to disclose for certain groups of student writers, how their situations and literacy practices are organised and determined by social processes outside the scope of their 'everyday' world. This process of discovery requires the researched to actively construct 'local' referents as categories and concepts which, when applied to a faculty context, can form an observable, local practice as a dialectic 'between what members do in tending the categories and concepts of (an) institutional ideology' on academic writing (Smith 1988:161). The interpretive practices students use to analyse literacy practices bring academic literacy into being. The outcomes of the study show that the relationships between literacy, the individual and the academy are currently explained and understood in terms of the connections that can be made between existing professional and academic community discourses. Here the concept of a 'literacy crisis' resides. It is expressed through informant talk as a perceived fall in academic literacy standards. Informant debate on what has caused this decline is generally expressed through two key positions. One of these holds a rhetorical view of literacy as a somewhat natural and procedural outcome of the higher educational process, positioning literacy within an oppositional framework of deficit cultural and linguistic models. A second view evokes a competitive agenda of limited and limiting academic and professional opportunities. Behind these arguments and their rebuttals, lie assumptions about the 'literate' person as a member of the faculty. In arguing that research into the field of academic literacy has concealed a student sub-text, this study argues that literacy has been constructed, implemented and investigated from the perspective of the institution. It follows that academic literacy can be better understood as a socially constructed and signifying space, one which includes opportunities for students to create their own powerful identities as writers and as members of professional and faculty communities. This project bridges many aspects of student experience, with the major focus upon that which has been excluded by the absence of students from the making of the topics and the relevance of the discourse. For this compelling reason, this project has direct relevance to teachers, researchers, fieldworkers and policy-makers involved in the overlapping fields of literacy and higher education.