Upon entering tertiary education students have to undergo development with regard to the way in which information is gathered, processed and produced because the academic context (secondary environment) is different to the primary context in so many ways. Students have to acquire the identity or discourse of the secondary environment, in other words they must learn how to behave, interact, believe, speak, read and write in an academic way (Gee, 1996:viii). When students have acquired the identity of the secondary environment they are well on their way to a successful academic career. The choice has been made to focus on one component of identity, namely reading, and specifically academic reading. The latter concept is defined as the process to accept, reject and synthesize incoming information from various sources – the guiding principle in this process is the aim of theorizing. It was found that comprehension of the semantics and function of conjunction markers played an important role in the academic reading process. And that the cloze test is a good method to teach comprehension of conjunction markers. The aim of the current study is to establish whether the use of cloze tests, focused on conjunction markers, will improve academic reading comprehension, within the framework of academic literacy. The empirical research was conducted amongst first year students at the North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus. Participants were selected using the following criteria: they had AGLA111 and they were first year students during 2008-2010. As basis for this research a pretest-posttest control group experimental design was used. The nature of this research is quantitative and a null-hypothesis (H0) was formulated: cloze tests as a teaching method will not improve reading comprehension. Six sets of data were used for this investigation: the January 2008 results, the June 2008 results, the January 2009 results, the June 2009 results, the January 2010 results and the June 2010 results. These sets of data were compared using independent t-tests to establish whether the means were statistically significant. The sets of data were compared looking at - the TAG as a whole and - only the questions that involved conjunction markers. The test in January is written before students commence with their studies and the test in June is written after they have received intervention by way of the academic literacy module. The only intervention in 2008 was the standard academic literacy module – this group serves as the control group. During 2009, besides the standard intervention, students underwent five weeks of cloze tests with conjunction markers as focus – this was the pilot study. The experimental group which had standard intervention as well as nine weeks of cloze tests, was the group of 2010. The results of the experiment show that the effect size was big with regard to the results of the TAG as a whole and medium with regards to the questions that involve conjunction markers. The results were statistically significant in both cases and the mean of the post tests were higher in each event. The finding is that cloze test training focussed on conjunction markers is a good method for improving academic reading comprehension, but more research is still necessary. / MA (Afrikaans en Nederlands), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

Upon entering tertiary education students have to undergo development with regard to the way in which information is gathered, processed and produced because the academic context (secondary environment) is different to the primary context in so many ways. Students have to acquire the identity or discourse of the secondary environment, in other words they must learn how to behave, interact, believe, speak, read and write in an academic way (Gee, 1996:viii). When students have acquired the identity of the secondary environment they are well on their way to a successful academic career. The choice has been made to focus on one component of identity, namely reading, and specifically academic reading. The latter concept is defined as the process to accept, reject and synthesize incoming information from various sources – the guiding principle in this process is the aim of theorizing. It was found that comprehension of the semantics and function of conjunction markers played an important role in the academic reading process. And that the cloze test is a good method to teach comprehension of conjunction markers. The aim of the current study is to establish whether the use of cloze tests, focused on conjunction markers, will improve academic reading comprehension, within the framework of academic literacy. The empirical research was conducted amongst first year students at the North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus. Participants were selected using the following criteria: they had AGLA111 and they were first year students during 2008-2010. As basis for this research a pretest-posttest control group experimental design was used. The nature of this research is quantitative and a null-hypothesis (H0) was formulated: cloze tests as a teaching method will not improve reading comprehension. Six sets of data were used for this investigation: the January 2008 results, the June 2008 results, the January 2009 results, the June 2009 results, the January 2010 results and the June 2010 results. These sets of data were compared using independent t-tests to establish whether the means were statistically significant. The sets of data were compared looking at - the TAG as a whole and - only the questions that involved conjunction markers. The test in January is written before students commence with their studies and the test in June is written after they have received intervention by way of the academic literacy module. The only intervention in 2008 was the standard academic literacy module – this group serves as the control group. During 2009, besides the standard intervention, students underwent five weeks of cloze tests with conjunction markers as focus – this was the pilot study. The experimental group which had standard intervention as well as nine weeks of cloze tests, was the group of 2010. The results of the experiment show that the effect size was big with regard to the results of the TAG as a whole and medium with regards to the questions that involve conjunction markers. The results were statistically significant in both cases and the mean of the post tests were higher in each event. The finding is that cloze test training focussed on conjunction markers is a good method for improving academic reading comprehension, but more research is still necessary. / MA (Afrikaans en Nederlands), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

Recent social theories related to academic literacies suggest that academic writing is not a mere text production but also an identity performance; hence, the notion of ‘authorial identity’ which involves two dimensions: the identity as academic authors (personal dimension) and the identity in writing (textual dimension). This thesis presents a study into the development of authorial identity among senior academic scholars on the trajectory of professorship through interviews and textual analysis of their published papers sampled across their early and later career. Three full professors from a UK university participated in this study, which was conducted in three phases. In the first phase, the professor participants’ accounts of their personal dimension of authorial identity through interviews signal common themes regarding the influence of the recent academic climate on their personal experience of growth in relation to their endeavour to improve the quality of their academic scholarship. In the second phase, the metadiscourse-based textual analysis of their sampled academic papers indicates several features of their identity performance in writing over time, which form the basis for the professor participants’ reflection on their textual dimension of authorial identity in the third phase in order to explore how their papers are embedded in and related to the social contexts of academic publication, especially the peer review process and the research assessment framework. The research findings from this study not only shed light on the developmental pathway in academic writing from the same academic scholars over time but also provide an illuminating account of how they have developed themselves as well as their writing on the trajectory of professorship. Further, the findings from all three research phases are discussed together in relation to relevant social theories to offer a theoretical contribution to the research area of academic literacies, writing, identity and scholarship.

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 / 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).

Inspired by the Bologna Process and other globalising influences from modern higher education, and driven by policy reform for national development after the ravages of the 1994 conflict and genocide, Rwanda’s tertiary education has embarked on a number of policy reform for national development after the ravages of the 1994 conflict and genocide, Rwanda’s tertiary education has embarked on a number of policy reforms that have ushered in expectations, requirements and demands that call for both reinvigorated and new academic literacies in undergraduate study since 2007. With its aim of producing a highly skilled human resource as a panacea for Rwanda’s social and economic development deficits, the tertiary education curriculum is more than never before focused on outcomes that are linked to further education and the labour market. However, one of the problems to contend with is academic and professional under- preparedness of students entering and exiting undergraduate study, respectively. Theoretically these developments involve distancing oneself from a previous pedagogy whereby the teacher imparts knowledge to the student but instead places greater responsibility on the student to search for knowledge either individually or in a group, as well as critically examine and be able to argue a point of view in writing and through other modes of communication. Therefore, this study has been informed especially by the New Literacy Studies and the Academic Literacies Approach to understanding the development of tertiary academic literacies. The study has also been inspired by the concept of educational scaffolding. It is against this backdrop that my study set out to investigate the academic literacies requested in undergraduate study, and to explore approaches adopted by tertiary learning institutions in the country to embed academic literacies acquisition into the mainstream curriculum over the last decade. Furthermore, the study sought to explore how technology is integrated at different levels to support the acquisition of academic literacies, including technological and information literacies. In order to achieve the aforementioned, the study embarked on a qualitative blend of cross-sectional and longitudinal research designs. Principal data were gathered from official documents obtained from the government and tertiary learning institutions. Drawing on the synergies of qualitative content analysis and intertextual analysis, the documentary data were analysed and then qualitatively interpreted. The data were supplemented by a couple of questionnaire mini-surveys which were also subjected to qualitative analysis. The findings indicate that a new and expanded definition of literacy in the 21st century implies  students’ development of a set of interrelated and transferable academic competences which are elaborated in the thesis. Curriculum discourses show that there is a shift of curricular and pedagogical  emphasis from general linguistic competence as a vehicle for developing academic literacies to a more integrated embedment of a number of literacies including English for Specific Purposes (ESP), study skills, as well as information, communication and technological literacies. Regarding the use of ICT as a scaffolding tool for learning, findings show that the use of technologies has the potential to support students’ processes of academic literacies development from a highly dependent level to a more autonomous level, given that the ICT integration policies and strategies could fully materialise. / Inspirerad av Bologna Processen och andra globala strömningar inom modern högskolepedagogik har man i Rwanda inlett en mängd policy reformer inom högre utbildning för att skapa nationell utveckling efter den förödande konflikten och folkmordet 1994. Sedan 2007 ställs nya förväntningar och krav på studenter inom den grundläggande högskoleutbildningen som skapar behov av att förstärka det som i forskningen benämns som ’new literacies’. Teoretiskt tar denna strömning avstånd från en tidigare pedagogik där läraren ger studenten kunskap och lägger i stället ett allt större ansvar på studenten att enskilt eller i grupp kunna söka kunskap, kritiskt granska och kunna argumentera för en ståndpunkt i skrift. Utbildning, och särskilt högre utbildning, ses som ett universalmedel för att råda bot för Rwandas sociala och ekonomiska underutveckling. Nya krav ställs också på att utbildningen både ska ha ett relevant akademiskt ämnesinnehåll som kan leda till fortsatt utbildning och vara anpassad till en kommande  yrkespraktik. Detta ställer i sin tur krav på att blivande studenter är väl förberedda när de går in i utbildningen och att de vid genomförda studier har både akademisk kunskap och är förberedda för en yrkesprofession. Mot denna bakgrund är syftet med denna studie att undersöka vilka krav på ’academic literacy’ som har ställts på studenter i Rwanda över tid. Det sätt på vilket stöd för sådana kunskapskrav integreras i den allmänna kursplanen under det senaste årtiondet och hur kunskap i och om IKT kan integreras för att ge stöd i att uppnå kursplanens mål har också undersökts. Data består huvudsakligen av insamlade officiella dokument från regeringen samt ett tvärsnitt av institutioner för högre utbildning. Med hjälp av en kvalitativ innehållsanalys och intertextuell analys har dokumenten tolkats för att se vilka centrala förändringar vad gäller ’academic literacy’ som skett över tid. Datainsamlingen kompletterades med mindre enkätstudier som också analyserats kvalitativt. Studien visar att en ny och utvidgad definition av ’academic literacy’ vuxit fram under 2000-talet som innebär att studenter behöver utveckla ny akademisk kompetens som är relaterad till och kan överföras mellan olika områden. Diskursen i de dokument som studerats visar att det skett en förändring som innebär att allmän språklig kompetens inte räcker som medel för att utveckla ’academic literacies’ utan den har utvidgats till att även integrera ämnesspecifik språkkunskap, olika former av studieteknik och IKT. När det gäller IKT som stödjande redskap för lärande visar studien att givet att politiska beslut och strategier för IKT-användning kan genomföras, förväntas användningen av dessa redskap ha en potential att stödja studenterna i den process som det innebär att gå från att vara helt beroende av lärarens undervisning till att mera självständigt söka och utveckla kunskap. Sammanfattningsvis understryks i studien att den kritik som framförts om  högskolestudenters bristande förberedelse både för akademiska studier och för arbetslivet är utanför deras kontroll. Kritiken ska snarare ses som ett imperativ för institutioner inom högre utbildning att skapa lämpliga kurser och pedagogiska miljöer för att ge studenterna förutsättningar att kunna utveckla en ’academic literacy’ som alla studenter har rätt att tillägna sig.

The new world of academic discourse is complex and necessitates that L1 and L2 graduate students learn a multiplicity of texts, master intertextuality, and actively participate in emerging literacies or genres of their disciplines (Molle & Prior, 2008; Swales, 2004; Warren, 2013). Challenges arise about how doctoral students produce, interpret, and learn texts and genres, and how they act and react around text production in particular multicultural institutional contexts (Hyland, 2000; Prior, 2004). Little is known about how students, particularly those in higher education, establish intertextual connections among different modes of texts (e.g., written, oral, visual) for actively engaging in literacy (Belcher & Hirvela, 2008; Seloni, 2012). The purpose of this study is to examine how L1 and L2 doctoral students use intertextual practices to create meaning and develop their academic literacies during the literacy events of Global Conversations and Literacy Research (GCLR) web seminars. Drawing upon microethnographic discourse analysis, more particularly the constructs of intertextuality (Bloome, & Carter, 2013), I investigate the following questions a) How are the L1 and L2 students engaged in intertextual practices in the literacy events of GCLR web seminars? b) How does the use of intertextuality contribute to L1 and L2 students’ academic literacies? The participants are two L1 and two L2 doctoral students, who are also multilinguals, had different first languages (i.e., Korean, English, Chinese), and actively engaged in the GCLR web seminars. Data drew upon interviews, chat transcriptions, video recordings of the web seminars, and visuals. Data collection and analyses began in September 2014, and continued through November 2015. Microethnographic discourse analysis showed how participants constructed intertextual connections during the literacy events of the GCLR web seminars. The findings show how L1 and L2 doctoral students used intertextuality to socialize into academic discourse, mediate discoursal identities, and develop cultural models. The study has implications for L1 and L2 pedagogy, multilingual’s learning, and research: Future research should investigate academic literacies with intertextual connections to oral, written, and online discourses. Educators and graduate students are encouraged to exploit the full potential of intertextuality through metacognition in emerging academic literacies and mediated discoursal identities.

International Masters students face daunting challenges in adjusting to a startlingly different UK academic discourse within a short time. Little research has been conducted into these challenges and successful transition strategies. A review of learning development literature identified a set of three models, which has not been related theoretically to international Masters students. The latest, critical model, Academic Literacies, especially offers important insights into these students’ difficulties and potential for integration. This research design explored these learning journeys in depth through interviews in a longitudinal study of MBA and MSc students during the 2009-10 academic year. The rich data were investigated through the qualitative methodology of narrative analysis, with twin aims of recognising similarities but also important differences across the students’ learning experiences. A majority experienced strongly emotional learning journeys. These followed an affective pattern with a downturn early in the academic year influenced by the degree of unfamiliarity in the new culture and academic discourse, mirrored by a corresponding improvement in emotional state during Semester 2 or 3 as these external issues became more familiar and comfortable. Self-efficacy emerged as an especially important factor in achieving academic success, and students’ progression was mapped against this variable using an established, U-shaped transition curve model. The study identifies practical learning development interventions, but also highlights the importance of educational practitioners becoming pedagogically self-reflective to empathise more genuinely with international students’ struggles, and to learn from their diverse experiences in ways that can enrich the process of internationalising western education.

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2015-11-23T16:14:20Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Fernando César dos Santos_.pdf: 2158144 bytes, checksum: d3437ca28aab633e5dfaeeadfdff4935 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-11-23T16:14:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fernando César dos Santos_.pdf: 2158144 bytes, checksum: d3437ca28aab633e5dfaeeadfdff4935 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-09-24 / Nenhuma / Este trabalho tem como objetivo compreender a concepção de trabalho acadêmico de alunas do curso de Pedagogia à Distância de uma Universidade do interior de um Estado do Nordeste do Brasil e por que esta concepção está associada ao plágio (GALLO, 2004; ABRANCHES, 2008; SILVA, 2008; CELANI, 2005). Para isso, lançamos mão do estudo de caso e selecionamos três TCCs que foram analisados a partir da perspectiva do interacionismo sociodiscursivo de Bronckart (2007), que propõe uma análise dos gêneros textuais levando em consideração, além da estrutura interna do texto, o seu contexto de produção. Esta perspectiva na análise nos permitiu associar o contexto sociocultural das alunas aos problemas na construção dos TCCs, demonstrando os problemas nos processos de letramentos (KLEIMAN, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2015) das alunas que ficaram evidentes na opção pela cópia. Observamos que a identidade de sujeito/autor (FOUCAULT, 1991, 2002; SILVA, 2008) das alunas não está presente em seus trabalhos. No lugar de construírem textos próprios, produzem uma escrita que demonstra que, de certa forma, conhecem as regras de um trabalho acadêmico que precisa ser apoiado nas falas de autores especialistas. Contudo, o que fazem é ceder as próprias vozes a esses autores academicamente legitimados. Acreditamos que esse processo está ligado a uma baixa autoestima que constrói identidades (HALL, 2011; LOPES e FABRÍCIO, 2002; RAJAGOPALAN, 2003) de autor fragilizadas. As alunas não acreditam que suas próprias vozes devam ser ouvidas. A partir disto pudemos, também, discutir o papel da universidade nos processos de letramentos acadêmicos (LEA & STREET, 2014; STREET, 2013; ZAVALA 2010; OLIVEIRA, 2009, 2014; BRANDÃO 2013) dos alunos ingressantes. O gênero acadêmico “trabalho de conclusão de curso” deve ser apresentado aos alunos e trabalhado com eles desde os primeiros períodos, e não considerado como algo natural, que o aluno consiga fazer sozinho. Se o aluno que entra na universidade nunca teve contato com gêneros acadêmicos e provém de contextos socioculturais desligados da questão da leitura e escrita, ele terá muitas dificuldades para produzir gêneros de texto que circulam na esfera acadêmica e, nesses casos, o plágio pode se tornar um caminho considerado alternativa. / By taking as a case study a distance-learning course from a university in the hinterland of Brazilian Northeast, this dissertation aims to understand the notions of ‘academic work’ and plagiarism (GALLO, 2004, ABRANCHES, 2008; SILVA, 2008; CELANI, 2005). In order to do so, I selected three undergraduate monographs to be studied according to Bronckart’s theory (2007) – an approach that takes into consideration analyzes of textual genres as well as the texts’ internal structure and context. Such a perspective allowed me to associate the students’ socio-cultural context to the problems in their works, i.e., it pointed out their literacy difficulties (KLEIMAN, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2015), which led to copy, and therefore to plagiarism. It is noticeable that those students’ author-identities (FOUCAULT, 1991, 2002; SILVA, 2008) are not present in the works. Instead, their writing shows some idea of the rules of academic work: mostly that one needs to rely on specialists’ knowledge authority. Thus, instead of using scholarly knowledge to support their own ideas, those undergraduate students just reproduce scholars’ statements. I believe that such phenomenon relates to low self-esteem that creates fragile identities (HALL, 2011; LOPES e FABRÍCIO, 2002; RAJAGOPALAN, 2003). For those students do not believe that their own voices are capable of being heard. From this standing-point, I also intend to discuss the university’s role in the development of student’s academic literacy (LEA & STREET, 2014; STREET, 2013; ZAVALA 2010; OLIVEIRA, 2009, 2014; BRANDÃO 2013). I argue that the mastering of academic writing should not be taken for granted. On the contrary, the literary genre of ‘undergraduate monograph’ must be introduced and developed together with the students from their first academic year onwards. As a matter of fact, an undergraduate that has never been in contact with academic writing, and also comes from underprivileged background, will have much more difficulty to engage in academic writing and might also consider plagiarism as a valid resource.

Cette thèse s’inscrit dans le domaine des sciences du langage et se précise dans l’intersection des littéracies universitaires, de la didactique des langues et de la formation d’enseignants. La recherche porte sur la didactique de l’écriture dans les cursus de formation à l’enseignement de langues et a été menée en deux étapes, adoptant une double approche ethnographique et de recherche-action. D’abord, le travail de recherche montre que l’élaboration de dispositifs de formation en didactique de l’écriture doit tenir compte des histoires personnelles et de l’interprétation que font les participants des objets et des pratiques. En effet, ces phénomènes déterminent des systèmes d’idées qui, à leur tour, engendrent les conditions favorables ou non à la réalisation des actions didactiques. De là, l’importance d’explorer le rapport à l’écriture des acteurs de l’enseignement-apprentissage et d’interroger les pratiques d’enseignement mises en place dans les cours. Cette étude soutient aussi que pour faire évoluer la didactique de l’écriture, il est indispensable de promouvoir un travail d’équipe. La démarche de recherche-action a réussi à sensibiliser les professeurs au besoin de transformations dans la didactique de l’écriture au sein de la licence choisie comme terrain des études. Nous espérons que cette recherche nous permettra, dans l’immédiat, de mettre en place des projets et des recherches-actions poussées portant sur les littéracies universitaires. / This research is framed within the field of language studies at it touches upon three interrelated sub areas, namely, academic writing, language teaching and foreign language teacher education. The object of study is the teaching of academic writing to foreign language teaching trainees. The study was developed in two methodological stages: An ethnographic stage and an action-research one. In the first stage, it is stated that proposals for the teaching of academic writing must be preceded by the recognition of participants’ (teachers and students) relationship to writing and their concurrent interpretations of writing and its practices. This set of phenomena constitutes systems of beliefs that generate conditions that might be favorable or unfavorable for the implementation of pedagogical actions. Hence the importance of exploring participants’ relationship to writing and using this knowledge to examine existing teaching practices. In the second stage, it is argued that teamwork is essential in order to transform the teaching of writing in university education. A first action research cycle managed to raise teachers' awareness on the centrality of teamwork on such endeavor and to engage them on improving the teaching of academic writing. It is expected that this research will allow us, in the short-term, to spring new action-research cycle that influence the development of academic writing skills in college.