Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:24:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 5820.pdf: 937639 bytes, checksum: 52da45732574234d7a5da7753a89325a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-21 / Due to the challenges faced by the indigenous graduates when entering the university, taking the academic writing in general into consideration, this study aims to investigate how the process of appropriation of academic genres affect these groups in relation to their identity. The identification, the comprehension and the analysis of this context were held from the theoretical conceptions of the New Literacy Studies (STREET, 1984; GEE, 2004; LEA & STREET, 1998; KLEIMAN, 2007, among others), as well from assumptions that aim at the teaching, the analysis of academic genres (MATENCIO, 2002; MACHADO, LOUSADA E ABREU-TARDELLI, 2004A; 2004B, among others), and also the identity conceptions (GIDDENS, 1991, 2002). From this perspective, it is considered that the Academic Literacy differs from literacy of other spheres, because it presents particular forms of being, thinking, acting, reading and writing that are fit at this sphere, so the College student, in order to acquire fluency in Academic Discourse, must master them. On the assumption, that the genres of discourse mediate social practices and they participate of the Constitution of social relations, of values, of identities (MEURER 2005), we understand that the domain of written texts of different genres promotes the development of the ability of language use by the subject and they constitute the subject himself as such (SCHNEUWLY, 2004). Thereby, the academic genre is our focus that can be considered as complex genre, secondary (BAKHTIN, 2000). To develop such research, we used our studies along our graduate school at Federal University of São Carlos, among them: the activities in ACIEPES3 in the years of 2010 and 2011, individualized care and access to textual written productions of indigenous from various courses4, from the approval of the Ethics Committee, under the number of the certificate of introduction to Ethics Assessment (CAAE) 17948113.7.0000.5504. This study is characterized as a qualitative research ethnographically, from which we choose the paradigm or epistemological model indicting (GINZBURG, 1990), that allows you to establish relationships among the literacy stories of the subjects of research, literate practices, practices of academic sphere and the conflicts that emerge from these practices. / Diante dos desafios enfrentados pelos graduandos indígenas ao ingressarem na universidade, em relação à escrita acadêmica de modo geral, este trabalho tem como objetivo averiguar como o processo de apropriação de gêneros acadêmicos afeta estes sujeitos em relação a sua identidade. A identificação, a compreensão e a análise de tal contexto foram realizadas a partir das postulações teóricas dos Novos Estudos do Letramento (STREET, 1984; GEE, 2004; LEA & STREET, 1998; KLEIMAN, 2007, entre outros), e também de pressupostos que visam o ensino, a análise de gêneros acadêmicos (MATENCIO, 2002; MACHADO, LOUSADA E ABREU-TARDELLI, 2004A; 2004B, entre outros) e, ainda, concepções acerca da identidade (GIDDENS, 1991, 2002). Nessa perspectiva, considera-se que o letramento acadêmico difere do letramento de outras esferas, pois apresenta formas particulares de ser, pensar, agir, ler e escrever que são próprias desta esfera, de modo que o graduando, a fim de adquirir fluência no Discurso Acadêmico, deve dominá-las. Partindo do pressuposto de que os gêneros do discurso são intermediadores das práticas sociais e participam da constituição das relações sociais, de valores, de identidades (MEURER 2005), entendemos que o domínio de textos escritos de diferentes gêneros promove o desenvolvimento da habilidade do uso da língua pelo sujeito e o constituem como tal (SCHNEUWLY, 2004). Desse modo, temos como foco o gênero acadêmico, o qual pode ser considerado como gênero complexo, secundário (BAKHTIN, 2000). Para desenvolvermos tal pesquisa, partirmos de nossos estudos realizados ao longo de nosso curso de doutorado na Universidade Federal de São Carlos, dentre eles: as atividades desenvolvidas em ACIEPES1 nos anos de 2010 e 2011, atendimentos individualizados e acesso a produções textuais escritas de indígenas de diversos cursos de graduação2, a partir da autorização do Comitê de Ética, sob o número do Certificado de Apresentação para Apreciação Ética (CAAE) 17948113.7.0000.5504. O presente estudo caracteriza-se como uma pesquisa qualitativa de cunho etnográfico, dentro da qual optamos pelo paradigma ou modelo epistemológico indiciário (GINZBURG, 1990), que permite estabelecer relações entre as histórias de letramento dos sujeitos de pesquisa, suas práticas letradas, práticas da esfera acadêmica e os conflitos que emergem dessas práticas.

Magister Artium - MA / The research findings are grouped according to the three themes identified which includes the relevance of the module, the effectiveness of the teaching and learning approaches and methods, and the integration of generic and discipline specific academic literacy. The researcher hopes this study will help illuminate perceptions of part-time students' about the Academic Literacy for Commerce course and also how it can be improved to better serve the needs of part-time students. / South Africa

Esta dissertação teve por objetivo estudar o desenvolvimento das capacidades de linguagem ligadas à escrita acadêmica em francês dos alunos da graduação em Letras (habilitação em língua francesa) ao longo de um semestre, por meio da análise de suas produções textuais. Para tal, tivemos como objetivos específicos a produção do modelo didático (SCHNEUWLY; DOLZ, 2004) do gênero textual artigo científico em francês da área de estudos literários e, a partir dele, a elaboração de uma sequência didática (SCHNEUWLY; DOLZ, 2004) visando a ensinar as características do gênero textual em questão para os alunos inscritos na disciplina de graduação Monografia. Com vistas a entender de que forma a atuação do professor, no momento da aplicação da sequência didática (SD), contribui para o desenvolvimento das capacidades de linguagem dos alunos, as aulas da SD foram filmadas e transcritas. Além disso, analisamos a influência dos comentários realizados pela professora-pesquisadora às primeiras versões dos artigos no desenvolvimento das capacidades de linguagem dos alunos. Para desenvolver nossa pesquisa, adotamos o quadro teórico-metodológico do interacionismo sociodiscursivo (ISD) (BRONCKART, 1999/2012, SCHNEUWLY; DOLZ, 2004 e MACHADO, 2009), que tem suas bases nos estudos de Vigotski (1998; 1997; 2010; 2011; 2013) sobre o desenvolvimento humano. Servimo-nos dos conceitos de instrumento e zona de desenvolvimento proximal (VIGOTSKI, 1997; 2010; 2011; 2013) para entender o desenvolvimento das capacidades de linguagem dos alunos; de modelo didático (DI PIETRO et al., 2004) e sequência didática (DOLZ; NOVERRAZ; SCHNEUWLY, 2004) para realizar a didatização do gênero textual; de gestos didáticos (SCHNEUWLY, 2009) para compreender como se deu a atuação da professora na aplicação da sequência didática. Apoiamo-nos, igualmente, em alguns estudos ligados à escrita acadêmica e às dificuldades de escrita encontradas pelos universitários e pós-graduandos. Para tanto, usamos a noção proposta por Bazerman (2009; 2013) de que os gêneros textuais funcionam como frames para o desenvolvimento de tipos de pensamentos ligados às disciplinas; e, com base nas categorias de análise do ISD e nas pesquisas realizadas por Matencio (2003) e Pollet (2004) sobre as dificuldades de produção textual encontradas em textos de universitários e pós-graduandos quanto à inserção de vozes de outros autores, elaboramos as categorias de retextualização para realizar as análises dos textos produzidos pelos alunos. As produções dos alunos foram analisadas, primeiramente, de acordo com o modelo da arquitetura textual (BRONCKART, 1999/2012; 2006) para verificar se houve desenvolvimento das capacidades de linguagem e se ele poderia ser atribuído à sequência didática, à atuação da professora e/ou ao comentário da professora-pesquisadora. Em nossas análises, pudemos constatar que houve desenvolvimento das capacidades de linguagem dos alunos ao longo do semestre, especialmente, das capacidades de ação e discursivas, sendo grande parte desse desenvolvimento ligado às atividades dos módulos da sequência didática, aos gestos didáticos regulação local e institucionalização usados pela professora ao aplicar a sequência didática e ao comentário da professora-pesquisadora. / This dissertations goal was to study the development of language capacities of Language Studies undergraduate students related to academic writing in French throughout a semester by analyzing their written works. To this end, our specific objective was to create a didactic model (SCHNEUWLY; DOLZ, 2004) of the textual genre academic paper in French at the department of literature studies in order to elaborate a didactic sequence (SCHNEUWLY; DOLZ, 2004) aiming at teaching the characteristics of that textual genre to the students enrolled in the course Monografia. Aiming at understanding how the teachers performance contributes to the development of the students language capacities when applying the didactic sequence (DS), the classes were recorded and transcribed. Furthermore, we analyzed the influence of the remarks given by the researcher-teacher to the first versions of the papers in the development of the students language capacities. In order to develop our research, we adopted the socio-discursive interactionism (SDI) theoretical and methodological framework (BRONCKART, 1999/2012, SCHNEUWLY; DOLZ, 2004 e MACHADO, 2009), which is rooted in Vigotskis (1998; 1997; 2010; 2011; 2013) studies on human development. We employed the concepts of instrument and zone of proximal development (VIGOTSKI, 1997; 2010; 2011; 2013) to understand the development of the students language capacities; of didactic model (DI PIETRO et al., 2004) and didactic sequence (DOLZ; NOVERRAZ; SCHNEUWLY, 2004) to accomplish the didactization of the textual genre; and of fundamental teaching gestures (SCHNEUWLY, 2009) to comprehend how the teachers performance in the application of the didactic sequence took place. We also rely on studies related to academic writing and writing difficulties experienced by undergraduate and graduate students. To do so, we used the idea proposed by Bazerman (2009; 2013) that the textual genres work as frames to develop the kinds of thoughts related to the courses; and based on the SDI analyses categories and on the research accomplished by Matencio (2003) e Pollet (2004) about the difficulties of writing experienced by undergraduate and graduate students regarding the insertion of other authors voices, we elaborated categories of retextualization to accomplish the analysis of the students texts. The students texts were first analyzed according to the textual architecture model (BRONCKART, 1999/2012; 2006) in order to verify if there was development of the language capacities and if it could be attributed to the didactic sequence, to the teachers performance and/or to the remarks given by the researcher-teacher. In our analysis we could observe the development of the students language capacities throughout the semester, specially of the action and discursive capacities, a great part of which connected to the didactic sequence activities, to the fundamental teaching gestures of local regulation and institutionalization used by the teacher when applying the didactic sequence and to the researcher-teacher remarks.

Syftet med den här masteruppsaten är huvudsakligen att undersöka hur Tisus, ett språkprov som kan ge behörighet i svenska för universitetsstudier, uppfattas av testtagarna. Detta görs medelst en enkät med 227 respondenter, varav drygt hälften hade godkänts på testet och de övriga hade underkänts. Enkäten följdes upp av en intervjustudie med åtta av nämnda respondenter. Två av dem hade underkänts på Tisus men godkänts på annan väg; den ena genom betyg från behörighetsgivande utbildning och den andra genom Swedex B2 vilket accepterades av det finländska universitet hen sökte sig till. I enlighet med fenomenografiska studier fokuserade intervjuerna på hur respondenterna upplevde språkprovet och de universitetsstudier de följde och vilka känslor de hade rörande kraven på Tisus i jämförelse med hur de erfor de språkbehov de hade på universitetet. De åtta respondenterna skiljer sig åt inbördes vad gäller förstaspråk, studieinriktning, studieort och hemland. Även om respondenterna skilde sig något åt i vissa avseenden så var de ändå förvånansvärt lika i det att de, med kanske ett undantag, lyckas oerhört väl med sina studier. Majoriteten av dem tycker också att Tisus fungerar som språkprov inför högskolestudier och att kraven på Tisus stämmer någorlunda väl överens med de krav de upplever på högskolan. Under studiens gång ställde jag mig ofta frågan om den här intervjustudien hade attraherat vissa studenter mer än andra. Enkätsvaren visar nämligen en delvis annan bild, nämligen att det bland de godkända respondenterna finns ett antal individer som menar att de inte har tillräckliga språkfärdigheter för att klara högskolestudier och/eller anger att de inte möter språkkraven för C1 så som de uttrycks i enkäten. Samtidigt uttryckte flera underkända enkätrespondenter att de språkligt skulle ha klarat av att läsa på universitetet, om de bara hade getts chansen. Tydligt är att det finns gott om utrymme för vidare studier inte bara på ämnet high stake-testning inför universitetsstudier, utan fler studier som inkluderar andraspråkstalande högskolestudenters syn på saken måste också genomföras. / The aim of this master's thesis is mainly to investigate how a Swedish language entrance test for university studies, Tisus, is received by the test takers. This is done by a survey study that covers 227 test takers of which little over half have passed the test and the others had not. The survey was followed by interviews involving eight of the test takers, among which two had failed the Tisus test but had been granted admission to university studies after having had their language skills tested and approved by means of other, different language tests. In accordance with phenomenographic studies, the interviews focused on how the respondents perceived the entrance language test and their university studies and how they felt about the requirements for passing the test in comparison with the experienced language demands on students at their university. The eight respondents represented a diverse group regarding their L1, their choice of studies and university, and home country. However, even though they differed slightly in some regards, they were surprisingly similar in that they, with perhaps one exception, all succeeded extraordinary well as students. The majority of the respondents mainly approve of the requirements of the Tisus test and finds it reasonably comparable to the language needs they experience at university. The question arises if an interview study such as this one attracts some students more than others, because from the results of the survey it is clear that not all students who passed the test have the necessary language skills, according to themselves, and many have not yet become students. At the same time, a number of the survey respondents, who had failed at the test, were of the opinion that the requirements were too high and that they, given the opportunity, might well have managed university studies. It is clear that there is a lot of room for more work in this area, looking at the gate keeping task that high stake testing for university studies needs to fulfill. Also, more studies need to be conducted to gain knowledge about student’s views on the matter.

The main purpose of the research was to investigate the effectiveness of genre-based approaches in teaching academic writing. The study was motivated by the researcher's perceptions about university students' difficulty in acquiring the essayist literacy of the academy, and the fact that very little empirical research had been conducted on the effect of genre-based writing interventions. The following questions guided the research: (1) Can genre-based approaches be justified theoretically? (2) How effective are genre-based academic writing interventions? (3) Which is more effective: a narrow-angled or a wide-angled approach? The theoretical framework combines foundational principles of Systemic Functional Grammar, Constructivism and Critical Literacies. A mixed methods design was used, including a survey of writing tasks, genre analysis, discourse analysis, and a quasi-experimental comparison of pre- and posttest essay ratings. The survey of writing tasks indicated that the academic essay was the written genre most frequently required by humanities departments, and that argumentation, discussion, explanation, description and analysis were the text types featuring most prominently in writing prompts. Since the materials of the Department of Historical and Heritage Studies contained the largest number of essay-length tasks, the subject-specific intervention was focused on students of history. The cross-disciplinary group included students with Economics, English, History, Philosophy, Political Sciences, Psychology and Sociology as majors. A genre-based presyllabus, comprising exploration, explicit instruction, joint construction, independent construction and critical reflection, was customized for the subject-specific and cross-disciplinary groups. The syllabus gave prominence to the use of rhetorical modes, logical development of an argument, and engagement with other authors. The statistical analyses of the essay scores show that the narrow-angled and the wide-angled genre-based interventions were effective. Although the size of the improvement on the four dimensions of the scoring instrument was not equal, the overall improvement of the students in each of the groups is statistically significant. Despite the more modest overall improvement of the students in the cross-disciplinary group, their mastery of stance and engagement exceeded that of their subject-specific counterparts. Even though both interventions were effective the subject-specific group performed significantly better than the cross-disciplinary group overall (p = 0.043). Their performance was also more consistent across the four dimensions of the scoring instrument. The results of the opinion survey indicate that students from both groups were generally positive about the effect of the respective interventions on their academic writing abilities. The only significant difference is the subject-specific group's more positive evaluation of the transferability of the skills they acquired. The more pronounced skills transfer was probably facilitated by the subject-specific group's deeper level of engagement with source materials and more opportunities for practising content-based writing. Main limitations of the study include the small sample size and non-parallel presentation of the two interventions. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Unit for Academic Literacy / Unrestricted

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This study explores English academic writing in a Libyan university. The results show a number of challenges and issues that Libyan university students experience in using English for academic writing. The study suggests intervention procedures that may correct students’ linguistic academic deficiencies. Using Gee (1999)’s D/discourse theory and Bourdieu’s theory of habitus and field, which view writing as a social practice embedded in social activities, the study takes a purely qualitative approach, presenting data descriptions by both students and lecturers. The sample size of the investigation is eight – four lecturers and four students. The data was collected mainly through classroom observation, open-ended interviews and an analysis of students’ assignment essays. The results indicate several areas of challenge for Libyan students with regard to academic writing; a lack of adequate ‘scaffolding’, a lack of ample time spent on authentic practice, and inappropriate immediate feedback. Findings also show a lack of teaching methods and strategies that correct syntactical and morphological errors, and a lack of skills – research skills. Further to this, results revealed a lack of synthesis and summary skills, referencing skills – and a lack of confidence in tackling academic writing tasks. In addition, the lack of appropriate materials to consult was a contributing factor, as was students’ social and economic status. The study calls for various interventions that may assist students to acquire academic writing skills and hence develop a sense of confidence in taking on academic tasks.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This study explores English academic writing in a Libyan university. The results show a number of challenges and issues that Libyan university students experience in using English for academic writing. The study suggests intervention procedures that may correct students’ linguistic academic deficiencies. Using Gee (1999)’s D/discourse theory and Bourdieu’s theory of habitus and field, which view writing as a social practice embedded in social activities, the study takes a purely qualitative approach, presenting data descriptions by both students and lecturers. The sample size of the investigation is eight – four lecturers and four students. The data was collected mainly through classroom observation, open-ended interviews and an analysis of students’ assignment essays. The results indicate several areas of challenge for Libyan students with regard to academic writing; a lack of adequate ‘scaffolding’, a lack of ample time spent on authentic practice, and inappropriate immediate feedback. Findings also show a lack of teaching methods and strategies that correct syntactical and morphological errors, and a lack of skills – research skills. Further to this, results revealed a lack of synthesis and summary skills, referencing skills – and a lack of confidence in tackling academic writing tasks. In addition, the lack of appropriate materials to consult was a contributing factor, as was students’ social and economic status. The study calls for various interventions that may assist students to acquire academic writing skills and hence develop a sense of confidence in taking on academic tasks.

No description available.

Adult undergraduate students (age 25 or older) now make up 28% of the undergraduate student population at four-year public institutions. Using a sociocultural perspective of literacy, which posits that literacy and language are inextricably tied to identity, this qualitative multiple case study explores the adult undergraduate student experience with academic literacies: the specific languages of the university, both of its culture as a whole and the academic disciplines. Additionally, this study examines how the out-of-school literacies that adult undergraduate students acquire throughout their lives compete with, complement, or challenge their experiences with academic literacies. Eight diverse cases were studied, and data collection included interviews, classroom observation, and analysis of student writing. The study found that collisions between academic and out-of-school literacies were sources of both discovery and anxiety, and that anxiety was primarily associated with writing. The study also found that the adults displayed a desire for deep learning, and benefited in many ways from a lack of social relationships on campus. Relationships with professors could classify professors as teachers, colleagues, or supervisors and that high levels of social competence helped adult undergraduate students navigate these relationships and other academic challenges. As the undergraduate student body changes, and more “traditional” students begin to share the characteristics of adults, if faculty and administrators can better understand how AUS learn and engage with the language of the university, they will be able to develop pedagogical and institutional practices that can better support all students. / Educational Administration

Secondary educators must be knowledgeable in their content while increasing the academic literacy of their students, a process further complicated when working with students who are long-term English learners (LTELs). This mixed-methods study explored the knowledge, practices, and perceptions of six secondary teachers working to develop the academic literacy of LTEL students in content-specific classrooms. Set within a sociocultural framework, the study provides a greater understanding of the challenges and successes educators experience when working at the secondary level with students with diverse learning needs. The data were collected in two phases. Phase I included a quantitative survey of teachers, designed to acquire demographic information from participants who met the inclusion criteria: educators who taught a content-specific course and had a minimum population of 10.7% LTEL students in at least one of their classes. These data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Phase II consisted of qualitative one-on-one interviews, classroom observations, and follow-up interviews. Data analysis for Phase II included transcribing the interviews and taking notes on emerging themes. Qualitative data were also provided by the classroom observations using the Observation Protocol for Academic Literacies. Notes created in each of the classrooms were coded by themes and used in the creation of profiles for each educator. Themes that emerged through the one-on-one interviews and classroom observations were used to create questions for the follow-up interviews. Findings add to the body of research regarding content-specific secondary teachers’ knowledge and perceptions about the academic literacy development of their LTELs.