At present, there is an emphasis in South African education on promoting multicultural classrooms in schools. This thesis examines the classroom culture of a South African English-medium school, where the majority of the learners are Second Language English learners. It first describes, in the form of a case-study, how two teachers have constructed the culture of their foundation phase classrooms. It then considers why the two teachers have constructed their classrooms in such ways by exploring their knowledge and understanding of, and attitudes towards, multiculturalism, second language acquisition and multilingualism. The study also briefly considers whether teacher training has sufficiently prepared these teachers for the challenges of a multicultural classroom. The data is discussed in terms of education and second language acquisition theory and South African education and language policies. The results of this study indicate that for the most part the classroom culture is distinctly Western and that the teachers have two fundamental assumptions that underpin their action and classroom construction. The first is that a lack of exposure to English is the primary cause of language problems for L2 learners and the second is that the L1 does not need to be maintained or promoted in the school environment because learners are sufficiently exposed to their L1 in the home. The thesis concludes that shortcomings in training and information encourages these two assumptions to take root and that more in-service training that focuses specifically on the nature of second language acquisition and multiculturalism is necessary.

South Africa is a multilingual country and this has certain implications on the development of cognitive-linguistic skills such as phonological processing (amongst others), which are essential for reading development. Research has, in the past, not adequately addressed the development of, and relationship between, a broad range of phonological processing and reading skills in South Africa. The study investigates the relationship between phonological processing skills and reading development in Northern Sotho-English bilingual children. Ninety-eight participants, divided into group 1 (n=48) and group 2 (n=50) based on their Language of Learning Language of Teaching were sampled. Group 1 received literacy instruction in Northern Sotho, whilst group 2 in English. Participants were assessed using a battery of phonological processing tests and on reading abilities in English and Northern Sotho. Correlations, multiple regressions and multivariate analyses of variance were conducted. Findings revealed that phonological processing skills are essential in reading development in both the first and second language of the participants. / African Languages / M.A. (Linguistics)

Une évaluation longitudinale (de la 1ère à la 6ème année primaire) a été réalisée auprès d'enfants francophones apprenant le néerlandais comme langue seconde dans un contexte scolaire d'immersion linguistique. Leur développement linguistique a été comparé à celui d'enfants monolingues francophones et néerlandophones. Les objectifs de la recherche consistaient à déterminer (1) les conséquences positives ou négatives de la méthode immersive sur le développement linguistique des enfants dans leurs langues maternelle et seconde, (2) la langue la plus appropriée aux premiers pas dans l'acquisition de la lecture et de l'écriture (la langue maternelle ou la langue seconde caractérisée par un système écrit plus transparent), (3) les difficultés spécifiques rencontrées par ces enfants en immersion (acquisition de séquences phonologiques spécifiques à la langue seconde, interférences entre langues, etc.).<p> / Doctorat en Sciences Psychologiques et de l'éducation / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Doctorat en sciences psychologiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This study investigated the challenges English (as a second language) teachers face in primary schools. The objectives of the study were to identify particular challenges encountered by teachers of English as a second language to young learners and explore how training and development programmes can support teachers in meeting those challenges, describe the reading policies, where they are in place, of Letlhakane Primary Schools and devise solutions/ recommendations on how to tackle the challenges that teachers face in English reading. The sample for the study was drawn from the teachers serving at government primary schools. A sample of 30 teachers was purposively selected from three (3) primary schools identified as large in Letlhakane. The study adopted the following qualitative data collection strategies: focus group discussion, individual interviews and classroom observations. The findings revealed that there are many challenges that teachers face in teaching reading in the schools observed. Some of the challenges include exceptionally large numbers of children in class, limited time, lack of expertise in the teachers and shortage of materials and resources for teaching reading in English. The study recommends that class size be reduced, reading be made the main subject and timetabled, which will give it more time to be taught, teaching of reading must be introduced and made a compulsory course at all levels in colleges of education for primary school teachers. Teachers should be given regular in-service training in the teaching of reading. The Ministry of Basic Education should supply primary schools with the necessary materials for teaching reading and increase those that have a shortage of such resources. It is also recommended that building of libraries furnished with appropriate readers be done and the use of English as a language of instruction in all subjects except for Setswana should be started as early as in standard/grade 1. Reading policies should also be developed in schools so that teachers know what to do or follow when it comes to the teaching of reading. / Educational Management and Leadership / M. Ed. (Education Management)