Reading in South African schools is rated amongst the worst in the world. Many children come from backgrounds where reading is uncommon. Since reading is the key to the mastery of other subjects and a predictor of future success, there is mounting disquiet about learnersâ reading ability. Accordingly, the principal of a secondary township school requested help with reading development. This project aimed to design a programme of reading intervention that would lead to on-going, sustainable second language reading development, with the focus on improving the educatorsâ skills to teach reading. Because the chosen methodology was action research, the teachers were included as participants and co-researchers. An additional aim was to reflect critically on the interventions in order to ensure more generalised understanding of an educational problem. The results of this study will have value in that they will facilitate a closer understanding of reading development in one township school as an example of a general educational problem.

Being literate is a privilege which is often taken for granted. The ability to read the morning newspaper or the subtitles of oneâs favourite soap opera is often viewed as trivial, or incidental, and yet South Africaâs population is far from 100% literate. The youthâs preoccupation with technology (cell phones and computers, for example) has marginalised healthier pastimes like reading. Fortunately, this trend appears to have begun to shift: our youth may be rediscovering previous generationsâ love of reading thanks to best-selling authors like J.K. Rowling, Terry Pratchett, and Phillip Pullman. Consequently, the rationale for this study is to determine to what extent (if any) a specific authorâs contribution to literature is motivating young people to read again, and whether her texts can be deemed a viable aid to the moral education of the youth. Thus, J.K. Rowlingâs Harry Potter oeuvre is the main material under study, and is explored in terms of both its potential as an aid to moral development (and the consequent lessons that can be taken from it), as well as its possible contribution to the re-establishment of a reading culture among the youth of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The question then arises as to whether a culture of reading has, in fact, been established among the above-mentioned group, and whether the suggested texts have played a part in doing so. Moreover, one has to consider what moral lessons, if any, are propagated by Rowling. On the one hand, this dissertation explores the responses of young people who have and have not been exposed to the series in terms of their interest in and affinity for reading, and to what extent Rowlingâs series has influenced them, if at all. As the focus of this study is solely on Rowlingâs Harry Potter series, it is naturally not quantifiable beyond these limitations. However, the results may still serve as a springboard for future studies. On the other hand, the focus of the study extends to areas of a more personal nature that deal with principles such as young peopleâs responses to themes like good versus evil, and their understanding of social and moral commentary. The opinion of certain critics, such as Maretha Maartens who fervently denounced the texts for religious reasons, is also considered in an attempt to verify whether young readers are exposed to moral risks by the magical aspect of Rowlingâs work, or whether, in sharing Harryâs experiences, they form a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between good and evil and the complexities of life and human relations. From an academic point of view there is no doubt that literacy is a vital and invaluable asset that everyone should be privileged to possess. In conducting this research, I hope to contribute to the already existing body of data pertaining to the study of literacy and the affinity of young people for reading. Furthermore, I intend to confer a greater sense of credibility, from a literary perspective, on Rowlingâs oeuvre, which also addresses a number of relevant moral concerns. I believe that the lessons learned from the texts, as well as the companionship they lend to young people, who often feel alone and unappreciated, are not always acknowledged. Additionally, I believe that Harry Potter is the ideal material to prescribe to both first- and second-language speakers of English, especially at primary school level. Apart from the moral and thematic aspects that young people of this age group will be privileged to encounter, they will also be exposed to a body of work that contains an impressive range of words for vocabulary improvement, and a standard of English that will establish a reliable basis for any future studies in the language.

This dissertation explores the benefits of nurturing early literacy which are increasingly being recognized. Many language practitioners (Snow, Barnes, Chandler, Goodman and Hemphill, 1991; Gestwicki, 1997; Krashen, 2004; White, 2005; Morrow, 2007) emphasise that withholding instruction in reading and literate behaviour until schoolgoing age results in children being unprepared for the rigours of school. Intervention should therefore commence as early as possible (Auerbach and Roche, 1971; Brierley, 1987; Essa, 2007; de Witt, 2009) to ensure school readiness and to pave the way for a successful transition into Grade R. At present, it is compulsory for South African learners to begin school in Grade R. This is a government endeavour to ensure that all learners have at least one compulsory year of kindergarten tuition. However, the years preceding Grade R are the most important in terms of acquiring emergent literacy skills (Hechinger, 1966; National Research Council, 1998; Barbarin and Richter 2001; Arnold and Doctoroff, 2003), and urgent attention should therefore also be paid to nurturing literacy during these crucial years. Clearly, children from less advantaged backgrounds who receive little or no stimulation involving printed matter start Grade R at a severe disadvantage as opposed to children who regularly attend pre-school and have literate parents who spend ample time reading to their children. This study highlights ways in which parents and caregivers can significantly alleviate this disadvantage simply by reading to children and by exposing them to a literate environment. Reading to children provides an immensely powerful tool for teaching crucial skills such as page-turning, reading from left to right with return sweeps, following words and understanding basic narrative structures (Bloch, 1996; Ntuli and Pretorius, 2005; Joubert et al, 2008).

Summary in English.|Bibliography: leaves 390-404. / Henri Lopes, from Congo Brazzaville, is one of the most fully rounded writers in the field of modern African literature. This research is concerned with an analysis of the way in which the ideology, which he has embraced, has permeated all his work, with the result that he expresses an ongoing, unequivocal opposition to part of his own society, while it is in the midst of mutating from its traditional origins to a form of Western modernity.

Bibliography: leaves 227-237. / This thesis attempts to elucidate Philodemus' approach to one aspect of paideia, that of rhetoric as treated in the first two books of his On Rhetoric, and to account for this approach within the broader tradition of Epicurean thiking on this discipline. As a preliminary to the investigation of this topic a complete English translation is provided of the most recent edition of the text (Longo Auricchio [1977]). The subsequent study takes the form of series of three essays which seek to clarify Philodemus' conception of the problem and through a close reading, to provide an exegetical commentary on the most important features of Philodemus' approach, especially the way he manages citations from the works of the Founders of Epicureanism in support of his own views.

Bibliography: leaves 320-347. / This thesis examines a selection of poems from both books of Horace's Satires against a backdrop of the dialogic theoretical system conceptualised by the Russian thinker Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin (1895-1975). The thesis proposes examining Horatian satire or sermo, as Horace himself termed his genre, as the 'conversation' that this name implies it is. Bakhtin himself observed that Horace's Satires were one of the works that could be considered ancient forebears of modern novelistic dialogic discourse, although he failed to elaborate on this. The thesis takes its cue from here, and seeks to explore the ways in which Bakhtinian theory can elucidate the many dialogic facets of the Satires of Horace.

Includes bibliographical references. / It is not unusual for a student to study French from secondary school to university level and still not be able to cornrnunicate effectively with a native speaker. In addition, for many years, apart from translation diplomas, the traditional Bachelor of Arts degree in French prepared students for little more an teaching the language. In South African universities, the introduction of courses in Business French is relatively recent. An individual might be motivated to learn a foreign language because of its aesthetic value or practical use. However, in South Africa, the decision to allocate state funds and school-learning hours towards the promotion and teaching of a foreign language has deeper implications, particularly when there are eleven official languages competing for recognition. In India in early 1900, Michael West had attempted to establish why Indian people should learn English ("in order to read") and how they should learn English ("through reading"). Abbot (1981: 12) called this random teaching of a foreign language "TENOR (teaching English for no obvious reason)". Similarly, the question as to why South Africans should be taught French or) any other foreign language needs to be answered. If not, we risk falling into he same trap as "TENOR" except in this case we will be teaching French for no apparent reason. While the purpose of this research is not to discredit those students who desire to learn French for personal reasons, the main argument presented in this thesis is based on whether South Africans should learn French in order to trade more effectively with Francophone countries. Combining qualitative and quantitative research, preliminary conclusions indicate that an in-depth cost and benefits analysis might prove the link: French language acquisition with economic expansion. However, within the limitations of this research, there is insufficient justification for the allocation of state funding for foreign language acquisition over and above the need for other mainstrearn school disciplines. A more viable solution would be to train and to empploy South Africa's new language resource, that of the Francophone refugees currently living in the country, assuming that they are willing to remain in this country.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / This study traces the decline of classical languages in secondary and higher education. It investigates the factors that contributed to the rise and fall of modern foreign languages in the curriculum of American schools. Particular attention is focused upon two time periods, 1870-1915, and circa 1960-1972. Specifically, the study examines the rationale advanced for the inclusion of modern foreign languages into the regular program of studies; the impact of economic, professional, and social forces upon the decline of the classical languages; the confrontation and conflict between the modern foreign languages and the classical languages; and the parallels between the situation faced by the classical languages during the period 1870-1915, and the one confronting the modern languages today. Characteristics of American education during the, colonial period are traced, and the impact of classical education in the colonies is delineated. Methods, texts, teacher preparation and community influence are discussed. In addition, language curricula from the end of the colonial era to 1870 and factors contributing to assaults upon the classical languages are outlined. The confrontation between the proponents of the classics and the modern foreign languages is treated in greater detail, and the appearance of modern foreign languages during 1870-1895 is traced. The crisis confronting classical education during the 1895-1905 period is studied in depth; the decline of Latin and the essential demise of Greek and innovations in classical education are considered. Factors impeding and contributing to the rise of modern foreign languages are analyzed. General socio-cultural influence affecting the status of classical education are examined. Finally, the similarity between the situation confronting classical languages or an earlier period and that faced by modern languages today are discussed with particular attention directed to the parallels between the two periods and implications for the future place or languages in the curriculum.

This study starts with the explanations of importance, principles, management stages, targets and tools of public relations in general and gives detailed information on its theoretical base. The first two chapters are designated to provide detailed information about public relations. In the third chapter the evaluation of public relations in the public sector which is the main goal of the research is presented. It is obvious that public relations is a management function which creates a mutual understanding between the corporation and its publics or audience. But this isn&Otilde / t the case all of the time in the public sector. THY is taken as a case in order to provide clear examples of the mentality and practices in public relations in the public sector. The detailed information about the corporation and its public relations units are given to explain the PR activities of the corporation. THY as a state economic corporation, has a socially responsible approach in its service / on the other hand, it is a profit-making entity as well. From the number of assigned personnel to the sub-structural matters and the principles of promotional activities, THY administration&Otilde / s approach to public relations is evaluated in this study. v In the selected year of 2003, THY administration was at the edge of changing mentality in public relations issues. Three cases such as the Diyarbak&amp / #221 / r plane crash, SARS crisis and the starting flights to New Delhi are taken to explain the traditional mentality and the new business like mentality in public relations. The public relations in THY is compared with British Airways and Lufthansa in their websites.

Inaug--Diss.--Groningen. / Includes bibliographical references.