This research identifies and classifies incoming learning behaviours found amongst a sample of English second language first year engineering students. During the research process, it was discovered that students entering university for an engineering/science based degree tend to struggle with the English lecture style and the pace of work at a first year level due to their having been taught in their mother tongue or through the use of code switching in their school years. It was further identified that the students who took part in the sample were highly reliant on notes and lecturers for ‘obtaining knowledge’ that could be utilized in the answering of problems. The findings indicate that English second language students who had been taught in Black schools had a limited view of knowledge that was dependant on received knowledge. It was further found that with the exception of students who had been taught in English only schools, there appeared little correlation between the matriculation aggregates of the students and their first year engineering marks. Where English second language first year engineering students exhibited some learning behaviours that suggest an aptitude for success in higher education, the findings suggest that the students who took part in the study do not feel supported at university. The findings, while complicated in nature, also suggest that university structures and procedures are not responsive to the specific needs of the sample group. It is the recommendation of this study that further research be undertaken amongst a larger sample group if curricular changes amongst first year engineering courses are to be considered.

Thesis (M. A. (African Languages)) --University of Limpopo, 2005 / Refer to document

Thesis (M.A.T.) -- School for International Training, 2006. / Advisor -- Bonnie Mennell Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-65).

The present study aims to investigate the production of the voiced labiodental fricative /v/ of Saudi Arabian speakers of English in view of linguistic and extra-linguistic factors. The linguistic aspect focuses on the role of the position of the sound in words, initial and final, and the distribution of errors per word in view of more and less familiar words. The extra-linguistic factors include participants' lengths of stay in the US and their ages and the potential influence these may have on the accuracy of pronouncing the target sound /v/. The total number of the subjects is 20 (10 male and 10 female), and their ages range between 20 and 35, with Mean age 27. Data is elicited through participants' reading of a word list with the target sound in initial and final position. The data coding is performed through spectrographic analysis and rater judgments. The analysis employs descriptive statistics, a dependent t-test used to compare production errors between initial and final position, and correlation analyses through which subjects' length of stay in the US and age are correlated with their total number of errors in both word positions. The findings show that word-final position is more difficult in pronouncing the phoneme /v/ than word-initial position. In addition, when the voiced labiodental fricative /v/ is mispronounced, it is substituted with the voiceless labiodental fricative /f/. Also, the correlation analysis shows that the longer the subjects have stayed in the USA, the more accurate their pronunciation of the target sound is (and vice versa). A significant correlation is also found between age and accuracy of pronunciation, as the younger subjects have more accurate pronunciation. The results of this study provide empirical evidence in support of several language acquisition theories, such as Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (Lado, 1957), Markedness Differential Hypothesis (Eckman, 1977) and Language Transfer Theory (Gass & Selinker, 1994), all of which claim the influence of learners' first language on their second language. In the context of this study, the substitution of the voiced labiodental fricative /v/ with its voiceless counterpart /f/ can be attributed to the fact that /f/ is the only labiodental fricative phoneme in the Arabic language.

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This study aimed to explore the knowledge, perceptions and skills of Foundation Phase English Second Language educators as determinants for developing a support programme for educators to improve their phonological awareness teaching skills. Phonological awareness skills are the most important precursor to reading skills, meaning that there is a strong correlation between phonological awareness and reading ability. However, research indicates that many educators do not have the necessary knowledge or skills to teach phonological awareness effectively. All Foundation Phase learners are compelled to have English as a First Additional Language from Grade 1 in order to prepare them for when English becomes the LoLT from Grade 4. It is therefore critical that all the language skills (including phonological awareness skills) necessary for learning are well established in the Foundation Phase. This qualitative study utilised a multiple case study with five ESL Foundation Phase (FP) educators in two rural schools in the Hartbeespoort area in the North West Province. These schools were quintile 1 government schools and all educators were employed by the Department of Basic Education. Data were collected in two phases. The first phase involved collecting data on educator knowledge, perceptions and teaching skills of phonological awareness, using open questionnaires, individual interviews, classroom observations and document analysis. Based on the findings of phase 1 a support programme was compiled to enhance the effective teaching and assessment of phonological awareness in ESL Foundation Phase classrooms. The second phase involved conducting a training workshop for the educators on phonological awareness and the support programme, to enable them to implement it in their classrooms after training. During implementation data were gathered via classroom observations and a focus group interview was conducted afterwards to determine the value of the support programme. The findings of this study revealed that, as a result of various factors, but especially because of FP educators’ own limited proficiency in English and inadequate training with regard to phonological awareness, they did not have sufficient knowledge and teaching skills to purposefully develop learners’ phonological awareness. After receiving focused and comprehensive training and follow-up in-service support, the FP educators seemed to gain an in depth understanding of phonological awareness, as well as improved skills in the teaching thereof. These findings were addressed in recommendations for the DBE and schools, emphasizing that pre-service, as well as in-service, educators need accurate training and constructive in-service support with regard to phonological awareness. This is essential in order to ensure that all learners learning English as a second language in the Foundation Phase, have developed sufficient phonological awareness skills to enable optimal learning in English as LoLT from Grade 4.

This study aimed to explore the knowledge, perceptions and skills of Foundation Phase English Second Language educators as determinants for developing a support programme for educators to improve their phonological awareness teaching skills. Phonological awareness skills are the most important precursor to reading skills, meaning that there is a strong correlation between phonological awareness and reading ability. However, research indicates that many educators do not have the necessary knowledge or skills to teach phonological awareness effectively. All Foundation Phase learners are compelled to have English as a First Additional Language from Grade 1 in order to prepare them for when English becomes the LoLT from Grade 4. It is therefore critical that all the language skills (including phonological awareness skills) necessary for learning are well established in the Foundation Phase. This qualitative study utilised a multiple case study with five ESL Foundation Phase (FP) educators in two rural schools in the Hartbeespoort area in the North West Province. These schools were quintile 1 government schools and all educators were employed by the Department of Basic Education. Data were collected in two phases. The first phase involved collecting data on educator knowledge, perceptions and teaching skills of phonological awareness, using open questionnaires, individual interviews, classroom observations and document analysis. Based on the findings of phase 1 a support programme was compiled to enhance the effective teaching and assessment of phonological awareness in ESL Foundation Phase classrooms. The second phase involved conducting a training workshop for the educators on phonological awareness and the support programme, to enable them to implement it in their classrooms after training. During implementation data were gathered via classroom observations and a focus group interview was conducted afterwards to determine the value of the support programme. The findings of this study revealed that, as a result of various factors, but especially because of FP educators’ own limited proficiency in English and inadequate training with regard to phonological awareness, they did not have sufficient knowledge and teaching skills to purposefully develop learners’ phonological awareness. After receiving focused and comprehensive training and follow-up in-service support, the FP educators seemed to gain an in depth understanding of phonological awareness, as well as improved skills in the teaching thereof. These findings were addressed in recommendations for the DBE and schools, emphasizing that pre-service, as well as in-service, educators need accurate training and constructive in-service support with regard to phonological awareness. This is essential in order to ensure that all learners learning English as a second language in the Foundation Phase, have developed sufficient phonological awareness skills to enable optimal learning in English as LoLT from Grade 4.

According to the Constitution of South Africa (1996), as well as the Schools Act of South Africa (1996), everyone has the right to education in the language of their choice. The advantage of being educated in one’s home language is a well-known and accepted as a demonstrated fact (Oosthuizen, Rossouw & De Wet, 2004:22). Unfortunately, Oosthuizen et al. (2004:22) remark that the biggest problem in education today, is that home language education cannot be given to everyone in South Africa. As a result many parents choose English as the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT) for their children, since they believe English is the language of empowerment. Although English Second Language (ESL) learners pose a challenge to educators in the class, they still have a right to quality education. Therefore, thorough planning is essential to ensure that these learners are taught according to their needs. The primary aim of this research study was to determine if primary school educators designed their lesson planning to accommodate ESL learners with a limited English proficiency. The primary aim could only be determined if the following sub-aims were successfully analysed: *To determine through a literature investigation which specific language barriers ESL learners, with limited English language proficiency, experience during a lesson. *To determine through a literature investigation why lesson planning is important; *To determine to what extent educators accommodate language barriers to learning of ESL learners, with a limited English language proficiency, in their lesson plans. *To determine how educators reflect on their lesson plan, in order to determine whether ESL learners, with limited English language proficiency, coped with the lesson. *To establish which modifications, if any, educators make after reflection to accommodate ESL learners with limited English language proficiency in the follow lesson planning? A Qualitative research method was followed during the study. Data was collected for the research study by doing a document analysis and semi-structured interviews with primary school educators who are currently in the teaching profession and have ESL learners in their class. A convenience sample was used, where the nearest parallel medium school was chosen with participants readily available. The following findings emerged from the study: According to the literature study, the most common specific language barriers which ESL learners with limited English proficiency experience in the classroom are: *Experience it difficult to express themselves in English; *Educators disparity in language between learners and educators; *a limited English vocabulary; and *struggling with comprehension of English. Findings of the empirical study showed that the participants do not plan for accommodations for ESL learners who may experience barriers to learning. They indicated that since English is the LOLT of the school and because they feel that the learners should be proficient in the language they do not need to plan for possible misunderstandings or communication problems that could occur because of a language barrier. However, they did acknowledge that a limited vocabulary and ways of expression can cause communication problems. / MEd, Learner Support, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012

Student Number : 9305365T - MEd research report - School of Education - Faculty of Humanities / Previous studies have examined the issue of assessing university students and relating their performance on the assessment measures to their academic performance in South Africa (Butler & Van Dyk, 2004; Nel, Dreyer, & Kopper, 2004). Nel et al (2004) used a comprehensive assessment battery whereas Butler and Van Dyk (2004) used a single test, the ELSA-PLUS. However, there is very little research on the relationship between reading and academic performance (Onwuebuzie, Mayes, Arthur, Johnson, Robinson, Ashe, Elbedous & Collins, 2004). The Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test (SDRT) Blue Level was administered to 380 first year students in the one of the schools in an English medium university in South Africa at the beginning of 2005. 67 students volunteered to have their results used in the study of which 22 were English second language (L2) speakers and 43 were English first language (L1) speakers. The results showed that there were significant differences between the L1 and L2 students, where the performance of the L2 students was significantly weaker than that of the L1 students on the Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, Word Parts and Structural Analysis subtests of the SDRT. However, it emerged that the SDRT is not a good predictive test for academic achievement for either L1 or L2 students.

Ten years into a democratic South Africa, significant changes have been witnessed in economic, social, political and educational development. Changes in the education system have resulted in many of the learners being encouraged to attend English medium schools although this is not their L1. Hence, there has been an increase of learners learning to read in a language that is not their first language. The transition from their home language to the language of learning is often not easy and impacts on their academic proficiency as well as academic development. This study investigated English reading abilities and academic performance of Grade 8 L1 and L2 learners attending an Ex-Model C school. The SDRT – Brown Level was used to assess the level of reading and its impact on academic achievement was investigated. Results show that the SDRT was highly correlated with, and a significant predictor of academic performance with certain tests being stronger predictors than others for L1 and L2 learners. Implications of these findings for the education of L1 and L2 learners are discussed.