Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2000. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 15-18).

Habilitationsschrift--Münster. / Bibliography: p. [283]-296.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2007. / "Graduate Program in English, Literatures in." Includes bibliographical references (p. 266-286).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 169-182).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Pennsylvania, 1932. / Bibliography: p. 233-238.

M. Tech. Language Practice / Using the narrative essays of undergraduate students, this study aims to understand certain linguistic relations for text construction; namely, the discourse constructs of cohesion, coherence, content, grammar, and text length in English writing. A greater emphasis in this study is given to the understanding of cohesion and coherence as discourse markers. With this in mind, their relation to other salient components of language, such as content, grammar, and text length, are also investigated. This study tries to investigate the features of cohesion and coherence in relation to content, grammar and text length of the English narratives of a personal experience written by sixty-four first and second year students of two South African Universities in the Gauteng province.

Thesis (M. A. (English)) -- University of Limpopo, 2011. / In 2008, the National Department of Education in South Africa introduced a new curriculum known as the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) in the Grade 12 classes. Prior to the introduction of this new curriculum, the writing of essays in Grade 12 classes was treated as a once-off activity. The focus on essay activities was mainly on the product and after the assessment of such product-driven essays, teachers had no further interest in them except for recording marks when necessary. The paucity of interaction between teachers and learners may have contributed to the majority of learners writing incoherent essays and achieving low marks. This research study investigates whether teachers in the Moroke Circuit understand and implement the process approach in the writing of English essays in rural Grade 12 classes as prescribed by the NCS. The NCS advocates the use of the process writing approach in essay writing. The process writing approach encourages a partnership between teachers and learners. Teachers are expected to treat learners’ essays as improvable objects through pre-writing activities, self and peer assessment which Kasanga (2004:64) refers to as “multiple-draft multiple-reader writing instruction”. To achieve the aim of the study, learners’ essays were checked against the process writing checklist and the teachers’ responses in the questionnaire they were requested to complete as part of the study. The findings revealed that teachers in the Moroke Circuit do not fully understand the process writing approach and thus they do not fully implement it as advocated. There are various factors which may contribute to the learners’ poor writing skills, the main of which appear to be the teachers’ inadequate training and poor understanding of the process writing approach. Some teachers attended short training courses on NCS and others did not attended any. Based on the findings, it is recommended that teachers should receive adequate training in the process writing approach for it to be implemented as effectively as the NCS prescribes. / National Research Foundation (NRF)

Thesis (M. A. (Language Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / The study focused on the grammatical errors made by learners in writing descriptive essays: A case study of Mmakgabo Senior Secondary School, Koloti circuit, Limpopo, South Africa, paying much attention to the use of grammatical rules features specifically, in their academic piece of writing (descriptive essay). The study aimed at finding out the patterns of grammatical errors that are present in learners’ essays and the effective approach that one can use to trace the grammatical errors made by school learners in descriptive essays. The nature of the study and type of data to be collected motivated the researcher to use qualitative approach. Therefore, the researcher deployed qualitative method to collect and analyse data for this study. This method gave the researcher a wide range of opportunities to collect invaluable data which made him to gain in-depth insight of the study and the problem researched. As data collection instruments, the research firstly relied on document analysis by analysing English essay scripts of learners. In addition, the researcher conducted structured interviews by asking relevant questions to English teachers in order to ascertain their experiences and knowledge of the kind of grammatical errors learners make when they write English texts. The researcher found from document analysis that learners commit grammatical errors such as the use informal language, sentences fragment, spelling errors, incorrect use of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions. The interview findings also presented similar findings and the interviewees ranked learners’ adherence to grammatical rules to average level. The researcher relied on the findings of both the interviews, and document analysis interpreted in conjunction with recent empirical studies to conclude that learners still have many challenges with regard to following grammatical rules when they write in English. Therefore, the researcher recommends that teachers put extra effort to teach learners how to write coherently in English

Magister Educationis - MEd / Writing is an important aspect of language learning and a tool for assessment in Basic and Higher Education across the globe. Learners need to acquire proficient writing skills to learn and to demonstrate their knowledge and creativity. Given the importance of creative writing in expressing one’s thoughts, emotions and imagination, this study sought to investigate how creative writing was taught through the medium of English First Additional Language (FAL) to Grade 9 learners in one primary school in the Western Cape province. It also sought to observe and analyse the teaching strategies employed by teachers in creative writing to Grade 9 learners who were isiXhosa home language speakers, and who were taught all the subjects (except isiXhosa language) through the medium of English (FAL). Through the lens of Vygotsky’s Social Constructivism Theory, this study explored how the learners’ social context and language played a role in the teaching-learning process. The Social Constructivism theory assumes that the home environment is a primary factor in learning and it is concerned with how learning is facilitated in the classroom. This study employed a qualitative research design by making use of classroom observations, focus group interviews with randomly selected Grade 9 learners, and an interview with the Grade 9 teacher to determine how English (FAL) creative writing was taught and the barriers encountered by learners when taught writing in this language. Data was collected in a township school in Cape Town where the majority of learners were isiXhosa home language speakers. Thematic data analysis was used to make sense of the collected data. Ethical considerations were observed throughout the data collection process. One of the key findings of this study is that the Grade 9 English teacher made use of a teacher centred approach and code-switching in the teaching and learning of creative writing through the medium of English FAL. The findings also indicate that learners had limited English proficiency due to limited exposure to this language in their home environment. This study concludes that writing in English is a challenge to Grade 9 English FAL learners, and this could impede their success in other subjects across the curriculum.