The senior secondary school learners' limited English proficiency motivated the researcher to investigate the extent to which contextual and learner factors contributed to this problem. The ultimate aim was to recommend guidelines for dealing with the problem. The review of literature and empirical methods of research were used to this effect. The literature review revealed that the learners' societal, home/family and school/classroom contexts contributed to learners' development ofESL proficiency. It further showed that the independent learner factors (i.e. learner factors that are not influenced by the context from which the learner comes and/or in which SLA takes place) and dependent learner factors (i.e. learner factors that are completely or partly subject to the influence of the context from which the learner comes or in which SLA takes place) significantly influenced the development ofESL proficiency. With its focus on language learning strategies, the empirical investigation found a significant relationship between the learners' level ofESL proficiency and use of direct strategies (i.e. strategies that involve the mental processing of the target language, albeit in different ways and for different purposes). The investigation found no significant relationship between the learners' level of ESL proficiency and use of indirect strategies (i.e. strategies that underpin the process of language learning). Several contextual and learner factors were found to influence the relationship between the learner's strategy use and the development ofESL proficiency. These findings formed the basis for recommending specific guidelines for dealing with limited ESL proficiency, as well as recommending possible directions for future research. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

We as teacher of English are faced with the task of preparing students for the world they will meet when they leave the classroom—a world that will judge them in part by their ability to manipulate the language to their advantage. And yet to measure the use of language, we rely almost exclusively on written measurements. It seems likely that students may easily learn to give the teacher the answer he wants on written tests of English usage. Oral tests are commercially available, but many are prohibitively expensive; others require hours of instruction before the teacher can consider himself qualified to administer the test; and still others include the measurement of so many varied objectives that they do not allow the teacher to pinpoint a particular language problem on which he may want to concentrate. Some oral tests have all of these drawback. It is hopes that a test of spoken English usage—one which directs itself to a specific language problem—can be constructed that will overcome the drawbacks mentioned above. And it is hoped that such a test will prove to be adaptable to classroom uses in much the same way that a written test would be; that is, it can be constructed by any classroom teacher. It is hoped that such a test can be proven valid. What form should a test take that is designed to measure spoken English usage and at the same time, is designed to be specific, usable, and readily adaptable to classroom use?

Thesis (MPhil (General Linguistics))--university of Stellenbosch, 2010. / Bibliography

The senior secondary school learners' limited English proficiency motivated the researcher to investigate the extent to which contextual and learner factors contributed to this problem. The ultimate aim was to recommend guidelines for dealing with the problem. The review of literature and empirical methods of research were used to this effect. The literature review revealed that the learners' societal, home/family and school/classroom contexts contributed to learners' development ofESL proficiency. It further showed that the independent learner factors (i.e. learner factors that are not influenced by the context from which the learner comes and/or in which SLA takes place) and dependent learner factors (i.e. learner factors that are completely or partly subject to the influence of the context from which the learner comes or in which SLA takes place) significantly influenced the development ofESL proficiency. With its focus on language learning strategies, the empirical investigation found a significant relationship between the learners' level ofESL proficiency and use of direct strategies (i.e. strategies that involve the mental processing of the target language, albeit in different ways and for different purposes). The investigation found no significant relationship between the learners' level of ESL proficiency and use of indirect strategies (i.e. strategies that underpin the process of language learning). Several contextual and learner factors were found to influence the relationship between the learner's strategy use and the development ofESL proficiency. These findings formed the basis for recommending specific guidelines for dealing with limited ESL proficiency, as well as recommending possible directions for future research. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

The lyrics of Sammy Cahn played a dominant role in shaping the Golden Age of American light music. He remains the most successful lyricist in cinema history, in terms of Academy Awards and Nominations, yet he has received little acclaim for his achievements. This thesis explores the diverse constituents of his creative genius, focusing on his ability to “romance the vernacular”, and write “bespoke” material on request. The argument follows a chronological path, tracing the major influences on Cahn’s life: vaudeville and musical theatre, the growth of the film industry, and the collaborators and performers who helped him achieve a level of mastery that he sustained for nearly fifty years. Particular emphasis is placed on his relationship with Frank Sinatra, on both a personal and professional level. Cahn had an acute awareness of the human condition and his ability to convey a range of emotions to match mood and moment displayed consummate craft and intellect, with a self-confidence that bordered on bravado. His contemporaries in the Golden Age of popular song have received due recognition, yet little has been written about Cahn, whose appreciation of the interaction between spontaneity and creativity remains unsurpassed by fellow lyricists. He had an intuitive understanding of the vernacular and an instinctive ability to write to order. The imagistic texture of the lyrics coupled with the prosodic intonation demonstrate an intimate correlation between personality and composition which is supported by biographical content. The argument, augmented by an audio-documentary, develops systematically through a study of the lyrics, focusing on the cultural and musicological significance of Cahn’s oeuvre. The material for both the written text and the two accompanying CDs are from personal archives and the Margaret Herrick Library in Los Angeles, which is the repository for the Sammy Cahn Collection, bequeathed to that institution after the death of Cahn in 1993. / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (English)

This project addresses the need for a performance-based language-development curriculum to serve the growing number of non-English-speaker immigrants in California's public schools.

This thesis examines the results of a large-scale sociolinguistic study on the use of English in two universities in China. The aim of the thesis is to determine the sociolinguistic realities of the use of English in higher education in China. The universities were selected on the basis of their unique status in China’s higher education hierarchy. One university was a private institute reliant on student fees for its income, and the other a state-funded university under the supervision of the Chinese Ministry of Education. A sociolinguistic survey was conducted involving some 490 respondents at these universities between early 2012 and mid-2013. It was specifically aimed at describing the use of the English language in the formal education of students. The study reports on the status and functions of English at the universities, as well as the attitudes of various stakeholders towards English (and other languages). It also examines their beliefs about English. English is considered in a number of contexts: first, the context of language contact, of English alongside other languages and language varieties on the two university campuses; second, of English as part of the linguistic worlds of Chinese students who switch between languages in their daily lives, both in their education as well as their private lives; and third, of the spread and use of English in terms of the physical and virtual movement of people across spaces. The findings of the study indicate that the increasing use of English in the formal education at these universities is having an impact on the ways in which Chinese students are learning their course materials, and even more notably in the myriad ways these students are using multiple languages to negotiate their everyday lives. As university students in China become increasingly bilingual, their ability to move across spaces is shown to increase, both in the ‘real’ world, as well as in their Internet and entertainment lives. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (Linguistics)