Global ETD Search

61	The use of Chishona as a medium of instruction in the teaching of mathematics in primary schools Chivhanga, Ester 06 1900 (has links) The study sought to explore possibilities of using ChiShona as a medium of instruction in the teaching of Mathematics in primary schools. The aim was to compare the use of English as a medium of instruction with ChiShona as medium of instruction in the teaching and learning of Mathematics to Grade 4 class. The other objective was to examine the people’s attitudes towards the use of mother tongue instruction in the teaching and learning of Mathematics in Zimbabwe primary schools. A practical teaching experiment was used to investigate the feasibility of using ChiShona as medium of instruction in the teaching and learning of Mathematics to Grade 4 class. In addition a descriptive survey research design which used questionnaires and interviews as data collection methods was employed for its usefulness in exploratory studies. A total of 750 people participated in the research and these were 40 Grade 4 learners (used for teaching experiment) 260 teachers/lecturers, 250 parents and 200 college/university learners. Data gathered was subjected to both quantitative and qualitative analysis resulting in data triangulation for validation. Major findings of the research indicated that the use of ChiShona as a medium of instruction in the teaching of Mathematics to primary school children is possible and that the use of the mother tongue instruction (ChiShona) impacted positively in the teaching of Mathematics to Grade 4 learners. The use of ChiShona as a medium of instruction in teaching Mathematics was effective and comparatively the learners who used ChiShona performed better than those who used English as a medium of instruction. However the research further concluded that people preferred that English remain the only medium of instruction from primary up to university level as English offers them better opportunities for employment compared to ChiShona. The study concludes that the continued use of English as medium of instruction means that African languages such as ChiShona will remain underdeveloped and fail to find their way in the classrooms as languages of instruction in education. The study finally recommends the need for an all-inclusive multi-lingual policy that uplifts the status of indigenous languages and their literature without annihilating English. / D. Litt et Phil. (African Languages) Language planning Language policy and development Indigenous languages Indigenous literature Socio-cultural and economic development Mother tongue 372.7096891 Language policy -- Zimbabwe Language planning -- Zimbabwe Language and education -- Zimbabwe Communication in education -- Zimbabwe Education, Primary -- Zimbabwe
62	Language as an instrument of power Maluleke, M.J. 28 February 2005 (has links) no abstract available / Linguistics / M.A. (Sociolinguistics) Binary opposition Borrowing Media Dominance Control Monolingualism English Xitsonga Afrikaans Language policy Language planning Standardisation Indigenous languages Research Study Culture Imperialism Colonisation Globalisation Attitudes Hegemony Instrument Power Manipulation Rhetoric Spin-doctoring Authority Influence Multilingualism Bilingualism Language Sociolinguistics 306.440968 Sociolinguistics -- South Africa Multilingualism -- South Africa Globalization Language and culture -- South Africa Language policy -- South Africa Language planning -- South Africa
63	The fit between Government language policies and institutional language policies : the case of indigenous languages in the South African Higher education systems Nkuna, P. H.(Paul Hendry),1963- 06 1900 (has links) The new higher education system of South Africa is in the process of transformation. Part of the transformation process involves raising the use and status of indigenous languages to become essential part of the country‟s higher education system. The constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996) laid a foundation responding to the imperative regarding the use and status of indigenous languages. The Ministry of Education (Higher Education) pays special attention to fitting their education policies to the constitution by incorporating subsection 27(2) of the Higher Education Act, 1997 (Act 101 of 1997) that states “subject to the policy determined by the Minister, the council, with the concurrence of the senate, must determine the institutional language policy of a public higher education institution and must publish and make it available on request”. The Language Policy for Higher Education was published by the Ministry of Education in November 2002. Lastly, the Ministry of Education appointed a Ministerial Committee “to advise on the development of African (indigenous) languages as mediums of instruction in higher education.” This committee published its report in 2005. This study investigates the fit between government language policies and institutional language policies. The focus is on indigenous languages in the South African higher education system. The main purpose is to argue for the design of an integrated institutional language policy framework in a holistic way. The study population consisted of the 23 universities and the indigenous language academic staff. A case study and survey were used. All twenty-three indigenous language units from the 23 universities‟ departments were used in the survey section of this research. A random sample of respondents was used, all the respondents were indigenous language academic personnel. Questionnaires were sent to each one who agreed to participate. This questionnaire was the main research instrument for collecting data. The research showed that there is no fit between government language policies and institutional language policies. It is recommended that improvements in fit between government language policies and institutional language policies be embarked upon across the 23 universities‟ staff members and stakeholders (students). / African Languages / Thesis (D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)) Government language policies Indigenous languages Institutional language policies Higher education system Universities 306.44968 Language policy -- South Africa Language and education -- South Africa Multilingualism -- South Africa Education and state -- South Africa Educational change -- South Africa Educational planning -- South Africa
64	Factors influencing performance in the learning of IsiZulu at Ekurhuleni South District secondary schools Mkhombo, S. M. (Sibongile Margaret) January 2011 (has links) The background in this study is that over the years analysis of grade 12 results in Ekurhuleni South District indicates that most secondary schools obtain 100% pass rate but not quality results isiZulu home language. IsiZulu home language quality results often range from 20% to 40%. The research findings point at two casual factors: (1) inside the classroom and (2) outside the classroom. Inside the classroom refers to quality of educators teaching isiZulu home language and outside the classroom refers to what is supposedly isiZulu home language’ yet a close analysis of the kind spoken in the township Zulu homes is in fact pidgin Zulu. In terms of quality evaluation this so called isiZulu home language can never pass quality assurance. The researcher recommends that educators of isiZulu home language be put through vigorous quality training in the teaching of isiZulu (HL). / African Languages / M.A. (African Languages) Indigenous languages Outcomes-based education Home language Performance Multiligualism Educator language attitudes Tsotsitaal Syllabus Subject Code switching Language varieties Mix languages Assessment Results Learner Standard/non-standard language Code mixing Different phases Language interference 496.3986071268224
65	A critical appraisal of the harmonisation of Shona-Nyai cross-border varieties in Zimbabwe and Mozambique Mazuruse, Mickson 02 1900 (has links) The study sought to explore possibilities of harmonising Shona-Nyai cross-border varieties in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Emerging from the responses were problems of attitudes, ignorance of what the harmonisation project entails and the different levels of development among the varieties to be harmonised. Participants believed that the challenges they faced could be resolved and they proposed some intervention strategies. Results from the questionnaire, the interview and documents analysed affirmed the generally held view that, the future of Shona-Nyai as a language and culture is securely in the hands of the speakers’ initiatives. The argument of the study has been that, the success of such a harmonisation project depends on the presence of favourable and conducive political and economic conditions through enabling language engineering activities. Information collected from the questionnaires was mainly presented in tables and information from interviews and document analysis was presented qualitatively in words. The language as a right and the language as resource orientations of language planning guided this study. The intention was to show that the preservation of linguistic diversity is important in the maintenance of group and individual identity and harmonisation should further this cause. Findings from this thesis indicate that for a successful harmonisation project to take place there is need for research in the documentation of underdeveloped Shona-Nyai varieties so that they have some presence in the education domain. The study recommends that people’s mindsets must be changed by packaging the harmonisation project in a way which they understand and appreciate. A holistic approach in solving the language problem can be achieved through a mixed approach of language policy formulation. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African languages) Language planning Language policy Mother-tongue Official language Status planning Corpus planning Acquisition planning Language attitudes Indigenous languages Empowerment Harmonisation Standardisation Cross-border languages Variety 496.397582421 Language policy -- Zimbabwe Language policy -- Mozambique Language planning -- Mozambique Language planning -- Zimbabwe Zimbabwe -- Languages Mozambique -- Languages
66	In search of the absent voice : the status of indigenous languages in post-apartheid South Africa / The status of indigenous languages in post-apartheid South Africa Cakata, Zethu 11 1900 (has links) Even though language formed part of the post-apartheid agenda which was set out to redress the ills of the pre-democratic South Africa, there are still concerns that the status of indigenous languages has not been elevated. Using decolonial work of Steve Biko, Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Frantz Fanon as theoretical lens, I aimed at exploring perceptions of key informants on post-apartheid language policies, young South Africans and parents /guardians toward indigenous languages. In-depth and narrative interviews were used to collect data from language policy key informants and young South Africans who started schooling after 1994 and focus group discussions with parents/guardians were held. Thematic, narrative and discourse analyses were used to analyse the data. Indigenous languages were perceived by participants as having an inferior status compared to languages of oppression and that was attributed to inferiority complex, lack of will from government to promote these languages and absent voice of indigenous language speakers in the fight for the status of indigenous languages. South Africa’s language diversity was also perceived as a challenge believed to contribute toward the difficulty of properly implementing post-apartheid language policies. The study results suggest a need for a stronger civil society which would assist in the dismantling of categorising languages as superior and inferior. Furthermore, the results point to a need for a more humanising approach which treats indigenous languages with respect. / Psychology / D. Phil. (Psychology) Indigenous languages Decolonial Diversity Post-apartheid Language policies 306.44968 Linguistic minorities -- South Africa Language maintenance -- South Africa Language policy -- South Africa Endangered languages -- South Africa African languages -- South Africa
67	English as a second language in learning environmental science in Zimbabwean primary schools Siwela, Tembinkosi Dunmore 12 1900 (has links) The Zimbabwean Education Act of 1987 stated that English was the official language of learning and teaching (LoLT) from grade four upwards. From grade three downwards, the mother tongue was to be used. That Education Act was later amended in 2006, to extend the use of the mother tongue up to grade seven. As a college lecturer, I have observed that there is tension between policy and practice. English and indigenous languages are vying for supremacy as the LoLT from as early as the Early Childhood Development (ECD) level. For the majority of these learners, English is a second language. This research aims to investigate problems emanating from the use of English as a second language (ESL) in learning and teaching Environmental Science (ES) at primary school level. Its objectives are to investigate the usefulness of the language policy currently in use in Zimbabwe as well as to investigate empirically, how grades four to seven teachers and their pupils communicate in class during ES lessons; and identify problems resulting from the use of ESL during ES lessons at primary school level and suggest solutions to these problems. I purposively chose ES because I developed interest in that subject when I taught it at college level where I observed many students teaching it for almost three decades. Most of the pupils these students taught struggled to communicate in ESL. My research was not intended to test existing theory. Therefore I chose an inductive (qualitative) approach. I adopted the phenomenological case study in which I collected data from the natural setting, namely: three purposively selected primary schools. I did my pilot study at the fourth school. I used four methods of data collection, namely: direct observation, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and document analysis. The participants were grades four to seven teachers and their pupils. Findings of this study show that pupils were not willing to participate in class oral discourse. When teachers asked questions, pupils usually gave one-word answers. Teachers and pupils spoke the same first language (L1). So, when they failed to express themselves coherently in English, they code-switched to their L1. When that happened, most of the pupils were eager to talk. They gave correct responses in their L1. Group discussions were very lively when they were held in the pupils’ L1. But when teachers instructed the pupils to discuss in English, many pupils were silenced because of their limited English proficiency (LEP). It was very evident that ESL was a barrier to the learning of ES for many learners. Pupils faced conceptual and communication problems because most of them were not yet proficient enough to use ESL effectively to learn ES. Participants welcomed code-switching to L1 as a solution to their limited English proficiency. / Educational Studies / D. Phil. (Education) English as a second language Language of learning and teaching Teaching primary environmental science Mother tongue Indigenous languages Second language acquisition Language policy Code-switching Solutions to communication challenges 372.357096891
68	Language as an instrument of power Maluleke, M.J. 28 February 2005 (has links) no abstract available / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (Sociolinguistics) Binary opposition Borrowing Media Dominance Control Monolingualism English Xitsonga Afrikaans Language policy Language planning Standardisation Indigenous languages Research Study Culture Imperialism Colonisation Globalisation Attitudes Hegemony Instrument Power Manipulation Rhetoric Spin-doctoring Authority Influence Multilingualism Bilingualism Language Sociolinguistics 306.440968 Sociolinguistics -- South Africa Multilingualism -- South Africa Globalization Language and culture -- South Africa Language policy -- South Africa Language planning -- South Africa
69	Integration of indigenous knowledge into the services of public libraries in South Africa Mhlongo, Maned Annie 01 1900 (has links) Documented value of indigenous knowledge (IK) in the lives of communities raises the need to facilitate its accessibility. Public libraries in South Africa can play an important role in facilitating access to this knowledge by integrating it into their services. Apart from positively contributing to the quality of lives of indigenous communities, integration of IK would result in the provision of inclusive and transformed library services. The purpose of this study was to explore how public libraries in South Africa may integrate IK into their services. Located within the critical theory paradigm, a qualitative multiple-case study was conducted among four purposefully selected provincial library services in South Africa. Directors of the selected provincial library services were interviewed. Collection development policies of the selected libraries were also analysed to determine the extent of their alignment with the provision of IK. Atlas.ti. was used to analyse data thematically. Findings revealed that libraries have not integrated IK into their services. Furthermore, collection development policies were not aligned to the provision of IK. Factors contributing to non-integration of IK in public libraries included the perception that librarians did not seem to regard IK as within their purview but rather an aspect for archival institutions. Non- alignment of policies to IK integration, content that is not accessible to indigenous communities and dwindling funding for library services provision also emerged as contributory factors. It was concluded that the hegemony of western knowledge continued to marginalise IK, possibly contributing to its non-integration. A framework based on principles of community involvement, inclusivity, access and transformation was recommended for integrating IK into services of public libraries. It was recommended that public librarians, as stakeholders in the transformation of library services need to engage in the IK discourse in order to enhance their ability to provide inclusive services. The importance of involving communities in defining IK according to their contexts to enable meaningful integration into library services was highlighted. A need to expand the study to other provinces in South Africa to determine librarians’ understanding and views regarding integration of IK was identified. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science) Indigenous knowledge Public libraries Access to information Library services Community involvement Transformation Inclusive services South Africa Indigenous languages Indigenous communities 027.408996068
70	The fit between Government language policies and institutional language policies : the case of indigenous languages in the South African Higher education systems Nkuna, P. H.(Paul Hendry),1963- 06 1900 (has links) The new higher education system of South Africa is in the process of transformation. Part of the transformation process involves raising the use and status of indigenous languages to become essential part of the country‟s higher education system. The constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996) laid a foundation responding to the imperative regarding the use and status of indigenous languages. The Ministry of Education (Higher Education) pays special attention to fitting their education policies to the constitution by incorporating subsection 27(2) of the Higher Education Act, 1997 (Act 101 of 1997) that states “subject to the policy determined by the Minister, the council, with the concurrence of the senate, must determine the institutional language policy of a public higher education institution and must publish and make it available on request”. The Language Policy for Higher Education was published by the Ministry of Education in November 2002. Lastly, the Ministry of Education appointed a Ministerial Committee “to advise on the development of African (indigenous) languages as mediums of instruction in higher education.” This committee published its report in 2005. This study investigates the fit between government language policies and institutional language policies. The focus is on indigenous languages in the South African higher education system. The main purpose is to argue for the design of an integrated institutional language policy framework in a holistic way. The study population consisted of the 23 universities and the indigenous language academic staff. A case study and survey were used. All twenty-three indigenous language units from the 23 universities‟ departments were used in the survey section of this research. A random sample of respondents was used, all the respondents were indigenous language academic personnel. Questionnaires were sent to each one who agreed to participate. This questionnaire was the main research instrument for collecting data. The research showed that there is no fit between government language policies and institutional language policies. It is recommended that improvements in fit between government language policies and institutional language policies be embarked upon across the 23 universities‟ staff members and stakeholders (students). / African Languages / Thesis (D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)) Government language policies Indigenous languages Institutional language policies Higher education system Universities 306.44968 Language policy -- South Africa Language and education -- South Africa Multilingualism -- South Africa Education and state -- South Africa Educational change -- South Africa Educational planning -- South Africa

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