This research explores issues relating to language policy, and language learning and teaching. It further looks at the relationship that exists between language policy and language learning and teaching. In the research I argue that well-thought out and well-meaning language policies will fail to be implemented meaningfully if there is no clear and unambiguous implementation plan. I also note that the national vision and ideals which are often embodied in the language policy fail to take effect if, again, there is no comprehensive implementation plan. This view is held by many scholars and researchers in the areas of language policy and planning.

The aim of this study is to investigate what differences there are in vocabulary comprehension between pupils with Swedish as a first and second language. The strategies used for understanding unknown words are also investigated. Above all, the aim of this study is to see whether the subject teacher is aware of which words could be difficult to understand for pupils with Swedish as a second language and if she is aware of their vocabulary ability.          Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used in the form of observation, vocabulary test and semi-structured interviews with both pupils and subject teacher. There were 12 informants from a national gymnasium programme participating in the vocabulary test. Seven of them had Swedish as a second language and six of them has Swedish as a first language. Six informants participated in interviews.          The results showed that there were both quantitative and qualitative differences between the groups. The results also imply that informants with higher scores in the vocabulary test are more aware of which methods to use in the hearing and reading of an unknown vocabulary. The subject teacher was well aware of which words in teaching could be hard to understand for second language pupils, but underestimated the pupils’ knowledge of words.          The test results were not statistically tested and could therefore not be generalized for the population. Contemporary field research supports the test results.

This thesis is devoted to the issue of understanding Romani and the majority languages by Romani preschoolers in order to consider the possibility of introducing Romani language in schools. Also it analyses the influence of using Romani language on the ability to perform age-appropriate tasks by Roma preschoolers. The work is divided into two parts. The first, theoretical part presents a summary of the relevant works on school failure of Romani children with an emphasis on their language handicap. We also pay attention to the theory of language shift, language code, and subtractive bilingualism. In the second, empirical part a primary research is carried out examining the degree of understanding Romani and majority languages in three locations in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. As a methodology, a mixed research design was chosen. It was divided into two phases. During the first phase a field research was conducted, followed by quantitative evaluation of tasks performed by the Romani preschoolers in the second phase. Research has shown, that there are different linguistic situations in the surveyed locations and therefore no generic measure can be introduced. At the same time the outcomes rejected the presumption that children who speak Romani better than the majority language will be more successful in...

M.A. (Applied Linguistics) / In June 1991 Parliament passed the following amendment to paragraph (b) of Section 3 of Act 90 of 1979: that the language or languages to be used as the medium of instruction at a school and the extent and duration of such use shall be determined by the Minister after consultation with the parents of pupils enrolled at that school, which consultation shall take place in the manner as prescribed. Act 90 of 1979 is the Education and Training act which legislates for black education under the control of the Department of Education and Training. The education epartments in the self-governing states tend to align themselves with DET policy, but the TBVC states have acted independently even though there have been correspondences between their policies and the DET's which might suggest otherwise. The amendment replaces the following wording of paragraph (b): that the universally accepted principle of mother-tongue instruction be observed: Provided that this principle shall be applied at least up to and including Standard two: Provided further that the wishes of the parents shall be taken into consideration in the application of this principle after Standard two, and also in the choice of one of the official languages as the medium of instruction where the mother tongue cannot be used as the medium of instruction after Standard two. The essential difference between the two is that the original wording prohibited the use of any medium other than the mother tongue before Standard 3 whereas the amendment does not. Both versions make prov1s1on for the wishes of parents to influence but not actually to determine language policy: the Minister reserves the right to do that. The 1991 amendment legislates in favour of the options listed in section 7.11 of the White Paper on the Provision of Education in the Republic of South Africa of 1983 quoted below, which in turn quotes at length from the report of the Education Working Party of the HSRC De Lange Commission. Paragraphs (a) to (e) acknowledge the desirability of mother tongue instruction and of developing African languages accordingly, but paragraphs (f) and (g) imply that the then current language medium policy of mother tongue for at least the first four years was not necessarily the best one, and that "pragmatic approaches to the language medium problem include the use of English from Sub A".

M.A. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

L’Angola est un contexte encore relativement méconnu quelque soit la discipline en sciences sociales. Pour la didactique des langues et des cultures, cette situation de départ prête à questionner l’approche – ou les approches – à adopter pour mener la recherche. Cette thèse propose de vérifier la pertinence d’une approche plurielle faisant appel à l’histoire et à deux grands axes de travail : l’axe diachronique-synchronique et l’axe micro-macro. L’objectif majeur est de mettre à profit cette approche pour : (1) pallier le manque de données indispensables à la compréhension de la singularité du contexte sociolinguistique contemporain et au développement de politiques linguistiques et éducatives adaptées ; (2) déterminer de manière historicisée les caractéristiques du système éducatif et de la culture éducative actuels ; (3) proposer des pistes d’application pour améliorer les conditions d’enseignement / apprentissage en langue et des langues. La première partie de cette thèse explicite les objectifs et les hypothèses de recherche (chapitre 1), expose les éléments généraux concernant le contexte national (chapitre 2) puis les concepts mobilisés pour la réflexion et l’analyse (chapitre 3). La seconde partie fournit des éléments descriptifs, explicatifs et analytiques jusqu’alors inédits concernant le contexte de cette recherche : un cadre historique (chapitre 4), un cadre sociolinguistique (chapitre 5) et un focus construit autour de la langue française en Angola dont découle une réflexion plus générale sur le système éducatif public contemporain (chapitre 6). À partir de l’analyse de trois corpus didactiques sélectionnés à partir de leur date de production (1962, 1980 et 2005), la troisième partie permet de mettre à profit les apports des deux premières parties pour effectuer une analyse de corpus historicisée visant à mettre au jour les caractéristiques de la didactisation en fonction des époques et les traces de ce processus dans les productions didactiques contemporaines. / Angola remains a relatively unknown context, regardless of the discipline in the social sciences. For the didactics of languages and cultures, this baseline situation raises the question of the approach - or the approaches - to adopt in order to conduct research. This thesis proposes to examine the relevance of a plural approach calling upon history and involving two major lines of work: the diachronic-synchronic axis and the micro-macro axis. The major objective is to build on this approach to: (1) fill in for the lack of data that are essential to understand the singularity of the contemporary sociolinguistic context, and to develop adequate language and education policies; (2) determine, using historicization, the characteristics of the education system and the current educational culture; (3) propose implementing strategies to improve the teaching / learning in language and of languages. The first part of this thesis clarifies the research objectives and hypotheses (Chapter 1), presents the general elements defining the national context (Chapter 2), as well as the concepts mobilized for reflection and analysis (Chapter 3). The second part provides descriptive, explanatory and analytical elements hitherto unpublished regarding the context of this research: a historical background/context (Chapter 4), a sociolinguistic framework (Chapter 5) and a focus built around the French language in Angola leading to a broader reflection on the contemporary public education system (chapter 6). Based on the analysis of three teaching corpus selected following their date of production (1962, 1980 and 2005), the third part allows to exploit the findings made in the first two sections, in order to perform historicised corpus analysis aimed at revealing the characteristics of didactization over time, as well as the traces of this process in contemporary educational productions. / Angola ainda é um contexto relativamente desconhecido, qualquer que seja a disciplina nas ciências sociais. Para a didática das línguas e culturas, esta situação inicial se presta a questionar a abordagem - ou as abordagens - a adoptar para realizar a pesquisa. Esta tese propõe a verificar a relevância de uma abordagem multifacetada que envolva história e duas linhas principais de trabalho: o eixo diacrónico-sincrônico e o eixo micro-macro. O objetivo principal é de tirar partido dessa abordagem para: (1) superar a falta de dados essenciais para a compreensão da singularidade do contexto sociolinguístico contemporâneo e para o desenvolvimento de políticas linguísticas e educativas adequadas; (2) determinar de modo historizado as características do sistema de educação e da cultura educacional vigente; (3) propor formas de aplicação para melhorar o ensino / aprendizagem na linguagem e das línguas. A primeira parte desta tese explícita os objectivos e as hipóteses de investigação (Capítulo 1), define os itens gerais sobre o contexto nacional (Capítulo 2) e os conceitos mobilizados para reflexão e análise (Capítulo 3). A segunda parte fornece elementos descritivos, explicativos e analíticos inéditos a respeito do contexto desta pesquisa: um cenário histórico (Capítulo 4), um quadro sociolinguístico (Capítulo 5) e um foco construído em torno da língua francesa em Angola que segue uma reflexão mais geral sobre o sistema educativo público contemporâneo (capítulo 6). A partir da análise de três corpus didáticos selecionados segundo a data de produção (1962, 1980 e 2005), a terceira parte permite alavancar as contribuições das duas primeiras partes para realizar a análise de corpus historizada no objetivo de descobrir as características da didatização com os tempos e vestígios de este processo em produções educacionais contemporâneas.

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / In many countries defined by multilingualism, language has been identified as a great influence during psychological and educational testing. In South Africa (SA), factors such as changes in policies and social inequalities also influence testing. Literature supports the translation and adaptation of tests used in such contexts in order to avoid bias caused by language. Different language versions of tests then need to be evaluated for equivalence, to ensure that scores across the different language versions have the same meaning. Differences in dialects may also impact on the results of such tests.Results of an isiXhosa version of the Woodcock Muñoz Language Survey (WMLS),which is a test used to measure isiXhosa learners’ language proficiency, show significant mean score differences on the test scores across rural and urban firstlanguage speakers of isiXhosa. These results have indicated a possible problem regarding rural and urban dialects during testing. This thesis evaluates the item bias of the subtests in this version of the WMLS across rural and urban isiXhosa learners. This was accomplished by evaluating the reliability and item characteristics for group differences, and by evaluating differential item functioning across these two groups on the subtests of the WMLS. The sample in this thesis comprised of 260 isiXhosa learners from the Eastern Cape Province in grade 6 and grade 7, both males and females. This sample was collected in two phases: (1) secondary data from 49 rural and 133 urban isiXhosa learners was included in the sample; (2) adding to the secondary data, a primary data collection from 78 rural isiXhosa learners was made to equalise the two sample groups. All ethical considerations were included in this thesis. The results were surprising and unexpected. Two of the subtests in the WMLS showed evidence of scalar equivalence as only a few items were identified as problematic. However, two of the subtests demonstrated more problematic items. These results mean that two subtests of the WMLS that demonstrated evidence of scalar equivalence can be used to measure the construct of language proficiency, while the other two sub-tests that showed problematic items need to be further investigated, as the responses given by learners on these items seem to be determined by their group membership and not by their ability.

The ways in which knowledge is constituted in Higher Education in South Africa today needs to take into account the historical diversity of learners’ academic and literacy competencies. The thesis begins by considering the ways in which, historically, many learners in Higher Education have been under prepared for the challenges of studying complex disciplines through the medium of English, which is often their second or third additional language. It also considers the sometimes inappropriate response of Higher Education to the plight of these learners and the present and potential role of language specialists working in collaboration with disciplinary specialists to support these learners. In this ethnographic research, I use an ontological metatheory, critical realism, as my analytical lens. Critical realism is an appropriate analytical lens for exploring and gaining insight into the possible causal mechanisms that generate the stratified and often inscrutable nature of social reality, including the role of language and discourse in education. I employ a case study design to explore the role of discourse in lecturers and clinical radiographers’ constitution of the knowledge of entry level Radiography learners at the Groote Schuur campus of Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). Taking discourse as my unit of analysis, I develop a model of knowledge constitution based on a Hallidayan framework (1978). This model comprises two contexts of culture (Higher Education and Health Care) within which are embedded two contexts of situation (the university classroom and a clinical radiography workplace). In these contexts, I focus on how lecturers and clinical radiographers constitute radiographic knowledge through the field, tenor and mode of their discourse. My research sheds light on learners’ construal of various aspects of this process of knowledge constitution, and I consider implications for Radiography teaching and learning. I conclude that, because of the dual contexts in which the learners’ knowledge is constituted, literacy requirements in the two contexts are quite different. For this reason, learners may often be unmotivated to enhance their literacies, particularly in reading and writing; yet, in the interests of the future growth of the profession, the latter will be required of them as practitioners who conduct research and publish. I argue that the real empowerment of Radiography learners thus lies in their lecturers’ agency: there is a need for them to implement certain practices that will shape the learners’ identity, not only as clinical practitioners, but as researchers and writers. In doing this, they will ensure that the learners’ potential is realised and they have the capacity to make meaningful contributions to the growth of the future radiography profession.

Since in our educational system a great deal of learning is supposedly dependant upon a child's ability to read and assimilate information from textbooks, this study investigated what reading skills are required by a second language reader of English to read textbooks with comprehension and understanding in relation to the reading skills of a competent reader and how Ciskeian Standard 6 pupils perform in relation to a Geography text prescribed at that level. A test, designed to measure eight reading comprehension skills, was given to a sample of 250 children from four schools in Zwelitsha, Ciskei, to establish whether the subjects are able to: a) give the literal meaning of words; b) derive the appropriate meaning of an ambiguous word from the context in which it appears; c) find answers to questions by making direct reference to the text; d) identify the major points and details in a text; e) use the information in the text to predict what the writer is going to talk about next; f) find the referent for anaphoric terms; g) use discourse markers to predict information/meaning to come, and see the relationships between what they have just read and what they are about to read; h) activate and use the background knowledge and schemata that they have to understand the text topic.The results of this study indicate that these children are: a) unfamiliar with the structure of expository texts; b) linguistically bound to a text and that they fail to use linguistic and contextual clues even when they are explicit in the text. The study also shows that the ability to make inferences and predictions is determined to a large extent by the prior knowledge and background experience that a pupil brings with him to the text and by his ability to activate that background knowledge. The findings suggest that in the English classroom, in an English as a second language (L2) medium situation, the L2 teacher has a responsibility to prepare the child for the study, which includes reading, writing, listening and speaking, of all subjects across the curriculum through the second language, which is the medium of instruction

The purpose of the study is to investigate how mother tongue instruction influences the learner performance in the acquisition of reading and comprehension skills of Khoekhoegowab speaking learners in Grade 2 in comparison with foreign medium of instruction. (p. 1)