M.A. (African Languages) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. / The problem of different languages, as well as academic, social and educational performance, among learners of different cultures within a multicultural school career, is a cause for concern. The number of cases of failure, underachievement, low self-image and poor socialisation is unacceptably high among these learners of diverse cultures. The unfamiliar educational milieu leads to feelings of frustration and confusion. Although it is true that the explanation for this frustration and confusion is complex, certain aspects of the problem are readily identifiable, viz. the unpreparedness of the new learner to learn in a strange language rather than his mother-tongue; his inability to adapt quickly enough to the new milieu; and the low academic and educational standards to which he has previously been accustomed. The expectations to which such a learned is subjected are, inter alia, that they should be able to speak and read fluently; that they should be able to interact socially in an acceptable way; and that they should aim to perform well in spite of new academic expectations and challenges. Many learners of various cultures do not have the abovementioned abilities and qualities, hence the necessity to intervene when it comes to studies in a foreign, i.e. non-mother-tongue, language. This study is thus of instructive value. The literature review confirms the existence of the above named problem, which is discussed from the learner's point of view, together with areas for concern and suggestions for strategies for possible success in overcoming the problem. The most challenging task of all is that of the teacher in the classroom. This is where an atmosphere can and must be created in which the less privileged learner can be exposed to a productive learning environment so that he can achieve his full potential. The teaching profession in South Africa is on the threshold of enormous change; and its role in the creation of a new nation is pivotal.

A research report is submitted to the School of Education, Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education by combination of coursework and research Johannesburg, 2016. / This qualitative study aimed to understand teachers’ identities and teaching practices in the Gauteng Primary Literacy and Mathematics Strategy. The research, which is a case study, was conducted with six Foundation Phase teachers, which included two Heads of Department (HODs). The setting of the study was a primary school that was declared underperforming in 2013, after the low performance in Annual National Assessments. The prescriptive syllabus type of curriculum known as the Gauteng Province Literacy and Mathematics Strategy (GPLMS) was implemented due to the low Grade six Mathematics results. Semi-structured interviews were the primary research instruments used to generate data on how teachers understood their identities and teaching practices in a GPLMS school. A major finding was that teachers renegotiated their identities in order to deal with the changing teaching context that came with GPLMS. The study identified three groups of teachers who dealt with the changes in different ways: their learning trajectories and communities of practice, along with their personal identities shaped the ways in which they responded strategy. The teachers had a good sense of teacher identity before being declared underperforming. Another major finding was that teachers changed their pedagogical approaches order to teach according to the detailed, prescriptive lesson plans. What is problematic is that some teachers resorted to skipping some parts of the content, prescribed in the lesson plans, in order to finish the syllabus on time. Of great concern is that none of the participants received training on using the GPLMS or even CAPS from their district: teachers ought to have sound pedagogical knowledge that can ultimately afford epistemological access to the learners. Research on teachers’ identities and understanding teaching practices cannot be ignored since they teachers at the forefront of knowledge delivery. / LG2018

This study investigated whether East Asian learners of English (n=8) studying in the US acquired more accurate intonation patterns (compared to native-speaker norms) after receiving five weeks of tutoring focusing on four basic intonation patterns (definite statements, wh-questions, yes/no questions, and tag questions) and using oral reading as the primary practice technique. The study also assessed the students' affective reaction to the teaching method through interviews. The study found that the learners significantly improved their intonational accuracy (based on the judgments of three native speakers who listened to single-sentence recordings [n=868] from questionnaires, exit interviews, and pre- and post-tests) and that they were generally amenable to the teaching technique.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate what effect, if any, the social roles between second language learners and their conversational partners have on the types and frequencies of the following discourse categories: (a) input interactional modifications (b) corrections of language learners' linguistic errors by others and (c) language learners' production of comprehensible output. This study also seeks to corroborate previous research findings with regards to negotiation of meaning interactions (Pica, 1988; Pica, Holliday, Lewis & Morgenthaler, 1989) and other-corrections of language learners' linguistic errors (Chun, Day, Chenoweth & Luppescu, 1982).

Oftentimes it is the foreign language classroom that provides the basic foundation for language exposure and acquisition. In the context of the foreign language classroom there is not much exposure to the TL outside of this setting. This being the case, the quantity of the TL should be relatively high as it is an essential requisite for language acquisition. In addition, most recent research tends to suggest that high quantities of TL from the instructor is ideal. The main purpose of this study has been to focus on university-level foreign language classrooms to explore the issue of language choice, Ll or TL, among instructors. Over a ten week period, six languages were observed and audiotaped on five separate occasions. The study asked the following questions: 1) If Ll (English) is used in university-level foreign language classrooms, what is the ratio of Ll to TL?; 2) For what purposes is the Ll used?; 3) What are teachers' and students' perceptions and attitudes regarding use of the Ll in the foreign language classroom? A categorization grid was created to answer the second research question. A student questionnaire and teacher interview were administered to answer the third research question. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics. It was found that three out of the six languages used the Ll an average of 10% or less of the time, while the remaining three languages used the Ll for an average of 13% or more of the time. In regard to the second research question, four out of the six languages used the Ll most frequently for the purposes of language analysis and vocabulary translation. This investigation has attempted to explore and discuss practices within some foreign language classrooms at the university-level and to create greater awareness of those practices.

Thesis (M.ED.) --University of Limpopo (Turfloop Campus), 2008 / Argument directed to bilingual instruction in South Africa is not new. The issue of eleven official languages in education remains contested. The apartheid language in education policy infused with imbalance proficiency demands for educators and learners’in the country. The policy was replaced in 1997 with a new policy based on non –discriminatory language use and the internationally accepted principle of home language education in the contest of bilingual or multilingual framework. The policy was designed to accommodate home language (HL)maintenance, proficiency and first additional language (FAL), English for the majority of learners and optimal cognitive development. The policy has not been accompanied by any significant government or language department to ensure the implementation plan. It has however been met with several arguments of bilingual resource and well –trained educators. The argument paved a way into publications which have been used to deflect government’s responsibility regarding bilingual instruction .The difference in language policy however disregard the fact that South Africa is multilingual and that home language is the most appropriate language of learning everywhere in the world. The implementation and understanding of bilingual and linguistic interdependence of both English and African languages have a role to pay in the development and sustainability of democratic country. The underlying implication is that since English and Afrikaans as the media of instruction that disadvantaged the majority of South African citizens over the years, it is time African languages be implementated alongside English or Afrikaans in education system. South Africa’s new language in Education policy (LiEP) has been regarded as one of the best progressive in the world. The dissertation describes research that investigates the gap between the policy expections and what is prevailing at some private and public primary school in Limpopo Province.

Includes bibliography (p. 260-276). / xi, 276 p. : ill. ; 31 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Draws on aspects of socio-cultural theory of second language acquisition in addition to the exploration of the formal structure of ESL instruction. Data collection and analysis has employed a combination of the ethnographic and ethnomethodological approaches. By including the wider situational context, this study provides a new dimension in addressing issues of language education. It demonstrates the usefulness of making connections between linguistics and language education to gain insights into formal language acquisition in school. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Centre for European Studies and General Linguistics, 2003

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of English

published_or_final_version / Applied English Studies / Master / Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics