A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies at the UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND, South Africa, 2012. / This study investigated: [a] the ways in which Foundation Phase educators promoted indoor and outdoor play for their learners; [b] which play activities the foundation phase educators valued most and what educational benefits they associated with these play activities; and [c] which play activities were valued most by foundation phase learners and the educational benefits they associated with these play activities. The study was based on the “mixed methods” (blended) research paradigm, involving the collection of both qualitative and quantitative data from focus group interviews and a semi-structured questionnaire. Information from the educators was collected by way of a questionnaire comprising both structured and non-structured sections. Quantitative data were analysed by the use of Microsoft Office Excel, while qualitative information collected from the interviews with the learners was analysed qualitatively. Altogether, seventy-two (72) and thirty-two (32) foundation phase educators and learners, respectively, participated in the study. These were drawn from former Model C, township and rural schools. On the first research question dealing with the promotion of play, the educator respondents reported that they promoted numeracy through (a) the use of market stands and playing shop (using Rands, litres, and centimetres); (b) play activities involving bean bags – to promote counting; (c) providing opportunities for learners to play with building blocks as counters; (d) playing mathematics games – e.g., touching eyes, ears, knees and legs to promote counting in twos; (e) the use of number games, flash cards and counting blocks to promote the creation of number patterns; (f) games, such as running using sacks, putting water in water bottles, using heavy and light objects, short and long objects – to develop the concept of measurement; and (g) giving learners opportunities to actively take part in number rhymes and songs which promoted the development of measurement concepts. Plays were also used in the teaching / learning of literacy through strategies that included story-telling, role-playing, rhymes and singing, as well as dialogue; learners taking turns in playing games; learners drawing pictures about song or rhymes; learners imitating animal sounds, word matching games and acting out stories; word games, phonic wheels, reading games; making letters with dough; alphabet story, such as Sammy snake, fireman Fred. In promoting life skills through play, the educators reported using weaving, kneading and pretence play / role playing; matching different types of foods, charts, stories and story-telling; activities around environmental management; plays calling for help; painting, colouring, handwork; music; thinking and reasoning games; plays involving rendering sympathy and empathy to others; poems- on how to cross the road. On the second research question, the educator respondents reported that play was important for developing learners’ cognitive, social, motor, language and inter-personal skills. Furthermore, the educators reported that play enabled learners to (a) expand their imagination, (b) become more emotionally mature, (c) enhance their state of school readiness, (d) develop social skills, (e) develop initiative, (f) build and enhance their autonomy and sense of self, (g) take risks, (h) reveal their personalities, and (i) develop self-confidence and self-esteem.. On the third and final research question, the respondents reported that they liked playing with wire cars, hide and seek, wooden cars, soccer, playing domino games, puzzles, snakes and ladders, with water and sand, making necklaces, playing with wooden blocks, tyre racing, climbing on the jungle gym, colouring and painting. playing house, netball, tuck, dolls, blocks, laptops, playing games on touch, hockey, rugby, cycling, ski-boarding, ludo, rugby, athletics, amagenda, arigogo, hop scotch, umlabalaba. The discussion of the results of this study showed that the findings fell in line with the literature review. Recommendations for classroom practice, curriculum planning and implementation, as well as further research have been made.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree MASTER OF EDUCATION in the Department of Educational Psychology in the Faculty of Education at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2002. / The aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions of primary school educators concerning inclusive education for learners with hearing impairments. The orientation to the study is followed by a chapter to explain the design of the research, substantiating the choice of format, methods of data collection and analysis. A qualitative research method was chosen on account of its explorative, descriptive and contextual nature. Data was collected by means of interviews with mainstream educators with learning impaired learners in their classrooms. This was followed by a literature review to compare and complement the qualitative data analysis. The results from the qualitative research showed that the black primary school educators generally have negative perceptions of the inclusion of hearing impaired learners. The challenge facing many mainstream educators is that they have not been trained to cope with the diversity of learners now entering school. They have, for example, not been trained to meet the special educational needs of hearing impaired learners. Educators often feel that they are obliged to implement policies, such as inclusion of all learners, about which they were not consulted. They do not have a clear understanding of the demands of changes they must implement and lack adequate time to prepare for the implementation. Many mainstream educators lack confidence in their own abilities to teach learners with diverse needs. They fear failure, and are concerned about the educational needs of the "normal" learners in the inclusive classroom. Educators' perceptions are also influenced by the availability of sufficient support and resources and the amount of time required of the educator to address the special educational needs of the diversity of learners. Lack of knowledge and experience of exceptional children, such as the hearing impaired have a negative influence on educators' perceptions of mainstreaming. The study concludes with the findings from the qualitative research and the literature review and the following recommendations were made: • In-service and pre-service training courses in special education must be offered at all educator training institutions. • The development of both the curriculum and the school must include a variety of strategies to facilitate the learning and teaching of all learners.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies at the University Of Zululand, 2017 / This study is aimed at investigating whether or not the use of the reading-response journal as a strategy can yield any positive results in enhancing development of writing skills among learners. The study was conducted as a case study in one of the Further Education and Training (FET) phase schools under uThungulu district, within the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa. It included verification of the FET phase learners’ level of competency in writing skills. This was done through interviewing the English First Additional Language (FAL) teacher of the target class in the FET phase. The study targeted English FAL grade eleven learners since journal writing is part of their curriculum. The sample of thirty learners was conveniently selected. The qualitative method was employed for the collection of data; task-based activities and interviews were used as instruments for data collection. This study is underpinned by the reader-response theory and it sought to; (a) find out the views of learners on the use of the reading-response journal writing as a strategy to develop writing skills, (b) to determine the learners’ views on the intervention programme of the reading-response journals in the development of writing skills and (c) the experiences of English FAL learners as participants in the activities of journal writing. Learners were given three different tasks which required them to write essays. The findings revealed that learners are generally resistant to reading and writing. The learners also lament that it takes too long before the educator can bring back feedback on their written tasks, that demotivates them. The findings also revealed that some teachers regard the teaching of writing skills as an optional task to do, yet it is prescribed in the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) document of English FAL in the FET phase. In addition, there is resistance from teachers to use innovative methods of developing writing skills such as journal writing and diary entries, among others. Lastly, the learners showed significant improvement in their writing skills as they participated in the intervention programme. There was significant improvement in their individual performance from task one, to task two and task three. Finally, the study recommended that the Department of Basic Education officials should consider reviewing the pupil-teacher ratio for language teachers so that they can do justice to the teaching of all language aspects including writing skills. Further research on other types of journal writing was also recommended.

This dissertation examined a combined approach to teach novel vocabulary in English and Spanish for dual language learners prior to an English storybook read- aloud in a preschool setting. The 6-week intervention study was conducted in a Head Start program in the U. S. Mountain West with 60 dual-language preschoolers randomly assigned to small groups to receive the vocabulary intervention, using images and word definitions from researcher-trained teachers, teacher assistants or parent volunteers. The experimental design included pre- and posttest assessments of target and general receptive vocabulary in English and Spanish, as well as language exposure, instructional quality, and fidelity of treatment. Teachers demonstrated a high level of fidelity in the preteaching of vocabulary in small groups. A multiple regression analyses and t-test comparisons indicate that preschoolers made comparable gains in breadth and depth of target vocabulary in Spanish and English, with higher definitional gains of vocabulary outcomes among those receiving vocabulary instruction in Spanish. For example, the Spanish-language group provided more diverse and robust definitions for target words. The results suggest that an explicit, target vocabulary intervention can improve Spanish-speaking preschoolers’ academic vocabulary in Spanish and English. Use of the home language seemingly supported word learning in both Spanish and English and appeared to increase linguistic awareness more than those receiving only English. The brief, small-group, vocabulary instruction was relatively easy to implement and shows promise as a curricular component available to Head Start programs. Implications for instruction and future research are included.

Identifying effective instructional modifications for English-language learners (ELL) experiencing reading problems is a difficult task given the vast individual differences in language proficiency, motivation, and school experience. To address this issue, this study investigated the utility of brief experimental analysis as a means to quickly identify the most effective instructional components to increase reading performance for five ELL. Using a multielement design, five treatments were administered one by one with increasing language support. There were individual differences in response and effective treatments were identified for all participants. Further, an extended analysis of alternating baseline conditions with the hypothesized effective treatment indicated that selected interventions increased reading rates for four participants over time. A combination of the two most effective interventions based on results from the brief experimental analysis increased reading performance for the fifth student. These procedures appear to hold promise for quickly identifying effective instructional components for individual ELL.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / One in five children in schools today are from immigrant families and speak a language other than English. Research reveals many teachers in urban schools feel inadequately prepared to meet the unique needs of these students. Teachers lack research- based knowledge about culturally relevant teaching and differentiated instructional strategies that benefit all learners. They do not understand issues such as ethnicity, poverty, racism, cultural and linguistic identities, and immigration. Few studies have described the nature of the learning experiences of English Language Learners (ELLs) and immigrants in urban high schools. Using identity, sociocultural, and self-efficacy conceptual frameworks (relevant immigrant pedagogy), this qualitative case study focused on classroom interactions and instructional efforts of two teachers in an English 10 class in an urban high school. The researcher observed class activities, took field notes, interviewed teachers and students, collected instructional planning documents, and photographed student artifacts and interactions. One teacher in the classroom had an English as a Second Language (ESL) certification and extensive professional development to increase her competency as a teacher of immigrants. The other teacher had English Language Arts certification. Findings indicated that relevant immigrant pedagogy was an expansive instructional framework which transformed ELLs and immigrants to grow in their construction of self and identity, self-efficacy, sociocultural consciousness, and academic rigor within a period of five months despite the prescriptive curriculum from vii the district in a restricted environment. The urban teachers displayed skills, zeal, and commitment to building a community of learners of all ability levels in class and bridged the gaps between immigrants and non-immigrants. All students grew together in their learning and socio emotional experiences and became advocates and helpers for one another, not competitors. The conclusions suggest that it is possible to improve the educational programs for immigrant students and English Language Learners through well-developed research-based instruction, and proposes a model for effective urban teacher education.

Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) encounter challenges in successfully navigating through the United States educational system. With state and federal laws adding to ELLs’ already lower educational outcomes than that of their English-only peers through a reduction of primary language supports and requirement of high stakes testing, consideration is warranted into the evidence-based interventions aimed to support and promote ELLs’ academic success. Within a tiered Response to Intervention (RTI) model, ELLs’ progress can be examined to determine when they demonstrate the need for additional targeted intervention or even referral for special education assessment. Understanding this progress begins by analyzing ELLs’ growth trajectories through progress monitoring of interventions in order to timely identify, through a data driven method, if lack of anticipated ELLs’ progress requires further examination. Results suggested ELLs in this study were able to make positive growth within the same time frame as their English only peers albeit with different patterns of growth for each group.

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No description available.

Background: Currently, the majority of learners within the South African education system speak English as an additional language. Many of these children are therefore learning the language of instruction through the language of instruction. Of particular concern for speech-language therapists (SLTs) are those children who have language impairment. In addition, it is important for SLTs to be able to distinguish between the learners who have language impairment, and those who are merely in the process of acquiring English. Additionally, the identification of language impairment among learners who speak English as an additional language is difficult as there are no overt manifestations of language learning difficulties, and, unfortunately, these learners are easily over-looked during the pre-school and school-age years. Furthermore, specifically within the South African context, there are limited tools available that can be used to screen for, and/or diagnose language impairment among EAL learners. Purpose: The main aim of this study was to explore the use of sentence repetition as a screening tool for the identification of language impairment in learners who speak English as an additional language. Method: The research design of this study was non-experimental, quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional in nature, with comparative and correlational components. One hundred and seven grade 2 EAL learners from a mainstream school in Gauteng participated in the study. The learners were evaluated on two sentence repetition tests; the Redmond (2005) Sentence Repetition Test and the Recalling Sentences subtest from the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-4 (CELF-4) (Semel, Wiig & Secord, 2003). The learners were also evaluated on the Gray Oral Reading Test-4 (GORT-4) (Wiederholt & Bryant, 2001). The results obtained from these measures were correlated in order to determine the internal validity of the two sentence repetition measures, as well as to investigate the extent to which sentence repetition can be used to predict academic literacy. Learners who were identified as being at-risk for language impairment, namely those who fell 1 standard deviation (SD) below the peer group mean on the Redmond (2005) Sentence Repetition test were further evaluated using the Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Variation-Criterion Referenced edition (DELV-CR) (Seymour, Roeper & de Villiers, 2003), to diagnose language impairment, avoid misdiagnosis, and describe the manifestations of language impairment in the second language. Results and Implications: The results of the Redmond (2005) Sentence Repetition test proved to be a valid measure to identify learners who were at-risk for language impairment, provided that the peer group mean was used as a standard of comparison. Twelve of the 107 (11.2%) learners from the study were identified as being at-risk for language impairment. However, after analysis of the results and using a peer group mean from Jordaan’s (2011) study, only 9/12 (7.5%) of the participants were diagnosed with language impairment. This finding highlights the fact that EAL learners are often over-identified as having language impairment and further assessment is necessary to minimise the risk of misdiagnosis of language impairment. The findings from the DELV-CR (Seymour, Roeper & de Villiers, v 2003), in terms of the manifestations of language impairment in the second language, were consistent with the EAL language impaired learners from Jordaan’s (2011) study, as well as the literature. This finding indicates that sentence repetition is a valid screening tool for the identification of language impairment in EAL learners. Furthermore, 11 of the 12 of the at-risk learners scored below the peer group mean on the reading comprehension measure. Thus, it is evident that, in addition to not being able to use language effectively for academic purposes, most children with language impairment are further disadvantaged by poor reading comprehension skills. An implication for future research would be to explore whether the development of a sentence repetition measure in an African language (e.g. Zulu) would yield similar results as the current study. In this way, EAL learners could be identified in their home language. A secondary finding of the current study was that the grade 2 educators were not able to identify learners who required additional language support within the classroom. This finding has implications for the role of SLTs in mainstream education and the need to support educators in their ability to identify learners with SLI and whose academic language development is not on par with that of their peers.