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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
561

English as a medium of instruction in higher education institutions in Norway : a critical exploratory study of lecturers' perspectives and practices

Griffiths, Elizabeth Joyce January 2013 (has links)
This critical exploratory study investigates the perceptions and practices of Norwegian lecturers on the implementation of a policy of English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) at their Higher Education Institution (HEI). It focuses on their attitudes towards English usage, how they have been prepared and cope in the classroom, and looks at their language and pedagogic competences. The socio-cultural context of using English inside and outside the auditorium is explored and leads to questions of Anglo/American influence and Norwegian domain loss. The study is informed by critical Applied Linguistics (CALx), linguistic imperialism and Bourdieu’s theories on social capital and power. It examines teaching through critical pedagogy and Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory of learning to aid understanding of classroom engagement and communication, and successful learning. This study has been informed by the critical approach to challenge normative assumptions of the use of EMI. Qualitative methods were used to collect data; twenty Norwegian teaching academics were interviewed, of whom five were observed whilst teaching. Careful coding and analysis of the data revealed surprising attitudes and perceptions varying from enthusiasm to anxiety for EMI. The participants generally accepted the top-down decision making by the administration on the increase of EMI and English usage. The influences of globalisation and commodification at HEIs combined with the rapid increase in English usage seem to have led to increased power of the management and bureaucratization. Some participants, mostly from the humanities, felt they lacked voice and agency in the implementation and their preparation for EMI, whilst some from the sciences actively embraced English and some wanted English as the working language in HEIs. There was a general feeling that more time and language resources were needed for professional development to cope with the change to EMI. All the participants worked hard to succeed in EMI; they were aiming at NS language competencies and wanted to be better at grammar, pronunciation and terminology, but seemed unaware of the pragmatic level of communication required for teaching and did not recognise the necessity of pedagogic training for EMI. There was a lack of dialogic teaching making co-constructed learning challenging and transformative pedagogy more difficult to achieve. They adapted to the multi-cultural/lingual classroom in a pragmatic manner, but were not given spaces for counter-pedagogies, critical pedagogy and the ideals of the transformative intellectual. The research reveals five areas of concern: a) inadequate English language at the pragmatic level for the demands of EMI, b) inadequate pedagogic skills for the multi-lingual and cultural classroom, c) concern over local and international students’ level of English, d) standardized, Anglo/American teaching materials leading to a lack of diversity and critical approaches, and e) the threat to academic Norwegian from international academics not learning Norwegian, the publishing reward system at Norwegian HEIs and the perceived status of English, and the resultant decline in dissemination to the general public. However juxtaposed to the above points, most participants experienced the international classroom positively and were well-received by and pleased to be in their academic Community of Practice resulting generally in an ambivalent attitude to EMI.
562

Cross Linguistic Lexical Tasks (CLTs) : En kvalitativ analys av ordproduktion hos enspråkiga svenska och flerspråkiga svensk-turkiska 4;0-6;11-åringar

Lindgren, Anna January 2015 (has links)
The purpose of this study is to conduct a qualitative analysis of monolingual (Swedish) and bilingual (Swedish and Turkish) children’s production of nouns and verbs in a newly developed vocabulary test (CLTs) and to discuss the results using previous research as a starting point. The different categories and the material which form the basis of this qualitative analysis are taken from an ongoing Swedish research study on vocabulary testing: Cross Linguistic Lexical Tasks (CLTs). This research is an extension of the international project COST Action IS0408. In all, there are responses from 115 children, 72 monolingual and 43 bilingual, of which only the Swedish results are analysed. On the whole, test scores show an age-related improvement of expressive vocabulary for both groups, even though the bilinguals lag behind their monolingual age peers. The bilingual children’s improvement is not as evident, with the five-year-olds’ production of nouns standing out. There is a higher number of wrong answers or no answers (don’t know), as well as a preponderance of gestures and innovations/neologisms in the bilinguals. Gestures make it possible to ascertain whether a child knows the meaning and use of a target word even though he or she is not capable of producing it verbally. Answers in the category of innovation/neologism show that the children know more about a word than an assessment of lexical ability using only right and wrong answers could demonstrate. In the monolingual group there are more instances of perceptual confusion, semantic confusion and hypernyms. The other categories do not show corresponding differences between the two groups. As the bilingual children’s responses are analysed only in terms of Swedish vocabulary, it is not possible to assess their total lexical knowledge. Keywords: CLTs (Cross Linguistic Lexical Tasks), expressive vocabulary, bilingualism, mental lexicon, vocabulary depth, vocabulary test, language exposure, Swedish, Turkish. Syftet med föreliggande studie är att med hjälp av ett nyutvecklat ordförrådstest (CLTs), göra en kvalitativ analys av substantiv- och verbproduktionen hos enspråkiga svenska och flerspråkiga svensk-turkiska 4;0-6;11-åringar och med utgångspunkt i tidigare forskning diskutera resultaten. Analysen görs utifrån ett antal uppställda kategorier som i likhet med det analyserade empiriska materialet hämtats från det pågående svenska forskningsarbetet med ordförrådstestet Cross Linguistic Lexical Tasks (CLTs). Detta arbete är en fortsättning på det internationella projektet COST Action IS0408. Sammanlagt ingår testsvar från 115 barn, 72 enspråkigt svenska och 43 flerspråkigt svensk-turkiska, varav endast resultat från deltesten på svenska analyserats. En förbättring av det expressiva ordförrådet ses med stigande ålder hos både de enspråkiga och flerspråkiga med en påtaglig eftersläpning hos de svensk-turkiska barnen. Hos de sistnämnda är förbättringen med stigande ålder inte heller lika tydlig då 5-åringarna utmärker sig i substantivproduktion. Ett större antal felsvar och inget svar/vet ej ses i den flerspråkiga gruppen liksom en övervikt av antal gester/pekningar och innovationer/nyordbildningar. Gester ger information om att barnet besitter kunskap om målordets innebörd och funktion trots att det inte kan presentera det avsedda målordet verbalt. Svaren i kategorin innovation/nyordbildning visar att barnen vet mer om målordet än vad en bedömning av lexikal förmåga enbart med rätt- och felsvar kan klargöra. I den enspråkiga gruppen förekommer jämförelsevis fler perceptuella förvirringar, semantiska förvirringar och hyperonymer/överordningar. Övriga kategorier uppvisar inte motsvarande lika stora skillnader mellan grupperna. Då endast det svenska ordförrådet hos de flerspråkiga barnen analyserats kan ingen säker tolkning göras av deras fullständiga lexikala kunskap. Nyckelord: CLTs (Cross Linguistic Lexical Tasks), expressivt ordförråd, flerspråkighet, mentalt lexikon, orddjup, ordförrådstest, språkexponering, svenska, turkiska. / Bohnacker, U. (2014-2019). Språkstörning eller typisk språkutveckling? Utveckling av metoder för språklig bedömning av flerspråkiga barn i Sverige. Vetenskapsrådet VR2013-1309.
563

The Egyptian language at the time of the nineteenth dynasty

Blumsohn, David 06 1900 (has links)
The Nineteenth Dynasty, which ushered in the Ramesside period in ± 1308 B.C.E. is an important period in which to study the development of the Egyptian language, falling as it does between the time of the Middle Egyptian (ME) idiom and the Late Egyptian (LE) language. Regarding the Egyptian language, Gardiner (1982:1) writes" ... the idiom in which the public records of the Twentieth Dynasty are couched differs widely from that found, for example in the royal decrees of the Sixth Dynasty". There was a gradual change from a "synthetic" language in ME into an "analytical" one in LE and later Coptic. The synthetic tenses are first supplemented and then gradually replaced by "analytic" forms. And this happened during the time of the Nineteenth Dynasty. This thesis addresses the Nineteenth Dynasty texts, with respect to grammar, semantics and syntax (mainly verbal forms). It studies the occurrence of Middle Egyptian synthetic forms and Late Egyptian analytic forms in the Nineteenth Dynasty texts and makes observations on forms which appear to be unique to the Nineteenth Dynasty Egyptian (NDE) too. This study describes and analyses the language, both in a synchronic way - "frozen" in its time (as a type of grammar book), and comparing literary and non-literary uses of the time, - and in a diachronic manner, seeking to show the evolution and development of language forms, their ancestors and their successors. A study of these texts as shown in this thesis demonstrates that the written language of the Nineteenth Dynasty is a unique blend of grammatical and syntactic forms: pure ME forms, LE literary and non-literary forms, as well as forms peculiar to NDE. Thus NDE is "an independent self-sufficient system, which is neither Middle Egyptian nor Late Egyptian of the Twentieth Dynasty." (Groll 1973:70) / Classics & Modern European Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (Semitic Languages)
564

Nudging young ESL writers : engaging linguistic assistance and peer interaction in L2 narrative writing at the upper primary school level in Brunei Darussalam

Shak, Juliana January 2013 (has links)
Motivated primarily by a cognitive approach, with consideration of interactional processes from a sociocultural perspective, the present study examined the use of linguistic assistance and peer interaction to facilitate second language (L2) writing of young ESL learners. A total of 257 Year 5 children (age 10) from twelve intact classes (from six different schools) took part in this eight-week intervention-based study. Using a quasi-experimental design, the classes were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups or the control group. Pretests, interim tests, immediate posttests and delayed posttests were administered. As the study concerned both the processes and products of L2 development, peer interaction and children's written production were taken as the two primary sources of data for this study. For the written production, four criteria were used to rate learners’ writings: Quality of ideas, Story shape and structure, Vocabulary and spelling and Implicit grammar. Partial correlation was employed to examine if there were any statistical relationships between treatment and learners’ written performance while controlling for prior attainment. Results show that the provision of enhanced and basic linguistic assistance may have a positive influence on only certain aspects of L2 writing, while opportunities for peer interaction does not appear to have an impact on learners’ L2 performance. For peer interaction, a subset of 60 learners were selected from the two treatment groups which received basic and enhanced linguistic assistance, to compare their dialogic performance. Based on quantitative analyses of their recorded interactions, the findings suggest that the provision of varying degrees of linguistic assistance may affect, not the content of peer discussions, but how peer assistance is given during task. The results also show that through the provision of linguistic assistance, peer interaction mediates the participants’ performance on Quality of ideas, Story shape and structure and Implicit grammar in their subsequent individual writing.
565

A study of non-linguistic utterances for social human-robot interaction

Read, Robin January 2014 (has links)
The world of animation has painted an inspiring image of what the robots of the future could be. Taking the robots R2D2 and C3PO from the Star Wars films as representative examples, these robots are portrayed as being more than just machines, rather, they are presented as intelligent and capable social peers, exhibiting many of the traits that people have also. These robots have the ability to interact with people, understand us, and even relate to us in very personal ways through a wide repertoire of social cues. As robotic technologies continue to make their way into society at large, there is a growing trend toward making social robots. The field of Human-Robot Interaction concerns itself with studying, developing and realising these socially capable machines, equipping them with a very rich variety of capabilities that allow them to interact with people in natural and intuitive ways, ranging from the use of natural language, body language and facial gestures, to more unique ways such as expression through colours and abstract sounds. This thesis studies the use of abstract, expressive sounds, like those used iconically by the robot R2D2. These are termed Non-Linguistic Utterances (NLUs) and are a means of communication which has a rich history in film and animation. However, very little is understood about how such expressive sounds may be utilised by social robots, and how people respond to these. This work presents a series of experiments aimed at understanding how NLUs can be utilised by a social robot in order to convey affective meaning to people both young and old, and what factors impact on the production and perception of NLUs. Firstly, it is shown that not all robots should use NLUs. The morphology of the robot matters. People perceive NLUs differently across different robots, and not always in a desired manner. Next it is shown that people readily project affective meaning onto NLUs though not in a coherent manner. Furthermore, people's affective inferences are not subtle, rather they are drawn to well established, basic affect prototypes. Moreover, it is shown that the valence of the situation in which an NLU is made, overrides the initial valence of the NLU itself: situational context biases how people perceive utterances made by a robot, and through this, coherence between people in their affective inferences is found to increase. Finally, it is uncovered that NLUs are best not used as a replacement to natural language (as they are by R2D2), rather, people show a preference for them being used alongside natural language where they can play a supportive role by providing essential social cues.
566

Auto Mechanics in English : Language Use and Classroom Identity Work

Kontio, Janne January 2016 (has links)
This is a compilation thesis consisting of three different articles with the purpose to explore the relationships between language practices, identity construction and learning in the context of the Vehicle Program, a vocational program in Swedish upper secondary schools. A feature of the particular setting studied here that sets it apart from the general education of auto mechanics in Sweden is that it was carried out in English. The study focuses on language practices within a community of practice where the norms for second language use, gender arrangements and identity work are negotiated in conversations between students and between students and teachers. The language practices are considered as talk-in-interaction, and identity construction and learning are understood as processes in socially situated activities. The study was conducted through an ethnographic approach, including observation, field notes, approximately 200 hours of video recorded interactions, and interviews with students and teachers. The recorded interactions were analysed using tools from conversational analysis and methods focusing on linguistic activities and interactional patterns. An eclectic approach combining linguistic ethnography, ethnometodological conversation analysis and socio-cultural theory of learning, in particular the concept of communities of practice, form the basis of the theoretical framework. The findings in study I highlight that language alternations are repeatedly used in the workshop as a meta-language to play around with language, which relates to emerging communicative strategies that also produces – and helps contest – local language norms. Study III suggests that teasing in students’ peer relations are not only disruptive, off-task behavior, thereby rendering them important only from a classroom management perspective. Teasing, this study proposes, should rather be seen as an organizing principle by which the students are able to position themselves in relation to an institutionally established language ideology. Study II focuses on how participants invoke and renegotiate conventional forms of masculinity tied to the ability of handling tools. Such micro-processes illuminate how gender is a constantly shifting social category that is done, redone and possibly undone. The findings suggest that new forms of auto mechanic student identities are formed that challenge current dominant discourses about what a mechanic should be.
567

A genre-based approach to teaching writing across the curriculum in Siswati in South African schools

Khanyile, Busie Minah 12 1900 (has links)
Thesis (MLitt)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Linguistic scholars have been exploring an effective, contextual and multidisciplinary approach to language education, following the global increase in multilingual societies. This study aims to explore properties of writing related to genre-based literacy in Siswati as a first language for learners in South Africa in a multilingual context. The research is concerned with the properties of writing in Siswati at the high school level and the instruction associated with it. In reality, the educational context of the learners entails that English is the language of instruction or an educational lingua franca in all subjects in schools with learners who have an African language as home language, although English is a second language (L2) for most learners. Therefore, the learners’ first language (L1) is only taught as a subject. In this situation, learners and teachers are faced with problems of language (L2) proficiency. According to the South African language policy, all national languages spoken in South Africa should be prioritized in education. This study advances a proposal for a multilingual approach in education through genre-based teaching. Hence, this study presents an investigation of the implementation of genre in the home language classroom context in respect to the textlinguistic features of agricultural sciences genres. The genre-based theoretical framework and related methodology is explored and elaborated in this study with regards to how Siswati first language learners can be taught linguistic skills acquired in their mother tongue Siswati to writing in content subjects, e.g. biology. The methodology of this study involves the translation of six agricultural science texts for Grade 12 which are then analysed according to systemic functional linguistic (SFL) grammar. The study also investigates issues and challenges in multilingualism and Education policy. The findings of this study present support of the view of the transfer of genre-based skills in texts across the curriculum. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Taalkundiges het oor die afgelope jare ‘n doeltreffende, kontekstuele, multidissiplinêre benadering ondersoek tot taalonderwys, gegee die wêreldwye toename in meertalige gemeenskappe. Die studie het die doelwit om die eienskappe van skryf te ondersoek soos wat dit verband hou met genre-gebaseerde geletterdheid in Siswati, as ‘n eerste (huis) taal vir leerders in Suid-Afrika in ‘n meertalige konteks. Die navorsing hou verband met die eienskappe van skryf in Siswati op hoërskoolvlak en die onderrig daarmee geassosieer. In die werklikheid van die onderrig is Engels oorwegend die medium van onderrig in vakke in skole waar die leerlinge hoofsaaklik ‘n Afrikataal soos siSwati as eerste (of huis) taal het, alhoewel Engels ‘n tweede (of addisionele) taal is van die leerders. Gevolglik word leerders slegs in hulle eerste taal onderrig in die taalvak (van die spesifieke Afrikataal) self. In hierdie medium van onderrig situasie (waar leerders se tweede/ addisionele taal gebruik word vir die onderrig van inhoudsvakke) word sowel leerders as onderwysers gekonfronteer met die probleem van onvoldoende tweede taal (Engels) vaardigheid. Volgens die nasionale taalbeleid in Suid-Afrika, behoort alle nasionale tale in Suid-Afrika voorrang te geniet in onderwys. Hierdie studie betoog vir ‘n meertalige benadering in onderwys deur gebruik van die genre-gebaseerde benadering. Aldus, bied hierdie studie ‘n ondersoek van die implementering van teksgenres in die huistaal-klas konteks ten opsigte van die teks-linguistiese kenmerke van verskillende genres in landbouwetenskappe. Die genre-gebaseerde teoretiese raamwerk en verbandhoudende navorsingsmetodologie word ingespan in hierdie studie met betrekking tot hoe die tekslinguistiese vaardighede, onderrig aan siSwati eerstetaalleerders soos opgedoen in die onderrig van hulle huis (of eerste) taal, uitgebrei kan word na inhoudsvakke soos landbouwetenskappe. Die metodologie gebruik in hierdie studie behels die vertaling in Siswati (vanuit Engels) van ses landbouwetenskaptekste vir Graad 12, wat dan ontleed word volgens die sistemiese funksionele linguistiek (SFL) model wat onderliggend is aan die genre-gebaseerde benadering. Die studie ondersoek voorts vraagstukke en uitdagings rakende taalbeleid en –beplanning in onderwys. Die bevindinge van hierdie studie bied ondersteuning van die standpunt van die oordrag van genre-gebaseerde vaardighede in tekste oor die kurrikulum heen. / SiSWATI ABSTRACT: Bongcongcoshe betilimi bebasolo baphenya indlela yefufundzisa lulwimi lesebenta kahle, lohambelana nesimo, nalosebenta etifundvweni tonkhe letiniketwa esikolweni, kulandzela kutsi emhlabeni wonkhe jikelele sibalo semimmango lecuketse tive letehlukene netilimi letehlukene siya ngekukhula. Lombhalo uhlose kucwaninga timphawu letihambelana nelwati kutemfundvo eluhlangotsini lwekubhala ngekusebentisa tinhlobo temibhalo elulwimini lweSiswati, lolululwimi lwemdzabu/lwekucala kulabanye bafundzi eNingizimu neAfrika esimeni lesinetilimi letinyenti. Lombhalo lona ukhatsatwe yindzaba yekubhala kubafundzi belibanga lelisetulu, libanga lelishumi nakubili nendlela lebafundziswa ngayo. Ecinisweni, bafundzi basesimeni lapho khona Singisi sisetjentiswa njengelulwimi lwekufundzisa tonkhe tifundvo letinemtsamo noma ke lulwimi lolusetjentiswa esikolweni etifundvweni tonkhe kantsi phela Singisi akusilo lulwimi lebalumunya ebeleni labafundzi. Ngaleso sizatfu, lulwimi lwemdzabu lwalabafundzi lufundziswa kwangatsi lusifundvo phaca njenge lwati lwendalo yonkhana, isayensi. Esimeni lesinjengalesi bafundzi nabothishela bahlangabetana nebulukhuni ekucudzelaneni nalabanye babe basebentisa Singisi. Ngekubeka kwemitsetfo yetemfundvo eNingizimu neAfrika, tonkhe tilimi letisemtsetfweni letifaka ekhatsi tembuso wase Ningizimu neAfrika, tebachamuki, temdzabu, naletihlanganisa emave ngemave tinelilungelo leliphelele lekusetjentiswa esikolweni. Loku kusetfulo sendlela yekufundzisa leshwambakanya tilimi letinyenti, lesolo ingakacali kusetjentiswa. Kungako lombhalo uhlolisisa kutsi ingasetjentiswa njani indlela yekufundzisa ngetinhlobo temibhalo endlini yekufundzisa. Luhlaka lwemdvwebo wekufundzisa ngetinhlobo temibhalo kanye nendlela lekufundziswa ngayo kunconywe ngu (Christie na Derewianka (2008), (Knapp na Watkins (2005), (Martin na Rose (2008), (Rose na Martin (2012), na (Feez na Joyce (1998). Loluhlaka lubuke kutsi simo sivuma kanganani kutsi bafundzi labaceceshwe eSiswatini basebentise emakhono elulwimi lwemdzabu ekubhaleni etifundvweni letinemtsamo, njenge bhayoloji. . Indlela lelandzelwe ekusebenteni lombhalo ifaka ekhatsi kuhunyushwa kwetinhlobo temibhalo letisitfupha letitsetfwe encwadzini yelwati lwendalo kutekulima yelibanga lelishumi nakubili.Lemibhalo iyahlatiywe ngenhloso yekutfola emasu latfolakala elulwimini lweSiswati labhekene nekusebenta kwelulwimi nakukhulunywa ngekwakhiwa kwemisho, tinhlobo temisho, nekuhlanganiswa kwemisho; emasu lasetjentiswa ekwendluliseni tinkhulumo kubalaleli betigaba letehlukene, kanye nemasu ekuhlanganisa emagama kuze akhe umbhalo lonemcondvo lophelele nalovakalako. Ngetulu kwaloko, lombhalo lona uhlolisisa indzaba yekufundzisa leyengamela tilimi letehlukene kanye nemtsetfo wetemfundvo. Lombhalo wetfula indlela yekucecesha bafundzi ekubekeni imibono nemicabango yabo ephepheni, lekuyindlela lesebenta etifundvweni tonkhe letinemtsamo, letifundziswa etikolweni.Lombhalo futsi uphenculula luphikiswano netinsayeya letihambelana nekusetjentiswa kwendlela yekufundzisa lefaka ekhatsi tilimi letehlukene nemtsetfo wetemfundvo. Imiphumela yaloluphenyo kulesifundvo iniketa siciniseko sebukhona nekusebenta kwemasu lahambelana nendlela yekufundzisa ngekusebentisa tinhlobo temibhalo kulo lonkhe luhlelo lwetifundvo. Loku kugcwalisa inhloso yalombhalo lona.
568

Managing linguistic diversity in literacy and language development : an analysis of teachers' attitudes, skills and strategies in multilingual Kenyan primary school classrooms

Nyaga, Susan Karigu 03 1900 (has links)
Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigates teachers' language practices in multilingual classrooms with regard to their attitudes, skills and strategies in their management of linguistic diversity among learners in their first year of primary school. Both the critical interpretive theoretical paradigm adopted and the qualitative research approach employed in the execution of the study presupposed gathering rich data, which a case study design of research assured. The data for the study was gathered from four year one classrooms purposively selected based on parameters that were deemed of interest in this study. These included, but were not limited to, the location of the school, the linguistic diversity among learners in the classrooms and the literacy traditions of the first languages spoken by the learners in the target classrooms. Although the specific context provided real input to the study, the findings may be relevant to language-in-education issues in many other African countries, and even in multilingual communities beyond. The study reveals yawning discrepancies between language policy and practice; between teachers' beliefs about linguistic diversity and their actual language behaviour in the classrooms; and between the definitions of mother tongue provided by the Ministry of Education and teachers' re-interpretations of these definitions in the various contexts studied. The study further indicates that teachers are working in an environment that is not supportive of effective policy implementation. This very limited policy implementation support is reflected in teacher training and preparation, teacher placement criteria, text book production and school examinations. This study indicates that even a sound understanding of linguistic diversity among teachers and their best intentions to give learners a sound foundation, is only the beginning of literacy development of young learners in Kenya. It recommends a new and incisive look at critical aspects of the education system in an effort to synchronise the different levels at which policy and practice need to meet. Various well-informed choices need to be made in the creation of a supportive environment for effective policy implementation. This should include among other things a change in the language-in-education policy to move away from early-exit to late-exit mother tongue education, and more first language maintenance in bilingual or multilingual classrooms. If learners are to benefit from mother tongue instruction in line with current research in the field, much needs to be done. Based on the insights gained in this study, a revision of teacher education curricula to include the management of linguistically diverse learners and improved language awareness is suggested, as is flexible curriculum delivery, scrapping of formal examinations in the early years and introduction of alternative assessment methods in these levels. In later years, bilingual (in some cases even multilingual) tests are bound to lower the drop-out rate and produce more understanding and less rote learning. The aim should be to assure multilingual, multiliteracy development and academic achievement for all learners regardless of their particular linguistic backgrounds. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek onderwysers se taalpraktyke in veeltalige klaskamers ten opsigte van hulle houdings, vaardighede en strategieë in die hantering van talige diversiteit onder leerders in hulle eerste jaar van primêre onderrig. Sowel die vertolkende teoretiese paradigma wat gevolg word as die kwalitatiewe navorsingsbenadering wat die studie aanneem, het daarop gereken dat ingesamelde data ryk sou wees aan inligting; die navorsingsontwerp, naamlik dié van gevallestudie, verseker die verkryging van sulke data. Die studie is gebasseer op inligting wat ingesamel is in vier klaskamers van leerlinge in die eerste skooljaar. Die betrokke navorsingsterreine is telkens doelbewus gekies op grond van die parameters wat belangrik was vir die studie. Dit sluit in, maar is nie beperk tot, die ligging van die skool, die talige diversiteit van die leerders in die klaskamers en die geletterdheidstradisies van die onderskeie eerstetale van die leerders in die geteikende klaskamers. Alhoewel hierdie spesifieke konteks verseker het dat die studie in 'n werklike situasie geanker is, is die bevindinge waarskynlik relevant tov taal-in-onderrig kwessies in verskeie ander Afrikalande, en selfs ook in veeltalige gemeenskappe elders. Hierdie studie onthul gapende ongerymdhede in die verhouding tussen taalbeleid en praktyk; tussen onderwysers se oortuigings rakende talige diversiteit en hulle werklike taalgebruik in die klaskamers; en tussen die omskrywings van moedertaal wat deur die Ministerie van Onderwys voorsien word en die onderwysers se herinterpretasie van hierdie omskrywings binne die verskillende kontekste wat ondersoek word. Die studie dui verder daarop dat onderwysers in ʼn omgewing werk wat nie die effektiewe implementering van beleid ondersteun nie. Sodanige beperkte ondersteuning in die implementering van die beleid word weerspiëel in die opleiding en voorbereiding van onderwysers, die plasingkriteria van onderwysers, die publikasie van handboeke en skooleksamens. Hierdie studie toon aan dat selfs 'n goeie begrip van talige diversiteit onder onderwysers en hulle beste voornemens om aan leerders ʼn vaste grondslag te bied, net 'n eerste tree is in die geletterdheidsontwikkeling van jong leerders in Kenia. Dit stel ʼn nuwe en indringende ondersoek van kritiese aspekte van die onderwyssisteem voor as ʼn poging om die verskillende vlakke waar beleid en praktyk mekaar behoort te ontmoet, te sinchroniseer. Verskeie goed ingeligte besluite sal geneem moet word in die skep van ʼn omgewing wat bevorderlik is vir effektiewe beleidimplementering. Dit sou onder andere ʼn verandering in die taal-in-onderwys beleid insluit om weg te beweeg van die vroeë wegbeweeg moedertaalonderrig na later wegbeweeg van moedertaalonderrig, sowel as meer instandhouding van die eerstetaal in twee- of veeltalige klaskamers. Vir leerders om baat te vind by moedertaalonderrig in oorstemming met huidige insigte uit navorsing in die veld, moet nog baie gedoen word. Gebaseer op die insigte wat in hierdie studie verkry is, word onder andere hersiening van die onderrigkurrikula vir onderwysers voorgestel sodat die hantering van talig-diverse groepe leerders asook verbeterde taalbewustheid daarby ingesluit is. Dieselfde geld ontwikkeling van buigbare kurrikula, die skrapping van formele eksaminering in die vroeë skooljare en die instelling van alternatiewe assesseringsmetodes op hierdie vlakke. In die later jare sal tweetalige (in sommige gevalle selfs veeltalige) toetse beslis die uitvalsyfer verlaag, asook meer begrip en minder leë memorisering tot gevolg te hê. Die doel moet wees om veeltalige, multi-geletterheidsontwikkeling en akademiese prestasie vir alle leerders te verseker ongeag hulle spesifieke talige agtergrond. / The African Doctoral Academy (ADA) at Stellenbosch University through the Partnership for Africa's Next Generation of Academics (PANGEA), for providing the funds
569

Linguistic strategies used in the construction of performance assessment discourse in the South African workplace

Jones, Tamiryn 03 1900 (has links)
Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigates the construction of Performance Assessment Discourses in three companies in the Western Cape, South Africa. The specific interest of is in how Performance Assessment Interviews (PAIs) are performed in terms of content, form, structure and social practice, and how managers and employees experience and make sense of this organizational practice. The study further investigates how individuals express their membership to communities of practice (CofPs) within the workplace, and seeks to identify obstacles (boundaries) in terms of acquiring and maintaining membership. This study is conducted within the broader framework of discourse analysis (DA) and employs genre theory and small story analysis as analytical tools. The 31 participants in this study are managers and employees of three participating companies in the Western Cape. They are L1 speakers of Afrikaans, English, isiXhosa and isiZulu, and are representative of a wide range of employment levels (lower-level employees to top management). Each individual participated in either a one-on-one interview or in a focus group discussion, which were audio-recorded and transcribed. During these interviews and discussion groups, individuals frequently resorted telling small stories in order to explicate their feelings, perceptions and positions on certain matters. The data confirms that several generic features of PAIs are identifiable and across all three companies, but that some unique features are also reported. Furthermore, the analysis shows that Performance Assessments are sites of struggles as dominant and competing discourses emerge from the data. Additionally, the study reveals that acquiring membership to CofPs in a diverse workplace is a complex endeavour and that language plays a determining role in acquiring membership, as well as in the construction of workplace identities. In conclusion, this study argues for further linguistic research within professional setting in South Africa, and suggests that CofP theory be revised and further developed to be more descriptive of diverse communities. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek hoe Prestasiebestuur (PB) diskoerse in drie maatskappye in die Wes-Kaap gekonstrueer word. Die studie stel spesifiek belang in hoe prestasiebestuur gesprekke (PBG) uitgevoer word in terme van inhoud, vorm, struktuur en die sosiale praktyke wat daarmee saamhang. Verder word die manier waarop bestuurders en werkers PBGs ervaar en interpreteer ondersoek. Die studie ondersoek ook hoe individue hul lidmaatskap tot praktyk gemeenskappe (verskeie groeperinge wat praktyke deel) binne die werksplek beskryf en die struikelblokke identifiseer wat hulle verhoed om lidmaatskap te verwerf en te behou. Hierdie studie is uitgevoer binne die breër raamwerk van diskoersanalise (DA) en gebruik genre analise en klein verhaal analise as ontledingsmetodes. Die 31 deelnemers in die studie is bestuurders en werkers van drie deelnemende maatskappye in die Wes-Kaap. Hulle is eerstetaalsprekers van Afrikaans, Engels, Xhosa en Zoeloe en is verteenwoordigend van ʼn wye reeks posisies (vanaf junior posisies tot topbestuur). Elke individu het deelgeneem aan óf ʼn individuele onderhoud óf ʼn groepsbespreking. Hierdie onderhoude en besprekings is opgeneem en getranskribeer. Tydens die onderhoude en besprekings het die deelnemers telkens van ‘klein verhale’ gebruik gemaak om hul ervaringe en gevoelens te verwoord. Die data bevestig dat verskeie generiese eienskappe in PBGs geïdentifiseer kan word in al drie maatskappye maar dat daar wel sommige unieke eienskappe voorkom. Verder wys die analise uit dat binne PBs daar baie teenstellings bestaan en dat daar dominante en mededingende diskoerse in die data geïdentifiseer kan word. Die studie wys ook dat lidmaatskap tot ʼn praktykgemeenskap in ʼn diverse werksomgewing ʼn komplekse onderneming is. Dit blyk ook dat taal ʼn bepalende rol speel in die verwerwing van lidmaatskap, sowel as die manier waarop professionele identiteit gekonstrueer word. Verdere navorsing in professionele kontekste binne ʼn linguistiese raamwerk word aanbeveel. Die waarde van klein verhaal analise om diskoerse in professionele kontekste te ondersoek word beklemtoon en voorstelle word gemaak oor hoe die konsep ‘praktykgemeenskappe’ verder ontwikkel kan word om dit meer relevant te maak in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks. / The ADA for funding this study
570

The role linguistic, stylistic and sociocultural factors play in the popularity of contemporary Chinese-English codeswitching pop songs among urban youth in Shanghai

Smart, Ronnie January 2013 (has links)
This thesis examines what roles linguistic, stylistic and sociocultural factors play in the popularity of contemporary Chinese-English bilingual codeswitching songs released between the years of 2004 and 2010, making a case study of the urban youth audience of Shanghai. It is significant as it is the first large scale study into Chinese-English songs that has looked at all of these three factors: linguistic, stylistic and sociocultural, but also because it compares the findings in these three areas from corpus analysis with an audience study. A corpus of 150 songs from popular codeswitching performers was collected, and was analysed individually in relation to the linguistic, stylistic and sociocultural factors with regard to features that may enhance the popularity of these songs. To this was added an audience study based on fieldwork in Shanghai which included participant observation and data collection from online surveys and individual interviews. First a linguistic analysis was done on syntactic grounds based on the Myers-Scotton 1993 Classic MLF (Matrix Language Frame) model, and this was followed by an analysis of the metaphorical functions of these songs following general pragmatic theories of Gumperz (1982). A stylistic analysis was then done on the corpus, using theories of literary stylistics from Leech (1969) and the stylistic findings of recent codeswitching researchers. This stylistic section also examined modes of language use after Hymes. The sociocultural aspects within the songs were examined using a social anthropological framework, and used research in the East Asian setting by Gao Liwei (2007) and Yang Mei-hui (1997) on identity formation, as well as the Accommodation Theory of Giles and Smith (1979), and other research relevant to codeswitching in the East Asian pop culture context, such as J. Lee (2004, 2006). Data collection was also carried out based on Hymes’ (1971) ethnographical techniques, and Blom and Gumperz’s (1972) participant observation. The findings from each of the factors were discussed in relation to the audience study and the results show that: 1) These codeswitching songs are both a reflection of the singers’ and audiences’ need to present a particular identity, negotiated within the particular expectations of music, genre and location. 2) Chinese-English codeswitching songs are a reflection of the high levels of English codeswitching in Shanghai, Chinese, and also wider East Asian popular culture, and reflect a growing bilingual or multilingual identity in wider East Asia. 3) The English within the Chinese-English codeswitching songs is localised to a Southern Chinese, almost a Shanghai context. 4) The uses to which codeswitching is put, or how codeswitching appears in songs, depends on many factors, and so it is difficult to clearly define the functions, stylistic techniques, or sociocultural purposes of codeswitching in songs consistently across different genres, chronological periods (due to changes in language use over time), or between cultures. Despite this, it is hoped that the number of unique findings from the corpus analysis and the discussion in this study could enlighten or stimulate future studies examining codeswitching in songs.

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