Published version of: Dissertation--University of Auckland (New Zealand), 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 215-233).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 2001. / Title from title page screen, viewed April 18, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Janice Neuleib (chair), Patricia Dunn, Julia Visor. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 282-292) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2007. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-101).

Thesis (MPhil (General Linguistics))--Stellenbosch University, 2009. / This study examined the impact of SMS speak on the written school work of English first language (L1) and English second language (L2) high school learners. The general aims of the study were to establish how widespread the use of SMS language is among high school learners, and to assess whether there is any evidence of the use of features of SMS speak in the English written work of these learners. Eighty-eight learners from an English-Afrikaans dual medium school in a middle class neighborhood in the Western Cape participated in this study. The participants included 43 grade 8s and 45 grade 11s, of which 51 were English L1 speakers and 37 English L2 speakers. The participants completed questionnaires from which the frequency and volume of their SMS use was determined, as well as the features of SMS speak they reportedly use while SMSing. In addition, samples of the learners’ English written work were examined for specific features of SMS speak. These features included (deliberate) spelling errors, lack of punctuation, over-punctuation, the omission of function words, the use of abbreviation or acronyms, and the use of emoticons and rebus writing. The results of this study indicate that high school learners are avid users of SMS and/or MXit. All participants reported using features of SMS speak in their SMSes, and many reported using SMS speak in their written school work. Despite this, the samples of written work did not contain a great number of incidences of SMS speak features. It seems that the general lack of SMS speak in the written work of these learners is a result of being able to assess when it is and is not appropriate to use a certain variety of language: These learners are proficient in SMS speak and use it when chatting to friends on MXit, but they can produce written work that adheres to the formally approved standards of written high school English. That said, a number of SMS speak features were indeed present in their formal written work, which indicates that SMS speak had some impact on the written work of these learners, which could in turn be attributed to the high frequency of their SMS usage. However, not all of the non-standard features of their written English could necessarily be attributed to the influence of SMS speak; specifically some of the spelling and punctuation errors could be unrelated to SMS speak, as they have been noted in the written English of high school learners from before the advent of cellphones. The learners in this study were from a school that has a strict language policy, one which does not tolerate the use of SMS speak in written work. Seven of the teachers completed a questionnaire compiled for all teachers at the school in question. Responses to this questionnaire, especially those of the language teachers, indicated that teachers either deduct marks for features of SMS speak in written language or refuse to mark written work that does not conform to the formally approved standards that the school has set in place. It is possible that the actions of the teachers and the language policy of the school play a significant role in the lack of SMS speak features in the written language use of the learners.

This action research study aimed to improve teaching and learning of argumentative writing through a process-genre approach. Learners were carefully guided through the processes of writing the argumentative genre, with the focus being on teaching of the genre and on the structural conventions of writing arguments. Participants were a class of grade nine learners who speak English as a first language. They were chosen for this study as Grade Nine is a crucial year for writing development before learners enter the senior phase and are met with heightened expectations in the curriculum, that often they struggle to meet, as their writing has not been sufficiently developed to an academic level. The focus of writing in Grade Nine is on narrative and prose, so this writing intervention, in which a teaching module was developed in collaboration with the 1eamers, aimed to broaden their writing skills and provide them with a head start in leaming the fine art of argumentation, as this is a useful skill to acquire for purposes even beyond the classroom. Genre theorists advocate the importance of teaching genres to leamers at a young age, as it allows them access into different communities of discourse, as they become aware and understand the conventions held by a patiicular community, and realize the purpose of different styles of writing for effectively communicating, which prepares them to meet the expectations of their audience. Teaching the structures of different genres therefore allows the writer, and the audience, a framework for understanding the text. The process approach has been widely used by educators as it focuses on explicit teaching of writing processes that are fundamental to leamers' development in writing. Learners need to be carefully guided from the initial stages, to the more complex stages (especially in argumentative writing which has been deemed the most complex genre for learners to master) in order to understand the complexities of constructing an essay in a cohesive way, as they need to consider multiple aspects of writing, such as the linguistic features, rhetorical features and structural features of the genre and unify them into a sound argument. This takes time, practice and revision, and extensive feedback is required. The process-genre approach proved to be successful in this study, as leamers showed remarkable improvements in their writing from the initial stages of writing to the final drafts of their essays. The findings revealed that explicit teaching of genres and structural elements of writing is vital for ensuring learners' development. Learners require modelling of the genre, scaffolding and careful guidance through step-by-step processes in order to build confidence and express their ideas effectively in written text. The findings indicate the relevance of using the process-genre approach for teaching and learning and that teaching and learning writing is indeed a process that needs more time and practice that is cUiTently allocated in the curriculum.

O objetivo do presente estudo foi verificar a progressão das narrativas escrita de histórias por crianças da 1 à 4 série do Ensino Fundamental de uma escola pública e uma particular da cidade do Recife em diferentes situações de produção: produção livre, produção a partir da apresentação de gravuras, a partir do conto e reconto e a partir da leitura de um livro ilustrado. O trabalho foi realizado com 160 crianças, sendo 80 da escola pública e 80 da particular. Cada criança produziu quatro histórias, num total de 640 histórias. As histórias foram analisadas e categorizadas de acordo com categorias adaptadas à proposta de Rego (1985). Após a análise dos resultados, pôde-se concluir que houve progressão em relação ao nível de elaboração das narrativas de histórias em função do avanço na escolarização, sendo esse avanço verificado com maior evidência entre as crianças da escola particular. A situação de produção que mais favoreceu a elaboração de histórias completas nos alunos da escola pública foi a partir do conto e reconto, enquanto que, na escola particular, a escrita a partir do livro mostrou-se mais favorável para o surgimento de histórias mais elaboradas. Houve diferença estatisticamente significante entre as escolas pública e particular, nas quatro situações de produção. / The aim of this study was to verify the progression of wiritten narrative stories made by children from a public and a private school in Recife, in four different production situations: free production, production from engravings presentation, from a told story and from reading of an illustrated book. The work was carried through with 160 children, being 80 of public school and 80 of particular. Each child produced four stories, in a total of 640 stories. The stories had been analyzed and categorized in accordance with the categories of stories proposals by Rego (1985). After the analysis of the results, could be concluded that it had a progression related to the level of text production in function of the teaching advance, clearly seen in private school children. The best situation for public school students was from a told story, while reading of an illustrated book made private school children write more sofisticated stories. There was significant statistics differences between public and private schools in all four situations.

O principal assunto que norteia esta pesquisa é a produção escrita dos alunos oriundos de comunidades rurais que concluíram o segundo grau no Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de Pernambuco, campus Barreiros. Pode-se ver que a coletividade se apropria de um mundo concebido por ela mesma e suas ações serão definidas, tendo como base a consciência de todo um sistema linguístico que essa coletividade passa a fazer uso no seu dia a dia. Toda a cadeia de sons articulados, bem como uma rede de marcas escritas, que se pode conceituar de linguagem estará sempre fazendo parte do cotidiano de determinado grupo, que será por isto identificado, respeitado ou relegado por seus pares. Tendo como foco uma comunidade específica de assentados e levando em consideração o uso que fazem da língua escrita diante da necessidade desse uso em sua ou em outras comunidades, registramos algumas experiências com a produção de texto escrito que nos levam a reflexões sobre a modalidade que não admite formas linguísticas diferentes da norma padrão. Baseado nas observações dos aspectos formais da língua escrita, também nas variações apresentadas por esse grupo específico, o presente estudo teve como primordial objetivo estudar a escrita de um grupo que deu continuidade à educação escolar longe de suas comunidades de origem. Dessa forma, o que também não poderíamos desprezar nesta pesquisa era o processo de aquisição da escrita desses alunos, mesmo não sendo nosso foco principal, além do uso dessa escrita em sua ou em outras comunidades que no futuro hão de participar. Finalmente, este trabalho busca lançar um olhar sobre uma escrita que julgamos diferente, seja por puro preconceito, ou desconhecimento mesmo de uma realidade distinta da que estamos acostumados, mas que na realidade em pouco difere daquela que temos vivência diária. / The main issue that guides this research is the written production of students from rural communities who have completed second grade at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Pernambuco, Barreiros campus. We can see that the community takes ownership of a world designed by herself and her actions will be defined based on the consciousness of an entire linguistic system that this community is to make use in their day to day. The entire chain of articulate sounds, as well as a network of marks written, we can conceptualize language will always be part of everyday life of a particular group, for it to be identified, respected by their peers or relegated. Focusing on a specific community of settlers and taking into account their use of written language on the need for this use in his or in other communities, we recorded some experiments with the production of written text that lead to reflections on the sport that does not admits different linguistic forms of the standard pattern. Based on the observations of the formal aspects of written language, also in the variations presented by this particular group, this study had the primary objective of studying the writing of a group who continued the school education away from their home communities. Thus, what we could not ignore this research was the acquisition process of writing these students, although not our primary focus, besides the use of writing in his or in other communities that will participate in the future. Finally, this paper seeks to cast a glance at a script that we think differently, be it pure prejudice, ignorance or even a distinct reality of which we are accustomed, but which in reality is little different from what we experience daily.

Acompanha: Caderno de sequência didática: Vozes na EJA / Esta pesquisa objetiva apresentar uma proposta de ensino interdisciplinar tomando por base aspectos da linguagem científica na Educação de Jovens e Adultos – EJA. Por meio de uma sequência didática organizada para uma intervenção pedagógica interdisciplinar, foi desenvolvida a temática “Vozes na EJA”, em que se trabalharam conteúdos das disciplinas de Ciências Naturais (os sentidos) e conteúdos da Língua Portuguesa (gênero textual relato de vivências), tendo em vista as estratégias sociocognitivas de processamento textual na aquisição e construção do conhecimento científico. Os objetos de análise foram textos orais e escritos, produzidos por educandos do ensino fundamental – anos finais da EJA, do período noturno de uma escola pública, localizada na periferia do município de Ponta Grossa – Paraná. Os sujeitos envolvidos são quatro educandas, com idades entre 20 e 50 anos. A investigação é realizada em duas instâncias: a análise do texto como global na construção do significado, por questões que norteiam a dimensão contextual; e, a análise do texto como local da construção de significados relacionados aos conceitos científicos, por questões que norteiam a dimensão cognitiva. Essa última instância auxilia as comparações com as atividades propostas ao longo do processo de aplicação da sequência didática. A abordagem metodológica da pesquisa é qualitativa, classificada como explicativa, a tipologia desse estudo é caracterizada como pesquisa-ação, tendo em vista que os resultados obtidos são decorrentes da aplicação da sequência didática em sala de aula, que geraram o objeto de análise para a essa investigação. Os resultados obtidos apontam que, quando as ações são planejadas estrategicamente pelo educador, podem possibilitar aos educandos a apropriação da linguagem científica na produção textual, permitindo a construção de sentidos. / This research has as its objective to present a proposal of interdisciplinary education based on aspects of the scientific language on EJA “Educação de Jovens e Adultos” (Youth and Adults Education). Through a didactic sequence organized for an interdisciplinary pedagogic intervention, the theme “Vozes na EJA” (Voices on EJA) was developed, on which it was worked contents from the disciplines of Natural Sciences (the senses) and contents of the Portuguese Language (existence report textual genre), in view of the socio-cognitive strategies of textual processing in the acquisition and building of the scientific knowledge. The objects analyzed were oral and written texts, produced by learners of an elementary school – latest years of EJA, evening period of a public school, located on the periphery area of Ponta Grossa – Paraná. The people involved are four learners, aged between 20 and 50 years old. The investigation happens in two moments: the analysis of the text as global in the building of the meaning, by questions that guide the contextual dimension; and the analysis of the text as the place of the development of the meanings related to the scientific concepts that guide the cognitive dimension. This last one helps the comparisons with the activities proposed throughout the process of didactic sequence application. The methodological approach of the research is qualitative, classified as explanatory, the typology of this study is characterized as an action-research, knowing that the results obtained are arising from the didactic sequence applied in the classroom, which generates the object of analyses for this investigation. The results obtained indicate that, when the actions are strategically planned by the teacher, it enables the learners to appropriate the scientific language on the textual production, allowing the building of senses.

Acompanha: Caderno de sequência didática: Vozes na EJA / Esta pesquisa objetiva apresentar uma proposta de ensino interdisciplinar tomando por base aspectos da linguagem científica na Educação de Jovens e Adultos – EJA. Por meio de uma sequência didática organizada para uma intervenção pedagógica interdisciplinar, foi desenvolvida a temática “Vozes na EJA”, em que se trabalharam conteúdos das disciplinas de Ciências Naturais (os sentidos) e conteúdos da Língua Portuguesa (gênero textual relato de vivências), tendo em vista as estratégias sociocognitivas de processamento textual na aquisição e construção do conhecimento científico. Os objetos de análise foram textos orais e escritos, produzidos por educandos do ensino fundamental – anos finais da EJA, do período noturno de uma escola pública, localizada na periferia do município de Ponta Grossa – Paraná. Os sujeitos envolvidos são quatro educandas, com idades entre 20 e 50 anos. A investigação é realizada em duas instâncias: a análise do texto como global na construção do significado, por questões que norteiam a dimensão contextual; e, a análise do texto como local da construção de significados relacionados aos conceitos científicos, por questões que norteiam a dimensão cognitiva. Essa última instância auxilia as comparações com as atividades propostas ao longo do processo de aplicação da sequência didática. A abordagem metodológica da pesquisa é qualitativa, classificada como explicativa, a tipologia desse estudo é caracterizada como pesquisa-ação, tendo em vista que os resultados obtidos são decorrentes da aplicação da sequência didática em sala de aula, que geraram o objeto de análise para a essa investigação. Os resultados obtidos apontam que, quando as ações são planejadas estrategicamente pelo educador, podem possibilitar aos educandos a apropriação da linguagem científica na produção textual, permitindo a construção de sentidos. / This research has as its objective to present a proposal of interdisciplinary education based on aspects of the scientific language on EJA “Educação de Jovens e Adultos” (Youth and Adults Education). Through a didactic sequence organized for an interdisciplinary pedagogic intervention, the theme “Vozes na EJA” (Voices on EJA) was developed, on which it was worked contents from the disciplines of Natural Sciences (the senses) and contents of the Portuguese Language (existence report textual genre), in view of the socio-cognitive strategies of textual processing in the acquisition and building of the scientific knowledge. The objects analyzed were oral and written texts, produced by learners of an elementary school – latest years of EJA, evening period of a public school, located on the periphery area of Ponta Grossa – Paraná. The people involved are four learners, aged between 20 and 50 years old. The investigation happens in two moments: the analysis of the text as global in the building of the meaning, by questions that guide the contextual dimension; and the analysis of the text as the place of the development of the meanings related to the scientific concepts that guide the cognitive dimension. This last one helps the comparisons with the activities proposed throughout the process of didactic sequence application. The methodological approach of the research is qualitative, classified as explanatory, the typology of this study is characterized as an action-research, knowing that the results obtained are arising from the didactic sequence applied in the classroom, which generates the object of analyses for this investigation. The results obtained indicate that, when the actions are strategically planned by the teacher, it enables the learners to appropriate the scientific language on the textual production, allowing the building of senses.

Relationships between reading and writing -- Formation of a thought-world that is a cluster of ideas and associations related to a literacy event -- Establishment of a progression of interrelated ideas from the thought-world -- Creation of intersentence cohesion by filling of gaps.