In the Lesotho primary education system, the language policy states that the mother tongue (Sesotho) should be used up to Standard Three (this is the third year of schooling in Lesotho) as the medium of instruction. English is prescribed as the medium of instruction from Standard Four upwards. This sudden change presents enormous challenges for teachers, especially in Standard Four. The purpose of my study was to investigate Standard Four teachers’ curriculum development experiences of the transition from the mother tongue to English as medium of instruction. The study also sought to understand how teachers plan and teach at this level. This was a qualitative interpretive study that adopted a case study methodology. Participants were purposively selected. They were three Sesotho-speaking Standard Four teachers in three different urban schools. In addressing the research questions, data was generated through qualitative methods such as semi-structured teachers’ interviews, classroom observations, document analysis and a personal reflective journal. Data was analyzed and interpreted through an open coding process. The findings revealed that these teachers experienced several challenges in the use of English as the medium of instruction. Teachers were faced with three key issues that they had to deal with, namely, overcoming their own perceptions of their competence in English, their low sense of self efficacy with regard to teaching at this transition class, and the difficulty with teaching pupils in a second language before these pupils had gained proficiency in their mother tongue. Teachers regularly employed codeswitching as a strategy to make meaning in their classrooms. The study recommends pre- and in-service teacher professional development, and a review of the Lesotho language policy in the primary school. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

The end of the apartheid era in the history of South Africa resulted in many black pupils being admitted to schools which were previously used exclusively by either coloureds, Indians or white pupils. However, the newly admitted black pupils spoke English as a second language in schools where the medium of instruction was English. Consequently, the black pupils' inability to cope with English as a first language meant that they were at risk of failing at school. In an attempt to reduce the risk of the black pupils failing, Eastwood Secondary School introduced the Language Integration Programme. The school hoped that the programme would accelerate the black pupils acquisition of the English while simultaneously making academic progress in their other subjects. The aim of this study was to gain insights into the results of the Language Integration Programme. The research questions focused on the views of the parents of the pupils who were in the programme, the teachers at the school, the pupils who were in the Language Integration Programme, as well as the principal and deputy principal of the school. Both closed and open-ended types of questions were used in the questionnaires that were administered to the parents, teachers and pupils, as well as in the interviews that were conducted with the principal and deputy principal. The findings from the questionnaires and interviews were supplemented by information that was obtained from the school's VRE-52 academic records. The findings of the study revealed that there was an improvement in the Language Integration Programme pupils' English language and communication skills. The findings also showed that there was a positive relationship between the pupils' performance in English and their performance in their other subjects while they were in the Language Integration Programme. Recommendations that arose from the study of the Language Integration Programme were that there is a need for placement tests to identify the background knowledge of the pupils so that the material in future programmes is not too easy for the pupils in the programme. The study also revealed that the class size in programmes similar to the Language Integration Programme should be kept as small as possible if the programme was to achieve maximum effectiveness because weaker pupils generally need more attention. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1996.

This article researches the attitude of learners to the oral activities in the Afrikaans Second Language classroom. The apparent discrepancy between learners' communicative competence and the oral year mark awarded by school-based educators is looked at. It seems as though neither educators nor learners participate very enthusiastically in oral activities in the classroom. Educators on the one hand appear to be preoccupied with assessment and the completion of a syllabus rather than with developing the communicative competence of learners. Learners on the other hand fear being censured and mocked by their peers and the assessment process most commonly used in the classroom compounds this anxiety. In Section 4 suggestions are made for reducing assessment anxiety so as to encourage learners to communicate spontaneously in Afrikaans. Learners of an additional language need to be provided with the opportunity to engage in oral activities that elicit the use of the target language in such a way that the learner's enthusiasm to participate neutralises the fear of using linguistic structures that they feel they have not yet mastered. OPSOMMING In hierdie artikel word leerders se houding !eenoor die mondelinge akliwiteite in die Afrikaans Tweede Taal klaskamer ondersoek. Die klaarblyklike wanverhouding lussen die leerders se kommunikaliewe vaardigheid en die mondeiinge jaarpunt wat deur onderwysers toegeken word, word ondersoek. Uit die studie blyk dit dat nog die leerders nog die onderwysers baie entoesiasties deelneem aan mondelinge aktiwiteite in die klaskamer. Die onderwysers blyk behep te wees met die insamel van punte en die voltooiing van leerplan items sonder om aandag te skenk aan die ontwikkeling van leerders se kommunikatiewe vaardighede. Die vrees wat leerders het vir die sensuur deur hulle portuurgroep, word versterk deur die evalueringsangs wat die assesseringsmetodes skep. Voorstelle word gemaak om leerders se kommunikasievrees en toelsangs te verminder om sodoende leerders aan te moedig om sponlaan in Afrikaans te kommunikeer. Leerders van 'n Tweede Taal moet die geleentheid gegun word vir mondelinge aktiwiteite wat taal-in-gebruik sal ontlok, waar die entoesiasme vir die taak die leerder sal laat vergeet van die taalkennis wat nog nie bemeester is nie en wat deur deelname aan die aktiwiteit ontdek word. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, 2001.

In hierdie mini-skripsie word daar na fantasieliteratuur in die multikulturele Afrikaans klaskamer gekyk. Die aard van fantasieliteratuur, naamlik die fabel, sprokie, volksverhaal, mite, legende en toekomsfiksie word omskryf. Die studie poog ook om die ooreenkomste wat bestaan tussen fantasieliteratuur in Engels, Afrikaans, Zoeloe en SeSotho uit te wys en om aan te dui wat die implikasie van hierdie ooreenkomste binne die multikulturele Afrikaanse klas is. SUMMARY This mini-thesis focuses on the study of Fantasy literature in the multicultural Afrikaans classroom. Different genres, ego fable , myth, folktale, fairytale, legend and science fiction will be looked at. The study will also try to look at the similarities present in the fantasy literature of English, Afrikaans, Zulu and seSotho and the implications thereof in the multicultural Afrikaans class. / Thesis (M.A.) - University of Natal, Durban, 1999.

Read-aloud editing aims to engage both the reader and the writer to negotiate meaning and negotiate form with the aim to self- and peer-repair. This study was divided into a three-fold focus: (1) examining feedback types, (2) examining categories of repair and (3) examining patterns of dyadic interaction (Storch, 2002). Two read-aloud editing sessions of 15 intermediate-level adult English as a second language learners (ESL) were audio-recorded and transcribed for quantitative and qualitative analysis. The results reveal that reformulations as a feedback type led to more learner repairs, whereas prompts led to more "metatalk" (Swain, 1998). Peer readers initiated and repaired more than writers and errors pertaining to incorrect grammar form tended to be repaired over other types of errors. Social relationships between the peers changed depending on how learners assumed their roles in the pairs. The findings suggest that read-aloud editing helps learners notice incongruities in their writing and find solutions by talking about writing (Nystrand, 1986).

This thesis looks at the potential use of computer simulation games in the ESL classroom. Simulation games, if educational as well as entertaining, come under the field of Computer Aided Instruction (CAI). CAI is expensive, both for computers and programs; programs are difficult to create and often specialized; and computer hardware is made differently, so software is difficult to transfer between computers. Yet, the advantages far out-weigh the disadvantages. With CAI, the student receives instant feedback and individualized instruction. The student can work at his/her own pace, and the computer can devote full attention to the student. It has not been fully determined whether students learn better or faster with CAI as compared to traditional classroom instruction.The major portion of this thesis is a computer simulation game written to instruct in the directions: right, left, straight, and back-up. With this program and support from in-class instruction, the student should learn directions quickly.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relative effectiveness of videotape recorders (VTR) as a medium of instruction in teaching English listening comprehension as compared to audiotape recorders (ATR).The material used for this study was a videotaped 16 minute talk by an American native speaker. Based on the talk, 32 questions were prepared for the listening comprehension tests.The subjects chosen for this study were 18 students from the Intensive English Institute (IEI), Ball State University, enrolled in the Summer Quarter, 1984. They were divided into two groups, A and B.Based on the evaluation and interpretation of the results of the tests by means of the statistical tests, t-test and ANOVA, it was discovered that the students' listening comprehension was slightly greater with the VTR than the ATR.This study suggests that the VTR will help EFL/ESL students' listening comprehension in addition to the ATR alone in a language laboratory.

Based on the multiple resource model, a more difficult auditory task should use more attentional resources and leave fewer resources to attend to visual information. Research suggests that trying to listen to and understand a speaker with an accent is difficult. In addition, stimuli that are considered threatening can raise stress levels and reduce the amount of attentional resources available. In the present study, participants watched one of four videos that portrayed a bank robber delivering a statement with either a Midwestern or Serbian accent and with either high or low level of threat. For the perpetrator’s appearance, participants provided significantly more correct and fewer incorrect details if they heard the Midwestern accent or the low threat statement. These results support the multiple resource model and suggest that further research is needed with the model in eyewitness memory. / Department of Psychological Science

In ESL writing, a controversy has existed on whether or not an assignment plays an important role when students produce their writings. Plausible arguments have been also made on the matter of amount of information given in a writing assignment. But so far, there have been no convincing data to show a favor of either side in any case.This study is designed to examine the importance of assignment and the relationship between information load and the quality of ESL student writings by analyzing compositions written by ESL students. For the collection of data, 150 students who were randomly selected from two Korean universities. They were asked to write an essay in response to three different types of writing assignments in information load and topic kind.The data were analyzed by two well trained ESL teachers with the method of holistic evaluation. The data were evaluated in nine areas of quality with a binary scale (Yes and No) and in general quality with a 1 to 6 scale. The result of data evaluation was analyzed statistically using SPSS-X. Cross tabulations were used to check for relationship between information load and general impression score, between information load and binary question scores, and between binary question scores and general impression scores. Regression techniques were used to characterize the significant relationships. In performing all calculations, a paper's score will be the sum of the individual graders' scores.The results of data analysis demonstrate that ESL students prefer a subjective topic despite the level of information load. Nevertheless, their preference is not directly related to the quality of their writings. ESL students produce higher quality of writings as they are given less information. Finally, the importance of an assignment in ESL writing classes is supported by the marking of students' higher scores in dichotomous questions.The study also discusses problems and causes of difficulties, in Korean ESL, for utilizing the method of writing education as a means of teaching the English language. The study also points out the importance of a teacher training program and suggests variables which should be considered for producing a better quality teacher training program in the Korean ESL situation. / Department of English

This dissertation analyzes the production and functions of the conjunctions and, but, so, and then as discourse markers in English as a Second Language (ESL) students' oral narratives. Two types of narratives are analyzed: a non-guided, or spontaneous narrative, and a picture-guided-narrative. Narratives of forty three ESL students are included in the analysis as well as narratives from six native speakers.This study indicates that l) the ESL students attach a narrowly defined meaning to and, but, so, and then, 2) the ESL students use and, but, so, and then to link previous sentences or ideas. or refer back to ideas, less than for any other function, 3) the ESL students do not use a greater number of occurrences of and, but, so, and then in the picture-guided-narrative than in the non-guided-narrative, and 4) the ESL students misuse conjunctions in similar ways regardless of their native language (LI ); that is, although the influence from a student's Ll may result in specific problems of transfer, some patterns of conjunction errors are unrelated to the Ll and may be indicative of a more general problem. / Department of English