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The lack of parental support and the use of English as the language of teaching and learning are two of the main factors that influence poor learner performance in South Africa. Although a significant amount of research has been conducted internationally, the need for research tailored for the South African context still exists. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to contribute to knowledge about parental support concerning learner development of second language proficiency. An explanatory sequential design of mixed methods research, also known as two-phased model was used to guide the study. The first phase focused on the quantitative secondary data from Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2006 (PIRLS 2006). The source of the secondary data was the results of the parent questionnaire, administered to South African parents of the Grade 4 learners (n = 16 073). The International Database (IDB) analyser software and Statistical Program for the Social Sciences (SPSS) were used for data analysis. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were computed. The quantitative results revealed that a significant percentage of parents (30%, SE =0.7) did not engage in literacy related activities with their children prior to Grade 1 compared to a low percentage (2%, SE = 1.21) of those who did the activities. However, a significantly higher percentage of parents (29%, SE = 0.65) did engage in literacy activities with their children in Grade 1, compared to 5% (SE =0.34) who never or almost never did the activities. A significantly higher percentage of parents (89%, SE = 0.67) agreed a lot with positive reading attitude statements compared to 2% (SE = 0.25) who disagreed a lot. The limited time spent by parents on reading and books at home were noted as a matter of concern. This concern was augmented by the low educational level and employment status of the parents. These results were used to inform the qualitative data collection in order to gain a deeper understanding of the experience of the parents. The second or qualitative phase of the study used convenience sampling to select participants, to gain an understanding of their experiences with regard to supporting the second language development of their children. The eight (8 participants) selected parents participated in two focus group meetings. Six themes emerged from thematic data analysis, namely: alternative parenting, parent-child activities, technology and Internet support, parental challenges, language usage and quality of education. The characteristics used for developing a conceptual framework for parental support on second language development were extracted from these aforementioned themes. The results revealed that parental support is a complex dynamic process that requires one to consider the interface of systems around the parent and the learner. Consequently, how this complexity requires a reconceptualisation of factors affecting parental support concerning second language development. The reconceptualisation can provide new avenues for theorising about parental support in second language learning context, particularly in multilingual and developmental countries. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Educational Psychology / PhD / Unrestricted

The study explored teacher educators’ utilization of constructivist education practices to develop ESL in a teacher training institution and student teachers’ engagement in the instructional practices. In light of Chomsky’s proposition in his Universal Grammar (UG) (Cook & Newson 2007) all humanity, under normal conditions, is wired with a language acquisition device (LAD), which is activated in any real-life context when individuals experience exposure to any language. In the formal learning context; teacher education in particular, student teachers experience academic language which presents challenges, resulting in poor academic performance. Cummins (2009) proposes context embedded communication to afford acquisition of academic language. This learning environment is supported for pedagogy in constructivist learning settings, thus constructivist theories of learning provided the study’s theoretical framework. This was a qualitative case study utilising lesson observations of a class of 150 first year student teachers and 4 of their teacher educators. The 4 educators and 5 of the student teachers also attended to open-ended survey questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, including reflective journals for the latter. Data were analysed through a discourse analysis approach to determine educators’ education practices and student teachers’ meta-learning actions. Findings indicated that student teachers could identify their ESL incompetence but rated it incorrectly. An overarching ESL challenge was with the writing mode. Teacher educators utilised student teachers’ real-life experiences but partially immersed them in independent exploration of tasks to foster meta-learning actions and acquire disciplinary discourses, thus the students relied heavily on their educators’ assistance than independent learning. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Humanities Education / PhD / Unrestricted

Many learners in the South African schooling system do not speak English as their first language. Mother-tongue instruction in schools is offered until Grade 3, after which learners are taught in English. As the country has eleven official languages, it is often challenging to teach learners in English because they lack exposure to English, especially in rural areas. Consequently, learners struggle to overcome their barriers to learning when learning in a second language1. This study is a secondary data analysis study. The purpose was to analyse data collected by previous researchers to gain a better understanding of how rural learners have experienced learning in a second language over the years. The research also aimed to understand the impact of living in rural areas on learners’ learning experiences. The study focused on learners in rural areas, I examined the deep impact that learning in a second language has on learners’ schooling. Schooling consists in learners’ school marks, their grammar, their careers, their expectations for the future, to gain a better understanding of the learners’ language experiences. I used stratified purposive sampling and then analysed the data through thematic analysis. The findings provided evidence-based descriptions of the challenges faced by a sample group of Grade 9 learners from 2012 to 2015. Although they faced challenges, they also possessed protective resources which helped them to deal with various challenges. The findings also indicated the extent to which the learners lacked the skills required to become proficient in a second language. It is recommended that teachers and parents/guardians work together to develop strategies for supporting the learners in rural contexts. Learners’ awareness of their assets and protective resources should be developed. Finally continued professional development for teachers should be made compulsory to ensure teachers are able cope with the demands of their jobs. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Educational Psychology / MEd / Unrestricted

Despite huge investments in national English language policies, few South Koreans develop communicable English proficiency. Yet, English language proficiency for all secondary and college students continues to be the goal of these policies (Moodie & Nam, 2015; Ahn, 2015). One of the fundamental reasons for the lack of communicable English proficiency was based on the social phenomenon, called 'hakbuljueui', or academic elitism, in Korea (Kim. T.-Y., 2006) whereby students seem to be instrumentally motivated to learn English only to pass the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), and gain admission to elite Universities (Kim, T.-Y., 2006; Kim, K., 2016). The current study examines whether current South Korean high school are still motivated only by instrumental motivation (the desire to gain entrance into an elite university) or if other motivation also guides their goals of learning English. In addition, the current study sought to understand the relationship between participant's motivation and their English proficiency. The current study examines whether current South Korean high school are still motivated only by instrumental motivation (the desire to gain entrance into an elite university) or if other motivation also guides their goals of learning English. To accomplish these goals, 42 current high school students in South Korea were asked to complete a motivation survey and rate their ability to speak, read, write, and understand English. Motivation was defined and divided into six orientations: instrumental, knowledge, travel, friendship, sociocultural, and integrative. In addition, 27 of the 42 students also participated in simulated Oral Proficiency Interviews (OPIs). The data revealed that while previous research demonstrated that Korean students show the evidence of instrumental motivation to learn English, the participants in the current study were motivated by both instrumental and other types of motivation. However, their motivation orientation did not predict their self-rated proficiency levels nor their scores on the OPI. The results suggest that students' motivation is expending, and the implication of this study suggests bottom-up policy development that can magnify the various motivations to study English among South Korean students.

Adult listeners more accurately identify talkers speaking a known language than a foreign language (Thompson, 1987), a phenomenon known as the language-familiarity effect (Perrachione & Wong, 2007). Two experiments explored how knowledge of a language facilitates talker identification. In Experiment 1, participants identified talkers in three conditions: (a) a foreign-language speech condition featuring unfamiliar sound patterns and no known words; (b) a nonsense speech condition featuring all the familiar sound patterns of their native language, such as familiar phonemes, prosody, and syllable structure, but no actual words; and (c) a native-language condition with all the familiar components of a language, including words. In Experiment 2, participants again identified speakers in familiar and unfamiliar languages. In both languages, listeners identified speakers in a condition in which no word was ever repeated, and in a condition featuring repeated words. The results suggest that access to familiar, meaningful spoken words confers an advantage beyond access to familiar sounds, syllables, and prosody, particularly when words are repeated. Together, Experiments 1 and 2 support integrated models of voice and language processing systems, and indicate that access to meaningful words is a crucial component of the language-familiarity effect in talker identification.

In this study, the oral participation in L2-learners' English classroom was analysed in order to investigate what specific factors motivate och discourage pupils in EFL classroom to particpate orally. Additionally, this paper identifies the motivational factors of pupils and discusses how they affect their oral participation during English lessons. Therefore, the main reserach question of this paper are: How do the participating pupils feel about particpating in oral tasks? What helps or hinders pupils to participate in oral tasks during English lesson? This qualitative study in which we preffered the usage of semi-structured interviews (see: Appendix Interview Guide) was conducted with eight particpants between the ages of 13 and 15 from three different schools. The data analysis showed that the pupils' engagement to participate is influenced by external factors such as motivation, environment and individual factors. According to this study, it can be concluded that motivation and participation are linked and work together to achieve the main goal of participation and involvement during English lessons. Furthermore, the study paid extra attention to environmental and human elements, such as fear, anxiety and self-consciousness. In addition, pupils stated that strong feelings, such as being judged for being in the spotlight are the most common reasons for a pupil's lack of motivation to participate and angage during English lessons. Finally, this study and its results are most beneficial to English teachers to get inspired and influenced to construct an active EFL classroom where pupils develop a willingness to communicate and use their L2.

Despite huge investments in national English language policies, few South Koreans develop communicable English proficiency. Yet, English language proficiency for all secondary and college students continues to be the goal of these policies (Moodie & Nam, 2015; Ahn, 2015). One of the fundamental reasons for the lack of communicable English proficiency was based on the social phenomenon, called 'hakbuljueui', or academic elitism, in Korea (Kim. T.-Y., 2006) whereby students seem to be instrumentally motivated to learn English only to pass the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), and gain admission to elite Universities (Kim, T.-Y., 2006; Kim, K., 2016). The current study examines whether current South Korean high school are still motivated only by instrumental motivation (the desire to gain entrance into an elite university) or if other motivation also guides their goals of learning English. In addition, the current study sought to understand the relationship between participant's motivation and their English proficiency. The current study examines whether current South Korean high school are still motivated only by instrumental motivation (the desire to gain entrance into an elite university) or if other motivation also guides their goals of learning English. To accomplish these goals, 42 current high school students in South Korea were asked to complete a motivation survey and rate their ability to speak, read, write, and understand English. Motivation was defined and divided into six orientations: instrumental, knowledge, travel, friendship, sociocultural, and integrative. In addition, 27 of the 42 students also participated in simulated Oral Proficiency Interviews (OPIs). The data revealed that while previous research demonstrated that Korean students show the evidence of instrumental motivation to learn English, the participants in the current study were motivated by both instrumental and other types of motivation. However, their motivation orientation did not predict their self-rated proficiency levels nor their scores on the OPI. The results suggest that students' motivation is expending, and the implication of this study suggests bottom-up policy development that can magnify the various motivations to study English among South Korean students.

While reading behaviors have been studied extensively in L1 reading studies through the use of eye-tracking and L2 reading has been measured through inherently indirect means, there is a relative lack of research done on early and late reading measures of ESL readers. Eye-tracking technology, available to researchers only in the past few decades, has opened the field to a new means of measuring these early and late measures of reading in second language learners. This study investigates the reading behaviors of 34 native Portuguese and Chinese readers who read in both their native languages (L1) and in their second language (L2), which is English. It was found that readers processed their reading differently in response to different text difficulties and varied between the different native languages.

BACKGROUND: Professional interpreters improve care for limited English proficient patients but are underused. Study Design: Mixed methods study evaluating effectiveness and implementation of a rooming protocol to screen patients for language needs and call interpreters OBJECTIVE: Examine barriers and facilitators to protocol implementation and effectiveness to increase interpreter use METHODS: Provider surveys explored baseline and post-implementation attitudes. Simple and multiple logistic regression analyses examined the impact of practicing in the pilot clinics versus comparison clinics on post-implementation responses. Medical Assistants and providers were interviewed regarding barriers and facilitators to implementation. Interview analysis used modified grounded theory. Trends in the number of telephone interpreter calls were examined to determine protocol effectiveness. RESULTS: Context themes included having established teams and workflows; transitioning to a new interpreter vendor; and challenges incorporating the workflow, including providers’ tardiness and clinic understaffing. Evidence themes included beliefs that the protocol improved the patient experience but otherwise mixed responses; preferring live interpreters; and limited buy-in to language screening. Facilitation themes included Medical Assistants needing more support. Providers in the pilot clinics versus comparison clinics had significantly higher odds of positive responses on post-implementation survey questions regarding satisfaction with care (OR 5.3) and communication (OR 6.7). Implementation did not increase the number of telephone interpreter calls in the pilot clinics. CONCLUSION: Ineffectiveness of the protocol was likely due to inconsistent implementation. The protocol may improve patient care but context limited implementation success. The limited buy-in to language screening raises questions about how to better identify patient language needs. / 2019-11-08T00:00:00Z