Thesis (MPhil (Modern Foreign Languages))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / Concern surrounding the low levels of academic literacy amongst incoming first year
students has prompted universities and other tertiary education institutions in South Africa to
implement tests of academic literacy. At Stellenbosch University, the English version of this
test is known as TALL (Test of Academic Literacy Levels) and was developed to assess
reading and writing abilities in an academic context. The results are used to ‘stream’
students into programmes which assist them in acquiring the various skills deemed
necessary for their academic success. This study examines, on the one hand, the
significance of listening in the assessment of academic literacy levels; on the other hand, it
explores the potential for an academic listening test (ALT) to assist TALL in more accurate
screening of students, particularly the borderline cases. The design and operationalisation of
ALT is based on the theories and approaches of several researchers in the field. The study
began with the compilation of the test specification and design of ALT. This was followed by
empirically piloting a project where qualitative data concerning the validity of ALT was
collected by means of a questionnaire. The next phase involved assessing the academic
listening competency of a sample of first year university students. This assessment
comprised an initial test administration followed by a second administration of the same test
a month later in order to ascertain consistency of measurement over a period of time. The
quantitative results obtained from both administrations were then statistically analysed to
determine the reliability and validity of ALT. The final phase of the study involved the
correlation of these results with those of TALL to determine the level of criterion-related
validity as well as to establish whether ALT could be a useful added dimension to TALL.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/1636 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Marais, Fiona C. |
| Contributors | Bergman, E. K., Van Dyk, T. J., University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Stellenbosch |
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