The senior secondary school learners' limited English proficiency motivated the
researcher to investigate the extent to which contextual and learner factors contributed
to this problem. The ultimate aim was to recommend guidelines for dealing with the
problem.
The review of literature and empirical methods of research were used to this effect. The
literature review revealed that the learners' societal, home/family and school/classroom
contexts contributed to learners' development ofESL proficiency. It further showed that
the independent learner factors (i.e. learner factors that are not influenced by the context
from which the learner comes and/or in which SLA takes place) and dependent learner
factors (i.e. learner factors that are completely or partly subject to the influence of the
context from which the learner comes or in which SLA takes place) significantly
influenced the development ofESL proficiency.
With its focus on language learning strategies, the empirical investigation found a
significant relationship between the learners' level ofESL proficiency and use of direct
strategies (i.e. strategies that involve the mental processing of the target language, albeit
in different ways and for different purposes). The investigation found no significant
relationship between the learners' level of ESL proficiency and use of indirect strategies
(i.e. strategies that underpin the process of language learning). Several contextual and
learner factors were found to influence the relationship between the learner's strategy use
and the development ofESL proficiency.
These findings formed the basis for recommending specific guidelines for dealing with
limited ESL proficiency, as well as recommending possible directions for future research. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/17293 |
| Date | 06 1900 |
| Creators | Mahlobo, Eric Bheakisenzo |
| Contributors | Kamper, G. D., Van Wyk, P. C. (Petrus Cornelis), 1937- |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (xvi, 269 leaves) : illustrations |
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