Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Language and languages Study and teaching (Primary) Australia'

This thesis details research on the first phase of curriculum reform (1999-2004) in a government primary school in Western Australia. The purpose of the study was to examine what progress had been made with the implementation of the Curriculum Framework (1998). The research focussed on Music, Health and Physical Education, and Languages Other than English as specialist teachers working with the Curriculum Framework (1998). Teachers and school administrators, as frontline practitioners, considered their experiences and perceptions of daily practice and provided their perspectives on curriculum reform. The hypothesis formulated for the study was that with the introduction of the Curriculum Framework (1998) the delivery of these three subjects could be further improved. This study argues that successful curriculum performance of these three subjects traditionally considered 'specialist programs' may be more fully supported by becoming aware of the forces influencing Australian curriculum discourse and delivery. Subject knowledge endorsement in this study refers to the transfer of valued knowledge in Western Australian educational systems. It is proposed that if teaching professionals articulated the substance of their educational beliefs and experiences with regard to subject knowledge meaning, place and value, curriculum delivery in primary schools may progress more effectively. Positive learning experiences for all students can be provided through the encouragement of communication and collegiality together with relevant and accessible professional development. These measures can also be supported by mounting whole-school primary programs that engage with beliefs about Music, Health and Physical Education, and Languages Other Than English through collaborative networks and learning communities. Accordingly, curriculum delivery can come within reach of the seamless curriculum anticipated by reform (Curriculum Framework, 1998:6-7). In this qualitative interview study, the frontline participants included generalist teachers, specialist teachers and school administrators. These educational practitioners were asked to participate in an in-depth, semi-structured discussion that explored their perceptions of specialist teaching and knowledge while employed at Deep Sea Primary School in 2002. They teachers also commented on how these perceptions may be linked to their experiences of socially constructed and established notions of valued knowledge. The findings of this study indicated that the progressive implementation of these three subjects or specialist's areas were characterised by subtle historical, economic, political and social forces. This thesis suggests that, these largely obscured external forces together with individual yet, taken for granted perceptions of what is perceived as valuable knowledge work together to position curriculum rhetoric and curriculum enactment that reflect established perceptions of the knowledge hierarchy. Teachers and administrators at the school often operated within the structures and meanings of conventional teaching practice of subject knowledge as determined by dominant culture in Australia. The findings indicated that school culture in a time of reform re-traditionalised hierarchical patterns of subject knowledge organisation and evaluation. Accordingly, current subject knowledge endorsement in terms of specialist teaching often worked to the benefit of established power relationships typical of post-industrial market economy in Australia. The findings also indicated that issues pertaining to curriculum prioritisation were influenced by institutional, group and individual experiences of subject specialist knowledge. Poor perceptions of these three subjects could also be generated by experiencing inflexible and inadequate yet established funding and resource patterns in educational systems. Frontline teachers, their school-based roles and responsibilities attached to the teaching and learning of the three specialist areas were typified by rigid school organisation and job structures together with condensed teaching time and community backing. This thesis argues that progressive, outcomes education requires an articulate and supportive school culture, more funding and the genuine maintenance of quality Music, Health and Physical Education and Language Other Than English teachers. In addition, curriculum implementation would benefit from the promotion of constructivist-orientated student activities within specialist programs.

This thesis details research on the first phase of curriculum reform (1999–2004) in a government primary school in Western Australia. The purpose of the study was to examine what progress had been made with the implementation of the Curriculum Framework (1998). The research focussed on Music, Health and Physical Education, and Languages Other than English as specialist teachers working with the Curriculum Framework (1998). Teachers and school administrators, as frontline practitioners, considered their experiences and perceptions of daily practice and provided their perspectives on curriculum reform. The hypothesis formulated for the study was that with the introduction of the Curriculum Framework (1998) the delivery of these three subjects could be further improved. This study argues that successful curriculum performance of these three subjects traditionally considered “specialist programs” may be more fully supported by becoming aware of the forces influencing Australian curriculum discourse and delivery. Subject knowledge endorsement in this study refers to the transfer of valued knowledge in Western Australian educational systems. It is proposed that if teaching professionals articulated the substance of their educational beliefs and experiences with regard to subject knowledge meaning, place and value, curriculum delivery in primary schools may progress more effectively. Positive learning experiences for all students can be provided through the encouragement of communication and collegiality together with relevant and accessible professional development. These measures can also be supported by mounting whole-school primary programs that engage with beliefs about Music, Health and Physical Education, and Languages Other Than English through collaborative networks and learning communities. Accordingly, curriculum delivery can come within reach of the seamless curriculum anticipated by reform (Curriculum Framework, 1998:6–7). In this qualitative interview study, the frontline participants included generalist teachers, specialist teachers and school administrators. These educational practitioners were asked to participate in an in-depth, semi-structured discussion that explored their perceptions of specialist teaching and knowledge while employed at Deep Sea Primary School in 2002. They teachers also commented on how these perceptions may be linked to their experiences of socially constructed and established notions of valued knowledge. The findings of this study indicated that the progressive implementation of these three subjects or specialist’s areas were characterised by subtle historical, economic, political and social forces. This thesis suggests that, these largely obscured external forces together with individual yet, taken for granted perceptions of what is perceived as valuable knowledge work together to position curriculum rhetoric and curriculum enactment that reflect established perceptions of the knowledge hierarchy. Teachers and administrators at the school often operated within the structures and meanings of conventional teaching practice of subject knowledge as determined by dominant culture in Australia. The findings indicated that school culture in a time of reform re-traditionalised hierarchical patterns of subject knowledge organisation and evaluation. Accordingly, current subject knowledge endorsement in terms of specialist teaching often worked to the benefit of established power relationships typical of post-industrial market economy in Australia. The findings also indicated that issues pertaining to curriculum prioritisation were influenced by institutional, group and individual experiences of subject specialist knowledge. Poor perceptions of these three subjects could also be generated by experiencing inflexible and inadequate yet established funding and resource patterns in educational systems. Frontline teachers, their school-based roles and responsibilities attached to the teaching and learning of the three specialist areas were typified by rigid school organisation and job structures together with condensed teaching time and community backing. This thesis argues that progressive, outcomes education requires an articulate and supportive school culture, more funding and the genuine maintenance of quality Music, Health and Physical Education and Language Other Than English teachers. In addition, curriculum implementation would benefit from the promotion of constructivist-orientated student activities within specialist programs.

The primary goal of this project is to offer Taiwanese teachers diverse innovative literacy instruction and assessments to motivate students' reading processes. Sample curriculum/lesson plans are included.

This action research explores ways of adapting Task-based language teaching for teaching grammar to Primary six Hong Kong students while maintaining the structural Presentation-Practice-Production approach. It integrates two kinds of focused tasks into the intervention. They are Consciousness-raising tasks and Practice-based tasks. It investigates learners‘perceptions of those two tasks on English grammar learning by collecting questionnaires and conducting interviews. After the first cycle of the intervention, the researcher analyzed the data, students‘performance and works in order to make adjustments for the second cycle. Qualitative and quantitative techniques were employed to collect data from high, average and low-achieving students. It was found that students were positive towards Consciousness-raising tasks, Practice-based tasks and the intervention. They were generally satisfied with the chances provided for individual and group learning, teacher‘s PowerPoint presentation, teacher support and task sequencing. Implications for future research encompass investigation on the intervention‘s emphasis on a sequence of focused tasks to learn the form, meaning and use of target structures for leading learners to attain accuracy, fluency and complexity in second language acquisition. Most importantly, it suggests that teachers have to be flexible and design suitable tasks according to the target structures, students‘ability and learning style as well as available resources.
published_or_final_version
Education
Master
Master of Education

The main objective of this study was to investigate patterns of language use in a bilingual dual-taught classroom, and the impact of bilingual dual teaching on language development and language choice in young children (ages 7-8). The study was conducted in an immersion English/Putonghua classroom at an international primary school that adopts the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program. English and Putonghua are the mediums of instruction although most students in the school come from Cantonese speaking Hong Kong-native families. The school is unique in this way because most students are learning two second languages simultaneously, in a classroom where there are two language (English and Putonghua) teachers, and both languages can be used at the same time. The study takes a qualitative approach with methods of data collection including a filmed observation of a bilingual lesson, a discourse analysis of the lesson transcription, and semi-structured post-lesson interviews with four members of the class. Results from the study found that English emerged as the dominating language. Transcript analysis also revealed that code-mixing and code-switching emerged as consistent patterns with purposeful functions. Furthermore, it was found that students tended to respond to speakers in the language that was used to initiate the talk, and that even during bilingual lessons, students tended to speak in English when nominated by their English teacher, and in Putonghua when nominated by their Chinese teacher. All students agreed that their language proficiency in English had improved due to more practice at school and regular use in the home.
published_or_final_version
Education
Master
Master of Education

Task-based language teaching has a high profile within contemporary ELT. There are, however, few empirical studies of how teachers actually implement tasks in Chinese primary school contexts. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring how four teachers in two primary schools in Nanhai, Guangdong implement communicative activities in a top-down national innovation. This study involves three areas of investigation. The first area describes classroom practice. A particular focus is on activity types and the degree of communicativeness of activities. The second area analyzes how the practice reflects the general understanding of task-based pedagogy: the extent to which classroom activities are congruent with features of task? The third area concerns factors influencing communicativeness of lessons. Extensive data are drawn over a period of an academic year with four selected teachers (Betty, Rose, Paul and Jane). A total of 55 observations were conducted. Methods of documenting classroom data include a quantitative instrument based on COLT observation scheme (Communicative Orientation of Language Teaching) and qualitative field notes. The tool used to analyze the degree of communicativeness is derived from a well-recognized framework proposed by Littlewood. 64 semi-structured interviews were conducted to gauge participants’ perception of task-based teaching. Teachers, school principals and focused-group students were interviewed. The main findings are as follows. It is found that Betty and Rose use mainly focus-on-forms activities, Paul uses meaning-form-focused and Jane meaning-focused activities, suggesting, respectively, a low, medium and medium-high degree of communicativeness. Further analysis of activity features indicates that Betty and Rose’s teaching are teacher-centered, decontextualized and without a clear communicative goal and outcome, and thus not congruent with task features. Paul’s activities share features of non-communicative teaching and TBLT. Paul tried to integrate some communicative elements in his approach, although the majority of Paul’s activities still focus on the practice of language form. Jane’s activities, message-focused, student-centered and contextualized, reflect general features of tasks. Three sets of contextual and participant factors are found to influence TBLT implementation in the two case schools: 1) contextual, 2) teacher factors and 3) those related to pedagogical practice, including planning and instructional factors. The significance of this study is threefold. Firstly, I propose an adapted version of Littlewood’s communicative framework. This version contributes to the existing literature as it is a useful tool to analyze communicativeness of classroom activities in school context. Secondly, this study extends our knowledge of the kind of factors that influence TBLT implementation. Lastly, this study adds insights into character teachers cope with changes in the new English curriculum and the kind of classroom activities in Nanhai primary schools. It is hoped that these findings carry some resonances in other EFL contexts in East Asian Region.
published_or_final_version
Education
Doctoral
Doctor of Philosophy

Research supporting the viability of music to promote language and literacy development as well as the theory of multiple intelligences suggests that any sound educational program employ a multifaceted approach to teaching and learning. This project created a thematically based multiple intelligence curriculum for first grade English language learners that emphasized the use of song.

This study aimed at establishing and analysing the literacy practices in the rural and urban communities and their effect on the academic achievements of learners. It also aimed to establish the impact of other factors, such as the exposure to the language of examination, the level of parents formal education and the quality of parental mediation in the their children's academic work, which could be responsible for the imbalance between the rural and urban learners academic achievements. This study endeavours to established that the literacy practices in urban areas prepare learners for schooled and global literacies while the literacies in rural areas are to localised and thus impoverish the learners initial literacy development. This study also seek to determine the extent to which the current language policy in education in Uganda favours the urban learners at the expense of the rural learners as far as the acculturation into and acquisition of the schooled and global literacies are concerned.

This research paper investigates the effectiveness of an intensive literacy program, Comprehensive Early Literacy Learning (CELL), to teach second language learners to read and write in English. Since this program provides numerous opportunities to practice the English language through literacy activities, the researcher believes it is a good method to teach English in its oral and written forms.

Thesis (M. Tech. (Education)) -- Central University of Technology, Free state, 2013
This study investigates current pedagogical practices in teaching in English as a language of learning and instruction. The study seeks to examine whether current teachers are in need of re-training or whether they possess relevant content pedagogical knowledge to use English as a medium of instruction. At present, the Governing Bodies of schools have the authority to choose the language of learning and instruction according to the provisions of the Constitution.The language chosen as the medium is critical since it assumes the role of mediator between text and learner, and teacher and learner. The research uses the interpretive paradigm and in particular engages (Vygotsky 1978) and Chomsky (1986) as theorists of language acquisition who write from a constructivist perspective. Methods of data collection are drawn largely from the qualitative methods and to a lesser extent from quantitative methods. Instruments for data collection included questionnaires, interviews and lesson observations. The research study focuses on foundation phase teachers and learners in four purposefully selected schools, comprising former Model C and public township primary schools. The findings of the study suggest that learners, especially from township schools, find it difficult to learn in English as a medium of instruction probably because of limited exposure to English in both the school and home environment. On the contrary, learners from former Model C schools seem to be at an advantage because they use English in all spheres of school life, in and out of the class, resulting in more exposure and repetition. The findings seem to indicate that teachers‘ limited proficiency in English negatively affects quality of pedagogical practises in the language of learning and instruction. Lesson observations support findings that teachers‘ limited proficiency do affect education. This study further suggests that most non-native English teachers are inadequately prepared to use English as the medium of instruction. This inadequacy consequently results in some teachers failing to meet the language-related needs of learners due to their limited proficiency in the language of learning. This point is demonstrated by evidence from the observed lessons, recorded interviews and reviewed literature. The study further reveals that most teachers have difficulties with pronunciations, terms and vocabulary appropriate for grade two learners in this instance. Additionally, four factors affecting pedagogic practises were reflected in the study. These were class inequalities, different distribution of knowledge, differences in access to knowledge and social class differences. These factors were experienced through different pedagogic practices employed by different participants.

Research into English research articles (RAs) has largely been focused on articles produced by native English writers. This thesis aims to investigate the textual structure of research articles written by non-native English writers, which may contribute to their acceptance for international publication. A comparison is made between RAs written by native English speakers, Indonesian writers writing in English, and Indonesian writers writing in Indonesian, all in the field of Language and Language Teaching. It explores the relation of text's generic structure, context and linguistic realization. The thesis develops a framework for the generic structure analysis based on Swales' CARS model of moves. A complementary analysis using Systemic-Functional Linguistics' (SFL) approach to texture, namely, text's method of development and structure of information, is conducted to further reveal the textual strategies of the different groups. The findings indicate significant differences in both forms and functions of textual strategies between the native and non-native texts. The differences may partly be due to the influence of writing practices in the non-native writers' first language and partly to the writer's attempt to find an appropriate format in the absence of well-established research writing conventions in the first language. Consequently, non-native English texts may show textual features and organising strategies unfamiliar to both the native English and native Indonesian texts. Findings from the research highlight two issues. First, formal and functional differences of generic structure elements and their realizations between the native and non-native English texts may disadvantage the non-native writers, particularly with regards to employment of unfamiliar organizational strategies. Second, besides knowledge of formal generic structure, more importantly, non-native English writers need to acquire the knowledge of the nature of scientific writing in English in order to achieve full control of the writing process and thus produce successful writing. The implications for further research and the teaching of academic writing are discussed.

Bibliography: leaves 211-227. This thesis addresses the implications of language policy for foreign language teaching practice. It specifically looks at the implementation of language policy on the practice of teaching English in Indonesian and Thai primary schools as well as on the practice of teaching Indonesian in Australian primary schools.

This thesis, grounded in an empirically-based study of pedagogic practice in primary school classrooms, examines the corporeality of learning and its role in the process of learning how to write. The central concern in the formation of scholarly habits in the primary years and the degree to which the embodiment of specific dispositions is fundamental in students acquiring the ability and desire to write. This thesis explores the enabling dimensions of embodiment and how these can be generated through the pedagogic practices of schooling. The body is not simply perceived as being shaped by the external, nor capacitated by its ability to retain affects, but rather as mindful, where these affects form the basis of consciousness with embodied understanding being integral to how we learn. This thesis asserts the inseparability of body and mind. Different conceptualisations of the body are examined, and assessed in terms of their usefulness in understanding the role of the body in learning and the need within education to posit an ontology that embraces both the body and the mind. A genealogy of the educative body is provided through an analysis of English syllabus documents within the New South Wales education system. An empirically-based study is conducted examining the pedagogies employed by six teachers and the ways in which disciplinary techniques they employ can contribute to their students’ acquisition of a scholarly habitus and their ability and desire to write.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The current thesis is a theoretical and empirical investigation of the foreign language classroom, conducted from a cross-national comparative perspective. The study is based on quantitative and qualitative data which were collected from students and teachers of German in selected universities of Ukraine and Australia. The following research questions were formulated: 1. What are the structure and objectives of the German language program at Ukrainian and Australian universities? 2. What are the peculiarities of the German language curriculum and teaching methodology in the universities of Ukraine and Australia? 3. What are students’ motives to study German in Ukraine and Australia? 4. What are students’ and teachers’ perceptions of the curriculum, content and teaching? 5. How do students themselves evaluate their present language skills, and those expected to be acquired by the end of the course? 6. What are the advantages and disadvantages in both education practices?
Each country’s distinctive social and pedagogical factors, such as language policy, attitudes towards languages and pedagogical tradition were taken into account.
The research was conducted at universities in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Lviv (Ukraine) and Melbourne (Australia). A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was adopted which included student and teacher questionnaires, interviews, classroom observations and study of departmental programs and policy documents. In general terms, it was revealed that: Substantial differences exist in areas such as curriculum, teaching methods and approaches, content and student motivation for studying German. Although education systems in Australia and Ukraine are different, learners in both countries have similar aims and expectations from their language course, and their perceptions of a good language course are also similar. Students in both countries expressed an urgent need for an increase in the communicative component and greater exposure to practical, up-to-date lexical and grammar material in order to be able to communicate effectively. In Australia there is a mismatch between the course objectives and content outlined in the program and what is really taught in the class In Ukraine, a shift has occurred towards more practice-oriented and integrated language learning/teaching; however there is a great need for the creation of better conditions for acquisition of communicative skills and up-to-date vocabulary.

M.Comm.
This dissertation explores the effects of mother tongue interference during the process of the acquisition of English as a second language. The Contrastive Analysis and Error Analysis hypotheses are presented and the concepts of interlanguage explored. The limitations and strengths of Contrastive and Error Analysis hypotheses are highlighted. Research on errors that are caused by mother tongue interference is reviewed. A sample of error analysis in the written work of English second language learners at primary school level is undertaken. Errors resulting from mother tongue interference are identified at lexical, semantic, phonological and syntactical level. Various methods and approaches in the teaching of English are identified in accordance with their relevance to outcomes based education. An Eclectic Solution is suggested to facilitate remedial intervention. The Input Hypothesis validity is explored and related to the communicative approach. Examples of lesson material to address some of the issues are included to assist educators.

M.A.
South Africa's new political dispensation has brought language issues to the fore. The focus of this study is language attitudes and languages usage both within and outside the school environment, in the greater Johannesburg area. In order to achieve the task a 'triangulation approach' was adopted. This approach embraced theoretical principles, indepth interviews with ten leading figures in education in Gauteng and interviews with primary pupils', parents' and teachers' using appropriate questionnaires. The objectives of the study were threefold, firstly to provide a linguistic description of pupils, parents and teachers choice of languages in different situations. Secondly, to describe and explain the ambivalent, polyvalent language attitudes of some of the respondents. Lastly, to make recommendations for language teaching from the data. The findings of the study highlighted the need for the development of suitable bilingual programmes in schools and underscored the educational difficulties experienced by English second language students.

M.Ed. (Educational Linguistics)
This study sets out to examine the use of mother tongue education in one Grade 3 classroom in the foundation phase in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The focus is on learners’ and parents’ whose children are in that Grade 3 classroom as well as educators’ experiences of the use of mother tongue education. The aims of this study were to examine how, when, why and by whom mother tongue is used in the Grade 3 classroom and to examine how mother tongue medium of instruction can contribute to the teaching of literacy in the Grade 3 classroom. With these aims in mind, data were collected from the Grade 3 teacher and the Grade 3 learners as well as the parents of these learners. A qualitative approach was used to obtain data from the Grade 3 teacher, five Grade 3 learners as well as parents of these learners. Classroom observations and semi-structured interviews were used as means of collecting data. Interviews were conducted one-on-one and 6 lessons on Literacy as a learning area in the foundation phase were observed. The findings in this study reveal that the mother tongue, Xitsonga was the dominant language during classroom activities. This was influenced by the learners’ inability to use the second language. It is also revealed that the teacher and learners as well as parents have positive attitude towards the mother tongue as a language of learning and teaching in schools. However, some parents still believe that their children should be taught through English as the medium of instruction hoping that they will be able to secure better jobs. Another finding is that not all learners’ language needs are catered for in black African schools, hence, such learners experience difficulties in learning through a language which is not their mother tongue. On the basis of the findings, the study recommends that the Department of Education should support the use of the mother tongue in the L2 classroom in order to strengthen literacy during early learning.

The study sought to explore possibilities of using ChiShona as a medium of instruction in the teaching of Mathematics in primary schools. The aim was to compare the use of English as a medium of instruction with ChiShona as medium of instruction in the teaching and learning of Mathematics to Grade 4 class. The other objective was to examine the people’s attitudes towards the use of mother tongue instruction in the teaching and learning of Mathematics in Zimbabwe primary schools. A practical teaching experiment was used to investigate the feasibility of using ChiShona as medium of instruction in the teaching and learning of Mathematics to Grade 4 class. In addition a descriptive survey research design which used questionnaires and interviews as data collection methods was employed for its usefulness in exploratory studies. A total of 750 people participated in the research and these were 40 Grade 4 learners (used for teaching experiment) 260 teachers/lecturers, 250 parents and 200 college/university learners. Data gathered was subjected to both quantitative and qualitative analysis resulting in data triangulation for validation. Major findings of the research indicated that the use of ChiShona as a medium of instruction in the teaching of Mathematics to primary school children is possible and that the use of the mother tongue instruction (ChiShona) impacted positively in the teaching of Mathematics to Grade 4 learners. The use of ChiShona as a medium of instruction in teaching Mathematics was effective and comparatively the learners who used ChiShona performed better than those who used English as a medium of instruction. However the research further concluded that people preferred that English remain the only medium of instruction from primary up to university level as English offers them better opportunities for employment compared to ChiShona. The study concludes that the continued use of English as medium of instruction means that African languages such as ChiShona will remain underdeveloped and fail to find their way in the classrooms as languages of instruction in education. The study finally recommends the need for an all-inclusive multi-lingual policy that uplifts the status of indigenous languages and their literature without annihilating English.
African Languages
D. Litt et Phil.

A research report is submitted to the School of Education, Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education by combination of coursework and research Johannesburg, 2016.
This qualitative study aimed to understand teachers’ identities and teaching practices in the Gauteng Primary Literacy and Mathematics Strategy. The research, which is a case study, was conducted with six Foundation Phase teachers, which included two Heads of Department (HODs). The setting of the study was a primary school that was declared underperforming in 2013, after the low performance in Annual National Assessments. The prescriptive syllabus type of curriculum known as the Gauteng Province Literacy and Mathematics Strategy (GPLMS) was implemented due to the low Grade six Mathematics results. Semi-structured interviews were the primary research instruments used to generate data on how teachers understood their identities and teaching practices in a GPLMS school. A major finding was that teachers renegotiated their identities in order to deal with the changing teaching context that came with GPLMS. The study identified three groups of teachers who dealt with the changes in different ways: their learning trajectories and communities of practice, along with their personal identities shaped the ways in which they responded strategy. The teachers had a good sense of teacher identity before being declared underperforming. Another major finding was that teachers changed their pedagogical approaches order to teach according to the detailed, prescriptive lesson plans. What is problematic is that some teachers resorted to skipping some parts of the content, prescribed in the lesson plans, in order to finish the syllabus on time. Of great concern is that none of the participants received training on using the GPLMS or even CAPS from their district: teachers ought to have sound pedagogical knowledge that can ultimately afford epistemological access to the learners. Research on teachers’ identities and understanding teaching practices cannot be ignored since they teachers at the forefront of knowledge delivery.
LG2018

The Zimbabwean Education Act of 1987 stated that English was the official language of learning and teaching (LoLT) from grade four upwards. From grade three downwards, the mother tongue was to be used. That Education Act was later amended in 2006, to extend the use of the mother tongue up to grade seven. As a college lecturer, I have observed that there is tension between policy and practice. English and indigenous languages are vying for supremacy as the LoLT from as early as the Early Childhood Development (ECD) level. For the majority of these learners, English is a second language. This research aims to investigate problems emanating from the use of English as a second language (ESL) in learning and teaching Environmental Science (ES) at primary school level. Its objectives are to investigate the usefulness of the language policy currently in use in Zimbabwe as well as to investigate empirically, how grades four to seven teachers and their pupils communicate in class during ES lessons; and identify problems resulting from the use of ESL during ES lessons at primary school level and suggest solutions to these problems. I purposively chose ES because I developed interest in that subject when I taught it at college level where I observed many students teaching it for almost three decades. Most of the pupils these students taught struggled to communicate in ESL. My research was not intended to test existing theory. Therefore I chose an inductive (qualitative) approach. I adopted the phenomenological case study in which I collected data from the natural setting, namely: three purposively selected primary schools. I did my pilot study at the fourth school. I used four methods of data collection, namely: direct observation, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and document analysis. The participants were grades four to seven teachers and their pupils. Findings of this study show that pupils were not willing to participate in class oral discourse. When teachers asked questions, pupils usually gave one-word answers. Teachers and pupils spoke the same first language (L1). So, when they failed to express themselves coherently in English, they code-switched to their L1. When that happened, most of the pupils were eager to talk. They gave correct responses in their L1. Group discussions were very lively when they were held in the pupils’ L1. But when teachers instructed the pupils to discuss in English, many pupils were silenced because of their limited English proficiency (LEP). It was very evident that ESL was a barrier to the learning of ES for many learners. Pupils faced conceptual and communication problems because most of them were not yet proficient enough to use ESL effectively to learn ES. Participants welcomed code-switching to L1 as a solution to their limited English proficiency.
Educational Studies
D. Phil. (Education)

Thesis (M.A. (English Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2015.
This study explores reading comprehension in rural and urban schools. The study was conducted against the background that it takes five to seven years for second language (L2) learners to become proficient in the English language. Generally, learners in rural schools use the mother tongue as the language of schooling. English is introduced only as a medium of instruction at Grade Four, although this is not often implemented or applied. By contrast, in urban schools the medium of instruction is English from as early as Grade R. As a result of this discrepancy in practice, learners in urban and rural schools have different experiences. This study was conducted to gain more insight into the reading comprehension and reading preferences of learners in both rural and urban schools, especially since there is a mismatch between the language policy on paper and the language realities on the ground. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance was used to measure differences, determine mean scores and analyse tendencies of preferences. The total mean score for reading comprehension obtained by learners from Grade Four Rural (GFR) was 1.48, whereas the mean score for Grade Four Urban (GFU) was 1.92. From these scores, it is evident that the learners from GFR gave comparatively more wrong answers than their counterparts from GFU. Similarly, the results from the Grade Seven learners showed that there was a significant difference in mean scores (or performance) between Grade Seven Rural (GSR) and Grade Seven Urban (GSU) since the mean score for GSR was 1.37, while that for GSU was 2.24. The English language was preferred by the majority of the learners. The results of the study show that learners lack adequate proficiency in English second language to enable them to use it solely and effectively as a medium of instruction and learning. In addition, a low reading comprehension performance was noted, with the majority of the participants scoring below 50%. Recommendations are provided to improve the reading comprehension and performance of the learners.

M.Ed. (Educational Linguistics)
This study focuses on the pedagogy of essay-writing in five randomly chosen rural Northern Province senior secondary schools. The aim of the research was to investigate the low standard of essay-writing of ten English Second Language Standard 10 students from the five schools. The case study design which included mostly qualitative methods was used for data collection. The qualitative research methodology was applied by the researcher in order to look closely at the research sample through interviews and the 'raw' data of the essays. The rationale for the study was that students in rural Northern Province schools produce a low standard of essays, and that this presupposes that these students lack the knowledge about and language skills. The theoretical background was derived from literature on second language learning, with special emphasis on writing. It was concluded from the theory framework constructed that both the students and the teachers in rural areas probably lack the skills needed to improve both the learning and teaching of essay writing. The research sample consisted of ten students who were interviewed and whose essays were collected for later analysis. In addition, five teachers were also interviewed and one was observed teaching essay-writing. The essays indicated that the students' grammar and other writing skills were limited, that the type of topics given to them were mainly too abstract and removed from their life experience, and that the teachers concentrated mostly on error-correction, and not on the content, when marking the students' essays. In the final analysis, a model on 'teaching expository writing' is presented as a guideline for teachers in one area of essay-writing.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg for the Degree of Master of Arts.
Phonological awareness, or the ability to manipulate sounds, has been found to be highly correlated with the acquisition of reading skills. This awareness may be influenced by the orthography or language system in which the child is learning to read. In addition, different aspects of phonological awareness may also apply to different stages of reading development. This study found that depth of orthography does not seem to influence initial levels of phonological awareness. After two years of reading instruction, readers of a transparent orthography are better at phoneme segmentation and blending and reading nonwords than readers of an opaque orthography. Afrikaans children appear to begin leading in an alphabetic stage using a nonlexical strategy of grapheme-phoneme conversion. English beginner readers seem to start reading using predominantly a logographic strategy of visual word recognition. It also seems that some levels of phonological awareness such as onset/rime detection and syllable manipulation are acquired spontaneously by prereaders of both languages, but that the manipulation of phonemic units is dependent on the acquisition of literacy. The introduction of literacy training and/or the maturation of the children's phonological systems results in a change to a greater awareness of small phonemic units than larger units.
AC2017

After independence, in 1990, the government of the Republic of Namibia perceived the need to replace the old Language-in-Education Policy (LiEP) for schools with a new one that promotes the use of the mother tongue alongside English in schools and colleges of education. Consequently, the new Language-in-Education Policy was implemented in all 13 educational regions. The aim of this study is to evaluate the implementation of this policy in the upper primary schools in Oshana Region. The findings of the study were analysed according to relevant literature to determine if they were in line with the theories of language policy evaluation. At least five major findings emerged from this study that are described in relation to relevant themes, namely; home language, language preferences, language practices, policy awareness and government support. The study revealed that the majority of learners in Oshana Region are Oshikwambi speakers, followed by Oshikwanyama speakers. In addition, the majority of teachers who teach Oshindonga are also not Oshindonga speakers. Furthermore, the study revealed that the majority of learners, teachers and principals preferred English as LoLT to Oshiwambo. Another major finding of the study is that despite the fact that English is the LoLT, both teachers and learners are still struggling to communicate in English. In general, successful communication often takes place in Oshiwambo. The study revealed that the majority of teachers, learners and parents are neither aware of the new LiEP nor were they consulted prior to its implementation. In addition, the LiEP related materials are not available in most of the schools. Finally, the study found that there is a serious shortage of textbooks and well qualified teachers in African languages. This shortage of textbooks prevents teachers from giving adequate homework to learners. Consequently, the LiEP cannot be successfully implemented. A number of recommendations are made regarding the shortage of textbooks in Oshiwambo, the use of the mother tongue as LoLT from Grade 1 to Grade 7 and the recognition of other Oshiwambo dialects. Ongoing consultation and awareness should be a vital part of the review process.
Linguistics
M.A. (Sociolinguistics)

This study investigates whether it is possible and necessary to acquire a second and third language simultaneously in our present multicultural, multilingual South Africa with its eleven official languages. The qualitative, descriptive empirical research was executed for the duration of the first school term within a multiracial grade four class at Richmond Primary School in KwaZulu Natal. Afrikaans and Zulu were taught in separate periods, simultaneously, for the exact number oflessons per week, with the exact same content, method and teacher. The success ofthe research, rested on maintaining absolute reality within the normal daily routine of the school day, in order to see if it is possible to acquire two languages simultaneously. The very positive outcomes of this research cannot be generalized, but rather indicate possible tendencies that it is indeed possible to acquire two languages simultaneously.
Psychology of Education
M. Ed. (with specialisation in Guidance and Counselling)

The decision by some public primary schools situated in the King Cetshwayo District, in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, to use English as language of learning and teaching (LoLT) in teaching isiZulu-speaking learners in Grade 1 classrooms, is a matter of concern. English is not the learners’ home language and the practice is also against the policy of the Department of Basic Education. In considering the recommendation by the South African Constitution, Acts and language policies of the country, it is expected to see all Foundation Phase (Grade R-3) learners being taught in their home language. The aim of this study was to explore the use of English as LoLT in teaching Grade 1 isiZulu-speaking learners. The interpretivist/constructivist paradigm underpinned the study as did the Language Acquisition Theory proposed by Skinner and Teacher Efficacy Theory by Bandura. This study adopted a qualitative multiple-case study as it aimed to explore the use of English as the LoLT in teaching Grade 1 isiZulu-speaking learners. One-on-one, semi-structured interviews, observations and document analysis were used as data collection instruments. A purposive sampling of six Grade 1 teachers from three public primary schools was employed. Thematic data analysis method was used to analyse collected data. Data collected were analysed, categorised into codes and themes were identified. Overall, it was found that the communities regard the schools, offering English as the LoLT in teaching Grade 1 IsiZulu-speaking learners, as the best performing schools, though the language policy was not taken into consideration and the teachers are challenged in using the target language in their teaching. It was found that five Grade 1 teachers used English in conjunction with isiZulu and only one teacher used a minimal amount of isiZulu to clarify concepts for learners to understand. It was concluded that some teachers found themselves frustrated in using English as the LoLT due to lack of proper mentoring and support from the School Management Teams (SMTs). It is recommended that the provincial Department of Education, under the leadership of the Member of the Executive Council (MEC), should review the language policy and give some clarity to ensure that schools receive guidance on how to choose the most appropriate LoLT. It is also recommended that the SMTs should provide the proper mentorship programmes, especially for teachers who are new in the school where English is used as the LoLT.
Qeto ea likolo tse ling tsa mathomo tsa sechaba tse seterekeng sa King Cetshwayo, KwaZulu-Natal, Afrika Boroa, ho sebelisa Senyesemane e le puo ea ho ithuta le ho ruta (LoLT) ho ruta bana ba buang Senyesemane lihlopheng tsa 1 tsa phapusi, ke taba ea ho ameha. Senyesemane hase puo ea lehae ea liithuti ebile mokhoa ona o khahlanong le leano la Lefapha la thuto ea motheo. Ha re hlahloba khothatso ea Molao-motheo oa Afrika Boroa, Liketso le lipuo tsa puo tsa naha, ho lebeletsoe ho bona liithuti tsohle tsa thuto ea Sehlopha sa Motheo (R-3) li rutoa ka puo ea habo bona. Sepheo sa thuto ena e ne e le ho hlahloba tšebeliso ea Senyesemane joaloka LoLT ho ruta barutoana ba 1 ba buang Senyesemane. Paradigm ea li-interpretivist / constructivist e ile ea tšehetsa thuto joaloka Sephiri sa Thekiso ea Lipuo e hlalositsoeng ke Skinner le Teacher Efficacy Theory ea Bandura. Phuputso ena e ile ea amohela thuto e nang le mekhoa e metle e le hore e hlahlobe tšebeliso ea Senyesemane jwale ka leleme la ho ruta barutoana ba 1 ba buang IsiZulu. E mong le e mong ho ea ho e mong, lipuisano tse sa tšoaneng, litlhaloso le tlhahlobo ea litokomane li ile tsa sebelisoa e le lisebelisoa tsa ho bokella data. Sampula e hloekileng ea basoue ba tšeletseng ba likhaolo ho tloha likolong tse tharo tsa sechaba tsa pele e ne e sebelisoa. Tsela ea ts'ebetso e sebeliselitsoe ho hlahloba lintlha tse bokelitsoeng. Lintlha tse bokelitsoeng li ile tsa hlahlojoa, tsa aroloa ka mekhoa le lihlooho tse fumanoeng. Ka kakaretso, ho fumanoe hore sechaba se nka likolo, se fana ka Senyesemane e le leleme la ho ruta le ho ithuta lithuto tsa mphato wa pele wa barutoana ba Sezulu, e le likolo tse ntle ka ho fetisisa, le hoja polelo ea puo e sa hlokomeloe 'me basoue ba phephetsoa ho sebelisa sepheo puo ha ba ruta. Ho fumanoe hore mesuoe e mehlano ea Bakala 1 e sebelisitse Senyesemane hammoho le Senyesemane mme mosuoe a le mong feela o sebelisitse Senyesemane se fokolang ho hlakisa maikutlo a hore baithuti ba utloisise. Ho ile ha fihleloa qeto ea hore basuoe ba bang ba ile ba iphumana ba tsielehile ha ba sebelisa Senyesemane e le LoLT ka lebaka la ho hloka tataiso e viii nepahetseng le ts'ehetso ea Lihlopha tsa Tsamaiso ea Sekolo. Ho kgothaletswa hore Lefapha la Thuto la profinse, tlas'a boeta-pele ba Lekhotla la Tsamaiso (MEC), le lokela ho hlahloba leano la puo le ho fana ka ho hlaka ho netefatsa hore likolo li fumana tataiso mabapi le mokhoa oa ho khetha LoLT e nepahetseng ka ho fetisisa. Ho boetse ho kgothaletswa hore basebeletsi ba SMTs ba fane ka ts'ebetso e nepahetseng ea ho fana ka ts'ebetso, haholo-holo ho mesuoe e mecha sekolong moo Senyesemane se sebelisoang e le LoLT.
Isinqumo sezinye izikole zamabanga aphansi emphakathini wesiyingi iKing Cetshwayo, KwaZulu-Natali, eNingizimu Afrika, sokusebenzisa isiNgisi njengolimi lokufunda nokufundisa (LoLT) ekufundiseni abafundi beBanga 1 abakhuluma isiZulu, kuyindaba yokukhathazeka. IsiNgisi akulona ulimi lwasekhaya lwalaba bafundi kanti futhi lesi senzo siphambene nenqubomgomo yoMnyango Wezemfundo Eyisisekelo. Uma ubhekisisa izincomo zomthethosisekelo waseNingizimu Afrika, imithetho nezinqubomgomo zolimi lwezwe, kulindeleke ukuthi bonke abafundi bamabanga aphansi (Grade R-3) bafundiswe ngolimi lwabo lwasekhaya. Inhloso yalolu cwaningo kwakuwukuhlola ukusetshenziselwa isiNgisi njengolimi lokufunda nokufundisa (LoLT) ekufundiseni abafundi beBanga 1 abakhuluma isiZulu. I-interpretivist / constructivist paradigm yalekelela lolu cwaningo njengoba kwenza i-Language Acquisition Theory ehlongozwa u-Skinner Kanye ne-Teacher Efficacy Theory ka-Bandura. Lesi sifundo sithatha uhlelo lwe qualitative multiple-case study njengoba sihlose ukucwaninga ukusetshenziswa kwesiNgisi njengolimi lokufunda nokufundisa lapho kufundiswa abafundi beBanga 1 abakhuluma isiZulu. Izingxoxo zomuntu nomuntu kusetshenzisw imibuzo ehlelwe kahle, ukubuka lapho kufundiswa kanye nokuhlaziywa kwamabhuku kwasetshenziswa njengamathuluzi okuqoqa ulwazi. Isampula elicacile labafundisi abayisithupha beBanga 1, abavela ezikoleni ezintathu zamabanga aphansi lasetshenziswa. Indlela yokuhlaziya ulwazi ye-Thematic yasetshenziselwa ukuhlaziya ulwazi olwaqoqwa. Ulwazi olwaqoqwa lwahlaziywa, lwahlukaniswa ngamakhodi nezindikimba. Ngokujwayelekile, kwatholakala ukuthi imiphakathi ibheka izikole, ezihlinzeka isiNgisi njengolimi lokufunda nokufundisa (LoLT) ekufundiseni abafundi beBanga 1 abakhuluma IsiZulu, njengezikole ezenza kahle kakhulu, nakuba inqubomgomo yolimi ingabhekiwe futhi othisha behlangabezana nobunzima lapho besebenzisa lolu limi olukhethiwe ekufundiseni kwabo. Kwatholakala ukuthi othisha abahlanu beBanga 1 basebenzisa isiNgisi ngokuhlanganyela nesiZulu kanti uthisha oyedwa kuphela wasebenzisa isiZulu esincane kakhulu lapho ecacisa imibono ukuze abafundi baqonde. Kwatholakala ukuthi abanye othisha bazithola bexakekile lapho besebenzisa isiNgisi njengolimi lokufunda nokufundisa (LoLT) ngenxa yokungatholi ukulekelelwa okufanele kanye nokusekwa amathimba okuphatha izikole (SMTs). Kunconywa ukuthi uMnyango Wezemfundo wesifundazwe, ngaphansi kobuholi beLungu loMkhandlu oPhethe (MEC), ubuyekeze inqubomgomo yolimi, ubuye unikeze izikole inqubo ecacile ukuqinisekisa ukuthi izikole zikhetha ulimi lokufunda nokufundisa ngendlela okuyi yona yona. Kuyanconywa futhi ukuthi amathimba aphethe izikole ahlinzeke ngezinhlelo ezinhle zokulekelela othisa, ikakhulukazi othisha abasha esikoleni lapho isiNgisi sisetshenziswa khona njengolimi lokufunda nokufundisa.
Curriculum and Instructional Studies
M. Ed. (Curriculum and Instructional Studies)

This study focused on multilingualism as the primary linguistic cognitive objective of investigation. An integrative approach focused on second language linguistics in order to acquire a background in the cognitive foundations of language and research methodology and theoretical models for the study of phenomena, such as language planning in multicultural societies and language and ethnic diversity. To design cognitive reading methods, a literature survey was conducted regarding the latest developments in the theories pertaining to cognitive formulas of the second language learner. A quantitative experimental study was conducted, data gathered was scrutinised and a cognitive reading programme was experimentally administered to twenty primary school learners. The responses were coded, the data captured and statistically computed. Conclusions indicated that cognitive reading materials were practical, valid and reliable. Cognitive formulas hold the potential of contributing to the understanding of cognitive reading development in second language proficiency in the Foundation Phase of schooling.
Teacher Education
M. Ed. (Didactics)

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Este estudio analiza las percepciones de mejoría en el español y de conocimiento cultural de los participantes en un programa de ayudantes de inglés, Auxiliares de Conversación, mientras trabajaron en escuelas primarias y secundarias en varias regiones de España. Los participantes provenían de varios países anglófonos, entre ellos los Estados Unidos, el Reino Unido, Canadá, Nueva Zelanda, Australia. Varios participantes rellenaron encuestas a través de internet para evaluar su crecimiento lingüístico y cultural durante el programa, experiencia en los centros educativos y alojamiento. Además, plantearon varias sugerencias para el programa para futuros auxiliares y profesores. Seis auxiliares fueron entrevistados sobre los mismos temas en mayor profundidad.

South Africa is a multilingual country and this has certain implications on the development of cognitive-linguistic skills such as phonological processing (amongst others), which are essential for reading development. Research has, in the past, not adequately addressed the development of, and relationship between, a broad range of phonological processing and reading skills in South Africa. The study investigates the relationship between phonological processing skills and reading development in Northern Sotho-English bilingual children. Ninety-eight participants, divided into group 1 (n=48) and group 2 (n=50) based on their Language of Learning Language of Teaching were sampled. Group 1 received literacy instruction in Northern Sotho, whilst group 2 in English. Participants were assessed using a battery of phonological processing tests and on reading abilities in English and Northern Sotho. Correlations, multiple regressions and multivariate analyses of variance were conducted. Findings revealed that phonological processing skills are essential in reading development in both the first and second language of the participants.
African Languages
M.A. (Linguistics)