Learners’ understanding of their linguistic resources as a basis for learning natural sciences
- Authors: Thorne, Rochelle Eugenia
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Linguistic analysis (Linguistics) , Science -- Study and teaching -- Methodology , Science -- Study and teaching (Elementary)
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64049 , vital:73646
- Description: With eleven official languages, South Africa is known for its multilingual environment. Despite this, the country's educational system heavily favours English and Afrikaans. Despite the varied linguistic backgrounds of learners, English continues to be used as the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT), which raises questions regarding fair access to education. Within the context of South Africa's constitution and policy frameworks, particularly the Language in Education Policy (LiEP), this study aims to investigate how group work activities in a Natural Sciences classroom can give learners an opportunity to mobilise their multilingual repertoires. Three formerly Afrikaans-medium high schools in the Northern Areas of Gqeberha, were the sites for this research which focuses on Grade Nine Natural Sciences learners. Through the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods such as questionnaires, classroom observations, and focus groups, the study explores how learners make use of their language resources to navigate science instruction in English. The results contest the idea that languages are distinct entities and show that learners use language interchangeably as a learning tool, a practice known as translanguaging. Group work becomes an important space in which learners exercise agency in language selection, enabling the link of dialogical, multilingual, and cultural responses. Sociocultural theory offers insights into group work relationships and provides the theoretical foundation for understanding how learners use language to understand scientific topics. Building on Gibbons' mode continuum (2003), which maps the shifts in discourse in classroom contexts from every day talk at the “here and now” to more specialized talk, the study also explored an expanded continuum which aimed at clarifying the nuances of language and cognitive progression among learners working in collaborative groups. This study adds to the conversation about language ideologies by recognising the ideologies of inclusion, access and identity which informed learners’ thinking and attitudes to language choice in education. Thus, the study emphasises the importance of a sophisticated comprehension of multilingual repertoires in the classroom. In order to better accommodate the changing linguistic patterns of multilingual learners, the study recommends re-evaluating language policies and encouraging educators to exploit the potential of group work to develop understanding of scientific concepts. , Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Education, School of Post Graduate Education, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
- Authors: Thorne, Rochelle Eugenia
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Linguistic analysis (Linguistics) , Science -- Study and teaching -- Methodology , Science -- Study and teaching (Elementary)
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64049 , vital:73646
- Description: With eleven official languages, South Africa is known for its multilingual environment. Despite this, the country's educational system heavily favours English and Afrikaans. Despite the varied linguistic backgrounds of learners, English continues to be used as the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT), which raises questions regarding fair access to education. Within the context of South Africa's constitution and policy frameworks, particularly the Language in Education Policy (LiEP), this study aims to investigate how group work activities in a Natural Sciences classroom can give learners an opportunity to mobilise their multilingual repertoires. Three formerly Afrikaans-medium high schools in the Northern Areas of Gqeberha, were the sites for this research which focuses on Grade Nine Natural Sciences learners. Through the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods such as questionnaires, classroom observations, and focus groups, the study explores how learners make use of their language resources to navigate science instruction in English. The results contest the idea that languages are distinct entities and show that learners use language interchangeably as a learning tool, a practice known as translanguaging. Group work becomes an important space in which learners exercise agency in language selection, enabling the link of dialogical, multilingual, and cultural responses. Sociocultural theory offers insights into group work relationships and provides the theoretical foundation for understanding how learners use language to understand scientific topics. Building on Gibbons' mode continuum (2003), which maps the shifts in discourse in classroom contexts from every day talk at the “here and now” to more specialized talk, the study also explored an expanded continuum which aimed at clarifying the nuances of language and cognitive progression among learners working in collaborative groups. This study adds to the conversation about language ideologies by recognising the ideologies of inclusion, access and identity which informed learners’ thinking and attitudes to language choice in education. Thus, the study emphasises the importance of a sophisticated comprehension of multilingual repertoires in the classroom. In order to better accommodate the changing linguistic patterns of multilingual learners, the study recommends re-evaluating language policies and encouraging educators to exploit the potential of group work to develop understanding of scientific concepts. , Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Education, School of Post Graduate Education, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
Seeing diplomatic constellations through diplomatic relations: an analysis of the positioning of Zimbabwe and the UK in Zimbabwean news articles
- Mvundura, Emaculate Musimeki
- Authors: Mvundura, Emaculate Musimeki
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Systemic functional linguistics , Critical discourse analysis Political aspects Zimbabwe , Linguistic analysis (Linguistics) , Journalism Language , Political media
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/432388 , vital:72866 , DOI 10.21504/10962/432389
- Description: This study examines the positioning of Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom (UK) in the language of news articles about diplomatic relations between the two countries published in two prominent Zimbabwean newspapers, The Herald and The Standard, between 2016 and 2020, using Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and Legitimation Code Theory (LCT). Zimbabwe's present diplomatic discourses are a product of its colonial and post-independence history. This thesis places The Herald and The Standard within the larger context of the Zimbabwean media landscape as a state-owned and a privately owned newspaper, respectively. It contends that the two newspapers influence the positioning of Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom in public spheres where readers engage with the news concerning diplomatic ties. The research begins with a corpus-based examination of 42 news articles published between 2016 and 2020 in The Herald and The Standard. The investigation identified several angles through which Zimbabwe and the UK are positioned in the coverage. Zimbabwe is positioned through reference to its reform agenda, intentions for free and fair elections, and its diplomatic re-engagement drive. The UK is positioned as a source of development funding and new trade agreements, while improved diplomatic relations and the removal of restrictive measures against Zimbabwe are anticipated. Fine-grained analysis was conducted on four articles, two from each newspaper, selected to reflect the trends found in the corpus analysis. The fine-grained analyses showed how linguistic resources contributed to the positioning of the UK and Zimbabwe. Complementary analyses of these articles were conducted using LCT and SFL to describe how readers' knowledge of diplomatic relations is built using language in The Herald and The Standard. The study used the concepts of constellations and cosmologies from LCT to demonstrate how diplomatic knowledge is built in these news articles. In the articles, the constellations are related to policies such as Zimbabwe's reform agenda, people (diplomats and government officials) and moral judgments. Both newspapers contain both positive and negative positioning of Zimbabwe and the UK. However, The Standard is generally critical of removing the UK's sanctions on Zimbabwe and of the Zimbabwean government's reform agenda. Meanwhile, The Herald justifies Zimbabwe's Fast-track Land Reform Programme as resulting from Britain's refusal to fund a land redistribution programme as per the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement. The use of SFL's Appraisal framework helps to examine the linguistic resources used by The Herald and The Standard to describe the positioning of the two countries in relation to each other. Lexical strings help to establish diplomatic positioning in the news articles. These couple with Appraisal to accomplish individuation and affiliation. Affect and Judgement resources revealed the decisions taken by the UK to solve the conflict by encouraging the implementation of a reform agenda by Zimbabwe. Negative evaluation is consistently used to disalign with sanctions. The emerging patterns in the data show that diplomats representing the UK affiliate with Zimbabwe's stated economic and political reforms, and the government of Zimbabwe affiliates with the new trade agreement between Zimbabwe and the UK. At the same time, the UK diplomats individuate away from human rights abuses and the Fast-track Land Reform Programme. Affiliation strengthens confidence in diplomatic ties between Zimbabwe and the UK because the emphasis is placed on restoring them despite the conditions attached. The Herald and The Standard position Zimbabwe as a reformed country ready to implement policies to improve citizens' lives and as a country violating human rights and the rule of law. They position the UK as asserting power over Zimbabwe, willing to resolve the crisis through its foreign policy, and credited for assisting Zimbabwe. This strengthens re-engagement in diplomatic relations and commercial trade between the UK and Zimbabwe. In light of these findings, Zimbabweans are encouraged to cultivate an awareness that enables them to reflect on the challenges associated with diplomatic discourses and the implications for critically analysing the re-engagement initiative. They can promote re-engagement by being cognisant of specific values portrayed in The Herald and The Standard and challenging these values in the light of policy transformation to revive the relations between the two countries. The re-engagement process requires a transformation in Zimbabwe's modus operandi to improve the country's positioning in the diplomatic relations between it and the UK. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 2023
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2023-10-13
- Authors: Mvundura, Emaculate Musimeki
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Systemic functional linguistics , Critical discourse analysis Political aspects Zimbabwe , Linguistic analysis (Linguistics) , Journalism Language , Political media
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/432388 , vital:72866 , DOI 10.21504/10962/432389
- Description: This study examines the positioning of Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom (UK) in the language of news articles about diplomatic relations between the two countries published in two prominent Zimbabwean newspapers, The Herald and The Standard, between 2016 and 2020, using Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and Legitimation Code Theory (LCT). Zimbabwe's present diplomatic discourses are a product of its colonial and post-independence history. This thesis places The Herald and The Standard within the larger context of the Zimbabwean media landscape as a state-owned and a privately owned newspaper, respectively. It contends that the two newspapers influence the positioning of Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom in public spheres where readers engage with the news concerning diplomatic ties. The research begins with a corpus-based examination of 42 news articles published between 2016 and 2020 in The Herald and The Standard. The investigation identified several angles through which Zimbabwe and the UK are positioned in the coverage. Zimbabwe is positioned through reference to its reform agenda, intentions for free and fair elections, and its diplomatic re-engagement drive. The UK is positioned as a source of development funding and new trade agreements, while improved diplomatic relations and the removal of restrictive measures against Zimbabwe are anticipated. Fine-grained analysis was conducted on four articles, two from each newspaper, selected to reflect the trends found in the corpus analysis. The fine-grained analyses showed how linguistic resources contributed to the positioning of the UK and Zimbabwe. Complementary analyses of these articles were conducted using LCT and SFL to describe how readers' knowledge of diplomatic relations is built using language in The Herald and The Standard. The study used the concepts of constellations and cosmologies from LCT to demonstrate how diplomatic knowledge is built in these news articles. In the articles, the constellations are related to policies such as Zimbabwe's reform agenda, people (diplomats and government officials) and moral judgments. Both newspapers contain both positive and negative positioning of Zimbabwe and the UK. However, The Standard is generally critical of removing the UK's sanctions on Zimbabwe and of the Zimbabwean government's reform agenda. Meanwhile, The Herald justifies Zimbabwe's Fast-track Land Reform Programme as resulting from Britain's refusal to fund a land redistribution programme as per the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement. The use of SFL's Appraisal framework helps to examine the linguistic resources used by The Herald and The Standard to describe the positioning of the two countries in relation to each other. Lexical strings help to establish diplomatic positioning in the news articles. These couple with Appraisal to accomplish individuation and affiliation. Affect and Judgement resources revealed the decisions taken by the UK to solve the conflict by encouraging the implementation of a reform agenda by Zimbabwe. Negative evaluation is consistently used to disalign with sanctions. The emerging patterns in the data show that diplomats representing the UK affiliate with Zimbabwe's stated economic and political reforms, and the government of Zimbabwe affiliates with the new trade agreement between Zimbabwe and the UK. At the same time, the UK diplomats individuate away from human rights abuses and the Fast-track Land Reform Programme. Affiliation strengthens confidence in diplomatic ties between Zimbabwe and the UK because the emphasis is placed on restoring them despite the conditions attached. The Herald and The Standard position Zimbabwe as a reformed country ready to implement policies to improve citizens' lives and as a country violating human rights and the rule of law. They position the UK as asserting power over Zimbabwe, willing to resolve the crisis through its foreign policy, and credited for assisting Zimbabwe. This strengthens re-engagement in diplomatic relations and commercial trade between the UK and Zimbabwe. In light of these findings, Zimbabweans are encouraged to cultivate an awareness that enables them to reflect on the challenges associated with diplomatic discourses and the implications for critically analysing the re-engagement initiative. They can promote re-engagement by being cognisant of specific values portrayed in The Herald and The Standard and challenging these values in the light of policy transformation to revive the relations between the two countries. The re-engagement process requires a transformation in Zimbabwe's modus operandi to improve the country's positioning in the diplomatic relations between it and the UK. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 2023
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2023-10-13
The invisible teacher: The teacher envisaged in the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) English First Additional Language (EFAL) Further Education and Training (FET) Phase
- Authors: Dowejko, Diane Agnieszka
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Educational sociology South Africa , Systemic functional linguistics , Curriculum-based assessment South Africa , Linguistic analysis (Linguistics) , Educational evaluation South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/406714 , vital:70301
- Description: Educational policy documents, which are intended to enlighten teachers about what they should teach and how they should assess learners, contain both language and knowledge. How this knowledge is construed through language may reveal the kind of teacher envisaged by the document, and the assumptions made regarding the dispositions of these educators. There is a plethora of research on the relationship between the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement for English First Additional Language in the Further Education and Training Phase (CAPS-EFAL) and its impact on the learner in the classroom, but little evidence of research related to how curriculum documents envisage the teacher, and linguistic research pertaining to CAPS-EFAL. This research aims to use linguistic analysis to discover how the teacher is envisaged in this document, while speaking to the broader subject of the relationship between teacher and curriculum policy. This study adopts a framework which inspects this language using Systemic Functional Linguistics to analyse language in relation to its functions in social contexts, and the instructional knowledge built in CAPS-EFAL through applying elements of Legitimation Code Theory, analysing processes of knowledge production and recontextualisation. An investigation of the language revealed assumptions that the envisaged teacher is one who is already highly trained in aspects of language teaching and classroom methodology and pedagogy. While the analysis also revealed a high level of guidance for the teacher, there was a strong focus on the knowledge within the curriculum, and several assumptions made regarding the teacher’s prior knowledge before encountering or utilising the document. The analysis also revealed that CAPS-EFAL acknowledges that the teacher requires a sound knowledge of technical terminology related to language teaching, as well as general classroom pedagogies and routines. In addition, the document assumes that the disposition of the teacher is one who can make decisions without the need for absolute confirmation or authority from curriculum documentation. Overall, the analysis revealed an élite code in terms of Specialization; CAPS-EFAL is therefore based on the legitimacy of both specialised knowledge and the disposition of the teacher. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
- Authors: Dowejko, Diane Agnieszka
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Educational sociology South Africa , Systemic functional linguistics , Curriculum-based assessment South Africa , Linguistic analysis (Linguistics) , Educational evaluation South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/406714 , vital:70301
- Description: Educational policy documents, which are intended to enlighten teachers about what they should teach and how they should assess learners, contain both language and knowledge. How this knowledge is construed through language may reveal the kind of teacher envisaged by the document, and the assumptions made regarding the dispositions of these educators. There is a plethora of research on the relationship between the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement for English First Additional Language in the Further Education and Training Phase (CAPS-EFAL) and its impact on the learner in the classroom, but little evidence of research related to how curriculum documents envisage the teacher, and linguistic research pertaining to CAPS-EFAL. This research aims to use linguistic analysis to discover how the teacher is envisaged in this document, while speaking to the broader subject of the relationship between teacher and curriculum policy. This study adopts a framework which inspects this language using Systemic Functional Linguistics to analyse language in relation to its functions in social contexts, and the instructional knowledge built in CAPS-EFAL through applying elements of Legitimation Code Theory, analysing processes of knowledge production and recontextualisation. An investigation of the language revealed assumptions that the envisaged teacher is one who is already highly trained in aspects of language teaching and classroom methodology and pedagogy. While the analysis also revealed a high level of guidance for the teacher, there was a strong focus on the knowledge within the curriculum, and several assumptions made regarding the teacher’s prior knowledge before encountering or utilising the document. The analysis also revealed that CAPS-EFAL acknowledges that the teacher requires a sound knowledge of technical terminology related to language teaching, as well as general classroom pedagogies and routines. In addition, the document assumes that the disposition of the teacher is one who can make decisions without the need for absolute confirmation or authority from curriculum documentation. Overall, the analysis revealed an élite code in terms of Specialization; CAPS-EFAL is therefore based on the legitimacy of both specialised knowledge and the disposition of the teacher. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
Literacy, orality and recontextualization in the parliament of the Republic of South Africa : an ethnographic study
- Authors: Siebörger, Ian
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: South Africa. Parliament (1994- ) -- Language , Bill drafting -- South Africa , South Africa -- Languages -- Political aspects , Sociolinguistics -- South Africa , Language and languages -- Variation , Linguistic analysis (Linguistics) , Functionalism (Linguistics) , Systemic grammar
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2384 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016140
- Description: In parliaments, the tasks of drafting legislation and conducting oversight are accomplished by means of complex chains of spoken, written and multimodal texts. In these genre chains, information is recontextualized from one text to another before being debated in sittings of the houses of parliament. This study employs the point of view afforded by linguistic ethnography to investigate critically the ways in which meanings are recontextualized in one section of such a genre chain, namely the process by which committees of South Africa's National Assembly oversee the budgets of government departments and state-owned entities. It does this to identify possible sources of communication difficulties in this process and suggest ways in which these can be minimized. In so doing, it develops a theoretical model of the discursive effects of recontextualization informed by Latour's (1987) notion of black-boxing as well as Maton's (2011) Legitimation Code Theory. This model uses Interactional Sociolinguistics and elements of Systemic Functional Linguistics, including APPRAISAL and Transitivity as tools to describe the realization of these effects in language. This study finds that ideational and interpersonal meanings are condensed and decondensed at particular points in the genre chain in ways that lead to some MPs’ voices being recontextualized more accurately than others’. It also shows that common sources of communication difficulties in the committee process include differences in political background and understandings of committee procedure and participant roles. It recommends that representatives of departments and entities reporting to the committees should receive a fuller prebriefing on their roles; that MPs should receive training on asking clear, focused questions; and that the role of committee secretaries as procedural advisors should be strengthened.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Siebörger, Ian
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: South Africa. Parliament (1994- ) -- Language , Bill drafting -- South Africa , South Africa -- Languages -- Political aspects , Sociolinguistics -- South Africa , Language and languages -- Variation , Linguistic analysis (Linguistics) , Functionalism (Linguistics) , Systemic grammar
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2384 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016140
- Description: In parliaments, the tasks of drafting legislation and conducting oversight are accomplished by means of complex chains of spoken, written and multimodal texts. In these genre chains, information is recontextualized from one text to another before being debated in sittings of the houses of parliament. This study employs the point of view afforded by linguistic ethnography to investigate critically the ways in which meanings are recontextualized in one section of such a genre chain, namely the process by which committees of South Africa's National Assembly oversee the budgets of government departments and state-owned entities. It does this to identify possible sources of communication difficulties in this process and suggest ways in which these can be minimized. In so doing, it develops a theoretical model of the discursive effects of recontextualization informed by Latour's (1987) notion of black-boxing as well as Maton's (2011) Legitimation Code Theory. This model uses Interactional Sociolinguistics and elements of Systemic Functional Linguistics, including APPRAISAL and Transitivity as tools to describe the realization of these effects in language. This study finds that ideational and interpersonal meanings are condensed and decondensed at particular points in the genre chain in ways that lead to some MPs’ voices being recontextualized more accurately than others’. It also shows that common sources of communication difficulties in the committee process include differences in political background and understandings of committee procedure and participant roles. It recommends that representatives of departments and entities reporting to the committees should receive a fuller prebriefing on their roles; that MPs should receive training on asking clear, focused questions; and that the role of committee secretaries as procedural advisors should be strengthened.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
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