Background: The evolution in digital technologies has had an enormous impact on traditional copyright notions. Works in digital form have uniform characteristics and these works can be copied, distributed and stored with ease.Objectives: The focus of this article was how to attain a balance between the need to promote access to works and therefore knowledge and learning, on the one hand, and the protection of the interests of copyright holders, on the other.Method: Technological protection measures (TPMs) are applied to copyright works in digital form to curb infringement. The authors explore the extent to which TPMs impact on access the knowledge and learning.Results: The findings of this article suggest a need for possible countermeasures in promoting knowledge and literacy through legislative reform that address the needs of creators and users in developing communities.Conclusion: The authors conclude that TPMs may hinder data literacy, access to works, teaching and learning, particularly in developing communities. For example, recent attempts to revise South African copyright law have not attained a balanced approach.
{"title":"The impact of digital copyright law and policy on access to knowledge and learning","authors":"T. Pistorius, Odirachukwu Stephen Mwim","doi":"10.4102/RW.V10I1.196","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/RW.V10I1.196","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The evolution in digital technologies has had an enormous impact on traditional copyright notions. Works in digital form have uniform characteristics and these works can be copied, distributed and stored with ease.Objectives: The focus of this article was how to attain a balance between the need to promote access to works and therefore knowledge and learning, on the one hand, and the protection of the interests of copyright holders, on the other.Method: Technological protection measures (TPMs) are applied to copyright works in digital form to curb infringement. The authors explore the extent to which TPMs impact on access the knowledge and learning.Results: The findings of this article suggest a need for possible countermeasures in promoting knowledge and literacy through legislative reform that address the needs of creators and users in developing communities.Conclusion: The authors conclude that TPMs may hinder data literacy, access to works, teaching and learning, particularly in developing communities. For example, recent attempts to revise South African copyright law have not attained a balanced approach.","PeriodicalId":42041,"journal":{"name":"Reading & Writing-Journal of the Reading Association of South Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2019-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4102/RW.V10I1.196","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48882988","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Background: Writing is among the most important skills, and globally it has received more emphasis in literature on language teaching than reading, speaking and listening. However, a paucity of studies is observed in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in contexts where English is being taught as an additional or foreign language, as is the case in Rwanda. Research shows that learners who can write well in different genres and for different purposes tend to do well in all curriculum subjects and subsequently beyond school education. The key challenges are the inadequacy of materials and teachers’ inability to teach writing well, especially through distance education programmes.Objectives: This study investigates the effectiveness of materials used at the University of Rwanda-College of Education’s Distance Education programme to train high school teachers on writing pedagogy for English teaching.Method: The study adopted a qualitative approach to report on the findings from textual, document analysis of distance education materials, argumentative essays and focus group discussions with 80 of 599 in-service teachers, who responded to designed and redesigned sections on writing pedagogy.Results: The findings indicate that teachers’ knowledge and skills in both writing and writing pedagogy are not addressed effectively by the materials designed. This negatively affected the quality of their own writing abilities and those of their students.Conclusion: The article recommends reconceptualisation of distance education materials to equip in-service teachers with propositional knowledge and procedural knowledge on writing pedagogy.
{"title":"Learning to teach writing through a distance education programme: Experiences of Rwandan secondary school English teachers","authors":"Epimaque Niyibizi, E. Sibomana, J. Perumal","doi":"10.4102/RW.V10I1.206","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/RW.V10I1.206","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Writing is among the most important skills, and globally it has received more emphasis in literature on language teaching than reading, speaking and listening. However, a paucity of studies is observed in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in contexts where English is being taught as an additional or foreign language, as is the case in Rwanda. Research shows that learners who can write well in different genres and for different purposes tend to do well in all curriculum subjects and subsequently beyond school education. The key challenges are the inadequacy of materials and teachers’ inability to teach writing well, especially through distance education programmes.Objectives: This study investigates the effectiveness of materials used at the University of Rwanda-College of Education’s Distance Education programme to train high school teachers on writing pedagogy for English teaching.Method: The study adopted a qualitative approach to report on the findings from textual, document analysis of distance education materials, argumentative essays and focus group discussions with 80 of 599 in-service teachers, who responded to designed and redesigned sections on writing pedagogy.Results: The findings indicate that teachers’ knowledge and skills in both writing and writing pedagogy are not addressed effectively by the materials designed. This negatively affected the quality of their own writing abilities and those of their students.Conclusion: The article recommends reconceptualisation of distance education materials to equip in-service teachers with propositional knowledge and procedural knowledge on writing pedagogy.","PeriodicalId":42041,"journal":{"name":"Reading & Writing-Journal of the Reading Association of South Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2019-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4102/RW.V10I1.206","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46978092","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Background: This small-scale study investigated English vocabulary exposure from graded readers and teacher talk in Grade 3 classrooms in poorly resourced township schools in South Africa. Vocabulary is one of the key building blocks for becoming a fluent reader. Most words are learnt through incidental exposure to oral or written language. Objectives: This study is a first attempt to investigate opportunities for incidental vocabulary exposure in poorly resourced classrooms in South Africa. Method: A corpus linguistics approach was used to analyse a written corpus of 57 143 tokens and a spoken corpus of 12 242 tokens. Results: The study showed that there are vast differences between levels of written and spoken vocabulary in the classrooms and that the role for oral vocabulary exposure in classrooms is restricted. Spoken vocabulary registered above the K-3 word frequency level largely came from teachers’ read alouds of print materials. Conclusion: The study findings show that even in contexts where print exposure is limited, oral language cannot compensate for the richness of written vocabulary. Situational constraints, such as lack of books, negatively influenced the effective use of graded readers. Opportunities for incidental vocabulary learning, as well as implications for policy and further research, are discussed.
{"title":"English vocabulary exposure in South African township schools: Pitfalls and opportunities","authors":"Lieke Stoffelsma","doi":"10.4102/RW.V10I1.209","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/RW.V10I1.209","url":null,"abstract":"Background: This small-scale study investigated English vocabulary exposure from graded readers and teacher talk in Grade 3 classrooms in poorly resourced township schools in South Africa. Vocabulary is one of the key building blocks for becoming a fluent reader. Most words are learnt through incidental exposure to oral or written language. Objectives: This study is a first attempt to investigate opportunities for incidental vocabulary exposure in poorly resourced classrooms in South Africa. Method: A corpus linguistics approach was used to analyse a written corpus of 57 143 tokens and a spoken corpus of 12 242 tokens. Results: The study showed that there are vast differences between levels of written and spoken vocabulary in the classrooms and that the role for oral vocabulary exposure in classrooms is restricted. Spoken vocabulary registered above the K-3 word frequency level largely came from teachers’ read alouds of print materials. Conclusion: The study findings show that even in contexts where print exposure is limited, oral language cannot compensate for the richness of written vocabulary. Situational constraints, such as lack of books, negatively influenced the effective use of graded readers. Opportunities for incidental vocabulary learning, as well as implications for policy and further research, are discussed.","PeriodicalId":42041,"journal":{"name":"Reading & Writing-Journal of the Reading Association of South Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2019-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4102/RW.V10I1.209","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44329368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Table of Contents Vol 9, No 1 (2018)","authors":"Editorial Office","doi":"10.4102/rw.v9i1.224","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/rw.v9i1.224","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42041,"journal":{"name":"Reading & Writing-Journal of the Reading Association of South Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2018-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4102/rw.v9i1.224","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44102200","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Background: Student reading challenges have been reported worldwide. In many classrooms around the world, teaching students appropriate strategy-use has been a technique used to improve comprehension and improve reading proficiency. However, strategy-use instruction per se may not produce holistic results. Objectives: This article reports on an extended strategy-use instruction to improve students’ reading proficiency in a particular subject area. The technique of role-play, as well as an integration of affective strategies, was used to improve the cohort of first-year students’ reading of subject-specific texts. Method: The intervention was conducted by way of tutorials. A questionnaire was used to elicit students’ views and opinions after the intervention. The responses were analysed using content analysis of emerging themes. Results: Students reported benefiting from the intervention with respect to reading their assigned texts, as well as increased motivation. Conclusion: It is recommended that strategy-use instruction include other innovative techniques such as role-play to improve students’ reading proficiency in a specific subject.
{"title":"Extended strategy-use instruction to improve students’ reading proficiency in a content subject","authors":"Naomi Boakye, Michael M Linden","doi":"10.4102/RW.V9I1.212","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/RW.V9I1.212","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Student reading challenges have been reported worldwide. In many classrooms around the world, teaching students appropriate strategy-use has been a technique used to improve comprehension and improve reading proficiency. However, strategy-use instruction per se may not produce holistic results. Objectives: This article reports on an extended strategy-use instruction to improve students’ reading proficiency in a particular subject area. The technique of role-play, as well as an integration of affective strategies, was used to improve the cohort of first-year students’ reading of subject-specific texts. Method: The intervention was conducted by way of tutorials. A questionnaire was used to elicit students’ views and opinions after the intervention. The responses were analysed using content analysis of emerging themes. Results: Students reported benefiting from the intervention with respect to reading their assigned texts, as well as increased motivation. Conclusion: It is recommended that strategy-use instruction include other innovative techniques such as role-play to improve students’ reading proficiency in a specific subject.","PeriodicalId":42041,"journal":{"name":"Reading & Writing-Journal of the Reading Association of South Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2018-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4102/RW.V9I1.212","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42347187","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The concept of digital and information communication technology (ICT) literacy is receiving renewed empirical attention. This focus is attributed to the changing nature of society and the move towards the ideals of the knowledge-based economy. Further, universities in South Africa and internationally are encouraging the fusion of technology in how students read and write. This research gives focus to the lecturer, particularly those lecturers who were once resistant to the use of technology as part of teaching instruction. The aim here was to track how these lecturers over a one-year period develop digital and ICT literacies to assist their career development. The study adopted an interpretivist philosophy, relying on the qualitative research approach and a series of three interviews over a year period with 20 lecturers at a selected South African university. Data were analysed using thematic analysis to generate three central themes. Firstly, the source of resistance in using technology as part of teaching and learning emanated from two main subthemes as perceptions: (1) technology viewed as a fad with little or no impact on actual learning and (2) challenges concerning institutional technology support as a limitation in integrating technology into teaching and learning. Secondly, the change of attitude (rather reluctantly) in using technology as part of teaching and learning was because of factors such as peers, the technology ‘tech-savvy’ student community and also a consideration for future career prospects as digital and ICT literacies are becoming a critical skills acumen for career progression. Finally, in developing digital and ICT literacies, the lecturers relied on: (1) participation in training programmes that encourage digital scholarship, (2) personal investment of time and effort to learn about how to develop digital and ICT literacies and lastly, (3) developing a career and identity management strategy that incorporates digital and ICT literacies. Implications for teaching and learning practice are made based on these findings. Further, the impact on individual career development (as far as lecturers are concerned) is also suggested.
{"title":"Can you teach an old dog new tricks? An exploratory study into how a sample of lecturers develop digital literacies as part of their career development","authors":"W. Chinyamurindi, Zikhona Dlaza","doi":"10.4102/RW.V9I1.191","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/RW.V9I1.191","url":null,"abstract":"The concept of digital and information communication technology (ICT) literacy is receiving renewed empirical attention. This focus is attributed to the changing nature of society and the move towards the ideals of the knowledge-based economy. Further, universities in South Africa and internationally are encouraging the fusion of technology in how students read and write. This research gives focus to the lecturer, particularly those lecturers who were once resistant to the use of technology as part of teaching instruction. The aim here was to track how these lecturers over a one-year period develop digital and ICT literacies to assist their career development. The study adopted an interpretivist philosophy, relying on the qualitative research approach and a series of three interviews over a year period with 20 lecturers at a selected South African university. Data were analysed using thematic analysis to generate three central themes. Firstly, the source of resistance in using technology as part of teaching and learning emanated from two main subthemes as perceptions: (1) technology viewed as a fad with little or no impact on actual learning and (2) challenges concerning institutional technology support as a limitation in integrating technology into teaching and learning. Secondly, the change of attitude (rather reluctantly) in using technology as part of teaching and learning was because of factors such as peers, the technology ‘tech-savvy’ student community and also a consideration for future career prospects as digital and ICT literacies are becoming a critical skills acumen for career progression. Finally, in developing digital and ICT literacies, the lecturers relied on: (1) participation in training programmes that encourage digital scholarship, (2) personal investment of time and effort to learn about how to develop digital and ICT literacies and lastly, (3) developing a career and identity management strategy that incorporates digital and ICT literacies. Implications for teaching and learning practice are made based on these findings. Further, the impact on individual career development (as far as lecturers are concerned) is also suggested.","PeriodicalId":42041,"journal":{"name":"Reading & Writing-Journal of the Reading Association of South Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2018-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4102/RW.V9I1.191","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47821069","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Often, at universities, it is assumed that students will automatically find their ‘voice’ after a period of exposure to the academic field. What is not understood fully are the struggles that students with different levels of preparedness have in finding and asserting their academic voice, particularly in the academic writing genres necessary for success. There is a clear link between students’ ability to exercise voice and their achievement levels. The data focussed on in this article were drawn from a large assessment study that aimed at reaching an in-depth understanding of why first-year Bachelor of Education (BEd) students experience difficulty with their assessment tasks. Focus groups were held with 18 first-year volunteer BEd students. In particular, we focussed on the unique insights emerging from the data about the challenges students face in finding their voice. We identified how a lack of understanding of the purpose of assessment contributes to these struggles. Other factors that contributed to this are difficulties with the genre of academic writing, challenges with vocabulary and positioning oneself in relation to the theory. Many students appeared not to feel a sense of agency or confidence in their capabilities and have poor self-efficacy beliefs. These aspects were underpinned by the requirements of assessment and necessitate that lecturers develop pedagogical strategies to make the acquisition of voice more explicit.
{"title":"Voice matters: Students’ struggle to find voice","authors":"T. Gennrich, L. Dison","doi":"10.4102/RW.V9I1.173","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/RW.V9I1.173","url":null,"abstract":"Often, at universities, it is assumed that students will automatically find their ‘voice’ after a period of exposure to the academic field. What is not understood fully are the struggles that students with different levels of preparedness have in finding and asserting their academic voice, particularly in the academic writing genres necessary for success. There is a clear link between students’ ability to exercise voice and their achievement levels. The data focussed on in this article were drawn from a large assessment study that aimed at reaching an in-depth understanding of why first-year Bachelor of Education (BEd) students experience difficulty with their assessment tasks. Focus groups were held with 18 first-year volunteer BEd students. In particular, we focussed on the unique insights emerging from the data about the challenges students face in finding their voice. We identified how a lack of understanding of the purpose of assessment contributes to these struggles. Other factors that contributed to this are difficulties with the genre of academic writing, challenges with vocabulary and positioning oneself in relation to the theory. Many students appeared not to feel a sense of agency or confidence in their capabilities and have poor self-efficacy beliefs. These aspects were underpinned by the requirements of assessment and necessitate that lecturers develop pedagogical strategies to make the acquisition of voice more explicit.","PeriodicalId":42041,"journal":{"name":"Reading & Writing-Journal of the Reading Association of South Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2018-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4102/RW.V9I1.173","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42477440","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Early literacy teaching and learning in the foundation phase of rural schools in South Africa experience persistent challenges. In order to address some of these challenges, a national reading programme to improve literacy among rural learners was initiated by a non-governmental organisation. The article provides an overview of how teachers in selected Eastern Cape foundation classrooms use the reading programme to enhance literacy of the learners. The objectives of the article are to investigate how the reading project has been incorporated into the teachers’ teaching pedagogy and their perceptions as to how the reading programme has contributed to the school and community. Four purposively selected rural schools, each being part of the reading programme, served as research sites. Participants included eight teachers who used the reading supplement in their classroom. Qualitative data were gathered using semi-structured interviews with the teachers in each school. Through a process of thematic content analysis, the following themes emerged: (1) pedagogical challenges, (2) infrastructure and provisioning for literacy and (3) community engagement. The considerations for future reading programmes in rural areas include cost, availability of resources, training of teachers and practical aspects of the supplement, for example, font size and length of stories. These findings illustrate how the foundation teachers use the reading programme to enhance the literacy curriculum in schools situated in rural settings. The recommendation of the article is that the reading programme is useful and teachers should be encouraged to use the supplement reading activities in the foundation phase.
{"title":"A reading project to improve literacy in the foundation phase: A case study in the Eastern Cape","authors":"L. Cilliers, C. Bloch","doi":"10.4102/RW.V9I1.167","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/RW.V9I1.167","url":null,"abstract":"Early literacy teaching and learning in the foundation phase of rural schools in South Africa experience persistent challenges. In order to address some of these challenges, a national reading programme to improve literacy among rural learners was initiated by a non-governmental organisation. The article provides an overview of how teachers in selected Eastern Cape foundation classrooms use the reading programme to enhance literacy of the learners. The objectives of the article are to investigate how the reading project has been incorporated into the teachers’ teaching pedagogy and their perceptions as to how the reading programme has contributed to the school and community. Four purposively selected rural schools, each being part of the reading programme, served as research sites. Participants included eight teachers who used the reading supplement in their classroom. Qualitative data were gathered using semi-structured interviews with the teachers in each school. Through a process of thematic content analysis, the following themes emerged: (1) pedagogical challenges, (2) infrastructure and provisioning for literacy and (3) community engagement. The considerations for future reading programmes in rural areas include cost, availability of resources, training of teachers and practical aspects of the supplement, for example, font size and length of stories. These findings illustrate how the foundation teachers use the reading programme to enhance the literacy curriculum in schools situated in rural settings. The recommendation of the article is that the reading programme is useful and teachers should be encouraged to use the supplement reading activities in the foundation phase.","PeriodicalId":42041,"journal":{"name":"Reading & Writing-Journal of the Reading Association of South Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2018-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4102/RW.V9I1.167","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70235098","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Unlike the millennials from the industrialised world who were raised amidst an increasingly online and socially networked society, their South African counterparts at previously disadvantaged universities have some weaknesses similar to those of digital migrants. These weaknesses are caused by the limited exposure millennials in South Africa have to digital devices and Internet connectivity. In spite of these impediments, their future careers in an increasingly globalised world require them to behave like, transact and engage with full-fledged digital citizens from the global north. Digital citizenship is the ability to use technology safely, responsibly, critically, productively and civically. This raises intellectual curiosity about the extent to which the African millennial is prepared for a world that expects them to be digital citizens. This article, therefore, investigates the challenges faced by the South African millennial as they navigate an unusual route to digital citizenship. We adopted the activity theory for a mixed-methods study that consists of a survey of 148 questionnaires and 15 in-depth interviews. The findings show that while university-going millennials acquire digital literacy, their development of digital citizenship is affected by lack of mentors and access (i.e. connectivity and devices) at home and lack of soft skills training (i.e. online safety, digital etiquette and inadequate information literacy) at the university.
{"title":"Navigating the unbeaten track from digital literacy to digital citizenship: A case of university students in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province","authors":"Sam Takavarasha, L. Cilliers, W. Chinyamurindi","doi":"10.4102/RW.V9I1.187","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/RW.V9I1.187","url":null,"abstract":"Unlike the millennials from the industrialised world who were raised amidst an increasingly online and socially networked society, their South African counterparts at previously disadvantaged universities have some weaknesses similar to those of digital migrants. These weaknesses are caused by the limited exposure millennials in South Africa have to digital devices and Internet connectivity. In spite of these impediments, their future careers in an increasingly globalised world require them to behave like, transact and engage with full-fledged digital citizens from the global north. Digital citizenship is the ability to use technology safely, responsibly, critically, productively and civically. This raises intellectual curiosity about the extent to which the African millennial is prepared for a world that expects them to be digital citizens. This article, therefore, investigates the challenges faced by the South African millennial as they navigate an unusual route to digital citizenship. We adopted the activity theory for a mixed-methods study that consists of a survey of 148 questionnaires and 15 in-depth interviews. The findings show that while university-going millennials acquire digital literacy, their development of digital citizenship is affected by lack of mentors and access (i.e. connectivity and devices) at home and lack of soft skills training (i.e. online safety, digital etiquette and inadequate information literacy) at the university.","PeriodicalId":42041,"journal":{"name":"Reading & Writing-Journal of the Reading Association of South Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2018-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4102/RW.V9I1.187","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43345437","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
N. Ngesi, Nhlanhla Landa, Nophawu Madikiza, M. Cekiso, B. Tshotsho, L. Walters
One of the major challenges in teaching English to speakers of other languages is the issue of inadequate contact time between teachers and learners and between learners and comprehensible English language input. This paper emanated from a burning desire to help learners in South African educational institutions, especially those in remote areas, increase the opportunity for learner-teacher-content contact. The deployment of mobile phones, as tools to supplement teaching and learning off-campus and after school hours, is presumed in this study to be one attempt to increase contact time for learners. A qualitative research methodology, which is interpretive in nature, was used. The study used a descriptive case study research design. It used a sample of 44 learners, drawn from Grade 9 English First Additional Language learners in one school in the Eastern Cape. The participants were sampled, using purposive and volunteer sampling techniques. Mobile phones were used to collect data, which was in the form of short message services (SMSs) and Mxit messages. A questionnaire with open-ended questions was also used to collect data about learners’ perceptions of the use of these devices in the educational process. The data were analysed by incorporating elements of both content analysis and discourse analysis. Despite the fact that some participants were of the view that SMS would corrupt their language and spelling, findings indicate that most SMS and Mxit texts produced by participants displayed full sentences, punctuation marks, correct spelling of most words, acceptable grammar and proper sentence use. Further, findings indicated that while SMS and Mxit communication were largely characterised by short hand and informal writing, when learners were aware that they were using these platforms for learning purposes, the traditional rules of formal writing applied. We conclude that mobile devices can improve the language acquisition of second language learners. We recommend consideration of the official inclusion of mobile devices as supplementary learning tools in the learning programme in South Africa.
{"title":"Use of mobile phones as supplementary teaching and learning tools to learners in South Africa","authors":"N. Ngesi, Nhlanhla Landa, Nophawu Madikiza, M. Cekiso, B. Tshotsho, L. Walters","doi":"10.4102/RW.V9I1.190","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/RW.V9I1.190","url":null,"abstract":"One of the major challenges in teaching English to speakers of other languages is the issue of inadequate contact time between teachers and learners and between learners and comprehensible English language input. This paper emanated from a burning desire to help learners in South African educational institutions, especially those in remote areas, increase the opportunity for learner-teacher-content contact. The deployment of mobile phones, as tools to supplement teaching and learning off-campus and after school hours, is presumed in this study to be one attempt to increase contact time for learners. A qualitative research methodology, which is interpretive in nature, was used. The study used a descriptive case study research design. It used a sample of 44 learners, drawn from Grade 9 English First Additional Language learners in one school in the Eastern Cape. The participants were sampled, using purposive and volunteer sampling techniques. Mobile phones were used to collect data, which was in the form of short message services (SMSs) and Mxit messages. A questionnaire with open-ended questions was also used to collect data about learners’ perceptions of the use of these devices in the educational process. The data were analysed by incorporating elements of both content analysis and discourse analysis. Despite the fact that some participants were of the view that SMS would corrupt their language and spelling, findings indicate that most SMS and Mxit texts produced by participants displayed full sentences, punctuation marks, correct spelling of most words, acceptable grammar and proper sentence use. Further, findings indicated that while SMS and Mxit communication were largely characterised by short hand and informal writing, when learners were aware that they were using these platforms for learning purposes, the traditional rules of formal writing applied. We conclude that mobile devices can improve the language acquisition of second language learners. We recommend consideration of the official inclusion of mobile devices as supplementary learning tools in the learning programme in South Africa.","PeriodicalId":42041,"journal":{"name":"Reading & Writing-Journal of the Reading Association of South Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2018-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4102/RW.V9I1.190","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46746918","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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