Various studies have shown that South Africa has low levels of school literacy. This is exacerbated when schools are located in low socio-economic settings where schools have a dearth of resources to be mobilised to develop literacy practices. This article reports on a qualitative study of classroom reading clubs where learners read novels in groups once a week. In particular it focuses on discussions within two reading clubs to explore how learners took up different positions to talk about books and how together they constructed a shared understanding. The study suggests how through talk learners have an opportunity to think and this thinking is made visible to researchers. The article suggests that classroom reading clubs can sites to develop reading strategies reasoning in response to literature. Keywords: reading clubs, critical thinking, booktalk, dialogism, discussion
{"title":"Mediating meaning in booktalk: Reading Clubs as third spaces","authors":"E. Scheckle","doi":"10.5785/38-1-988","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5785/38-1-988","url":null,"abstract":"Various studies have shown that South Africa has low levels of school literacy. This is exacerbated when schools are located in low socio-economic settings where schools have a dearth of resources to be mobilised to develop literacy practices. This article reports on a qualitative study of classroom reading clubs where learners read novels in groups once a week. In particular it focuses on discussions within two reading clubs to explore how learners took up different positions to talk about books and how together they constructed a shared understanding. The study suggests how through talk learners have an opportunity to think and this thinking is made visible to researchers. The article suggests that classroom reading clubs can sites to develop reading strategies reasoning in response to literature. Keywords: reading clubs, critical thinking, booktalk, dialogism, discussion","PeriodicalId":43109,"journal":{"name":"Per Linguam-A Journal of Language Learning","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75172836","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}
This paper presents a quantitative analysis of an intervention study that used process-oriented, guided-inquiry learning (POGIL) to teach grammar as part of an academic literacy module in the Extended Curriculum Programme (ECP) at the University of Pretoria. In the first semester of the Language and Study Skills (LST) module, four key grammatical functions (parts of speech, sentence structure, punctuation, and discourse markers) are foundational to subsequent writing skills taught throughout the year. These grammatical functions are adaptable to quiz-style instruction and assessment and are taught online in this way; however, many LST students still struggle with the application of these functions well into the second semester. The POGIL method, which falls within the inquiry-based learning framework (Abraham, 2005) and is influenced by constructivisim and the learning cycle (Cracolice, 2009), presents an alternative approach which is suited to LST’s content and teaching mode. LST is presented in smaller classes of around 50 students, and emphasis is placed on practical application activities and student participation. The POGIL method aligns with this mode as it scaffolds the learning process through worksheets which students need to complete in small, carefully organised groups, thus requiring students to actively construct and apply knowledge, engage in deep learning and lay the foundations for independent learning. The potential applications of POGIL to academic literacy and language instruction have received little attention in teaching and learning research, as the method has typically been used and researched in STEM instruction. Furthermore, existing research is context-bound to institutions outside of South Africa. The POGIL-based intervention study for the LST module was thus designed to respond to the specific educational context and needs of the ECP students. Specifically, the study sought to establish whether the POGIL method of instruction improved students’ application of certain grammatical functions when compared to online, quiz-style instruction. A teaching intervention was conducted using POGIL-style worksheets, after which the performance of the intervention group was compared to the performance of a control group using data from items in formal assessments (two semester tests and an examination). Analysis of this data indicates that the POGIL group performed better than the control group in all five constructs, though the difference in performance was statistically significant in only four constructs. The paper concludes with a suggestion that further research should be conducted to investigate the relationship between students’ level of capability and their response to POGIL-style language instruction; some possibilities for the continuation of the study are outlined. The research therefore contributes to the small, but growing body of work on POGIL instruction by expanding it to include academic literacy and ECP instruction
{"title":"Using Process-oriented, Guided-inquiry Learning in the Teaching of Academic Literacy","authors":"Nandi Weder, M. de Waal","doi":"10.5785/38-1-1018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5785/38-1-1018","url":null,"abstract":"This paper presents a quantitative analysis of an intervention study that used process-oriented, guided-inquiry learning (POGIL) to teach grammar as part of an academic literacy module in the Extended Curriculum Programme (ECP) at the University of Pretoria. In the first semester of the Language and Study Skills (LST) module, four key grammatical functions (parts of speech, sentence structure, punctuation, and discourse markers) are foundational to subsequent writing skills taught throughout the year. These grammatical functions are adaptable to quiz-style instruction and assessment and are taught online in this way; however, many LST students still struggle with the application of these functions well into the second semester. The POGIL method, which falls within the inquiry-based learning framework (Abraham, 2005) and is influenced by constructivisim and the learning cycle (Cracolice, 2009), presents an alternative approach which is suited to LST’s content and teaching mode. LST is presented in smaller classes of around 50 students, and emphasis is placed on practical application activities and student participation. The POGIL method aligns with this mode as it scaffolds the learning process through worksheets which students need to complete in small, carefully organised groups, thus requiring students to actively construct and apply knowledge, engage in deep learning and lay the foundations for independent learning. The potential applications of POGIL to academic literacy and language instruction have received little attention in teaching and learning research, as the method has typically been used and researched in STEM instruction. Furthermore, existing research is context-bound to institutions outside of South Africa. The POGIL-based intervention study for the LST module was thus designed to respond to the specific educational context and needs of the ECP students. Specifically, the study sought to establish whether the POGIL method of instruction improved students’ application of certain grammatical functions when compared to online, quiz-style instruction. A teaching intervention was conducted using POGIL-style worksheets, after which the performance of the intervention group was compared to the performance of a control group using data from items in formal assessments (two semester tests and an examination). Analysis of this data indicates that the POGIL group performed better than the control group in all five constructs, though the difference in performance was statistically significant in only four constructs. The paper concludes with a suggestion that further research should be conducted to investigate the relationship between students’ level of capability and their response to POGIL-style language instruction; some possibilities for the continuation of the study are outlined. The research therefore contributes to the small, but growing body of work on POGIL instruction by expanding it to include academic literacy and ECP instruction","PeriodicalId":43109,"journal":{"name":"Per Linguam-A Journal of Language Learning","volume":"47 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76876996","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}
A plethora of research concerned with translanguaging pedagogy exists. The available research shows a considerable effort by researchers at the tertiary level in South Africa. However, the question about which language should be used for assessment, especially at university, has been a matter of concern among many lecturers. Using a group of first-year medical students, a study was conducted to find out if proficiency in the English language is required as a measure of success in content-related material. Statistical analysis of a control group and an intervention group showed a significant difference in the performance of the students after the assessment of a task. The intervention group, that had been given the opportunity to discuss the main ideas of a text and write a summary based on the text, performed better than their counterparts in the control group. However, it should be noted that during the assessment, the English language grammatical rules were not the priority; instead, emphasis was placed on students’ ability to identify and use the main ideas in the summary. The results prompts this researcher to conclude that students are emancipated from the bounds of proficiency in the English language through the use of a translanguaging pedagogy when assessed on their display of content knowledge instead. For this reason, the researcher urges all academics to compile assessments that focus on content knowledge and allow students to use translanguaging to understand and make meaning of content material.
{"title":"Translanguaging as an act of emancipation: Rethinking assessment tools in multilingual pedagogy in South Africa","authors":"Vimbai Mbirimi-Hungwe","doi":"10.5785/37-1-930","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5785/37-1-930","url":null,"abstract":"A plethora of research concerned with translanguaging pedagogy exists. The available research shows a considerable effort by researchers at the tertiary level in South Africa. However, the question about which language should be used for assessment, especially at university, has been a matter of concern among many lecturers. Using a group of first-year medical students, a study was conducted to find out if proficiency in the English language is required as a measure of success in content-related material. Statistical analysis of a control group and an intervention group showed a significant difference in the performance of the students after the assessment of a task. The intervention group, that had been given the opportunity to discuss the main ideas of a text and write a summary based on the text, performed better than their counterparts in the control group. However, it should be noted that during the assessment, the English language grammatical rules were not the priority; instead, emphasis was placed on students’ ability to identify and use the main ideas in the summary. The results prompts this researcher to conclude that students are emancipated from the bounds of proficiency in the English language through the use of a translanguaging pedagogy when assessed on their display of content knowledge instead. For this reason, the researcher urges all academics to compile assessments that focus on content knowledge and allow students to use translanguaging to understand and make meaning of content material.","PeriodicalId":43109,"journal":{"name":"Per Linguam-A Journal of Language Learning","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86378872","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}
Language development is often hampered by the fact that 90 per cent of deaf children are born into hearing families who do not know Sign language (SL) or haven't had any previous contact with the deaf world. Such parents often use only spoken language to communicate with the child, which results in no or very little language exposure. Many deaf children only start to learn a language, signed or spoken, when they start attending school, usually between the ages of three and seven. As a result, the deaf child has a delay in cognitive and language development and finds it hard to learn a SL, like South African Sign Language (SASL), as well as a written language (e.g., English). This late exposure to SL proves to be a serious cognitive problem for deaf children when compared to those children who acquired language from birth. This problem led to the research question namely, whether deaf children’s language and cognition can still develop to the required level for school readiness if early language intervention (ELI) takes place within the critical period of language acquisition. To answer the question, a case study was done at a school for the deaf and blind with a small group of deaf learners in the foundation phase. The results show that the little language exposure these children received in only one year of school already made a huge difference to their language and cognitive development. This article also makes recommendations to the various stakeholders in deaf education.
{"title":"Early language intervention in deaf children of hearing parents","authors":"A. L. Roux, Marga Stander","doi":"10.5785/37-1-974","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5785/37-1-974","url":null,"abstract":"Language development is often hampered by the fact that 90 per cent of deaf children are born into hearing families who do not know Sign language (SL) or haven't had any previous contact with the deaf world. Such parents often use only spoken language to communicate with the child, which results in no or very little language exposure. Many deaf children only start to learn a language, signed or spoken, when they start attending school, usually between the ages of three and seven. As a result, the deaf child has a delay in cognitive and language development and finds it hard to learn a SL, like South African Sign Language (SASL), as well as a written language (e.g., English). This late exposure to SL proves to be a serious cognitive problem for deaf children when compared to those children who acquired language from birth. This problem led to the research question namely, whether deaf children’s language and cognition can still develop to the required level for school readiness if early language intervention (ELI) takes place within the critical period of language acquisition. To answer the question, a case study was done at a school for the deaf and blind with a small group of deaf learners in the foundation phase. The results show that the little language exposure these children received in only one year of school already made a huge difference to their language and cognitive development. This article also makes recommendations to the various stakeholders in deaf education.","PeriodicalId":43109,"journal":{"name":"Per Linguam-A Journal of Language Learning","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83755681","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}
One critical component in doctoral theses is having the readers in mind by orienting them to ‘the story of the research’. The candidate might be writing for an audience familiar with the broader content, however, when original material is explained and put in context, exceptional emphasis on clarity might be needed. Readers would therefore appreciate signposts to direct them on their journey through the work. The aim of our study is twofold: Firstly, to identify and briefly reflect on the signposts or links that make thesis texts more reader-friendly and assist the reader in understanding the text. Secondly, we selected and analysed eight completed theses in relation to three of these critical research components that play a pivotal role in creating coherence and cohesiveness in a study: conceptual frameworks, research questions and theoretical perspectives. Our primary sources were eight completed doctoral theses in education from different universities. The analysis of the selected theses identified signposting with varied measures of success: while in some studies the signposting was most helpful, in others it seemed vague, handled clumsily or over-used. The paper should alert candidates and supervisors to ways and means of making their writing more reader-friendly and thus promote their chances of positive examiner impressions.
{"title":"‘Signposting' research stories in doctoral theses: Writing that keeps the reader in mind","authors":"S. Leshem, E. Bitzer","doi":"10.5785/37-1-965","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5785/37-1-965","url":null,"abstract":"One critical component in doctoral theses is having the readers in mind by orienting them to ‘the story of the research’. The candidate might be writing for an audience familiar with the broader content, however, when original material is explained and put in context, exceptional emphasis on clarity might be needed. Readers would therefore appreciate signposts to direct them on their journey through the work. The aim of our study is twofold: Firstly, to identify and briefly reflect on the signposts or links that make thesis texts more reader-friendly and assist the reader in understanding the text. Secondly, we selected and analysed eight completed theses in relation to three of these critical research components that play a pivotal role in creating coherence and cohesiveness in a study: conceptual frameworks, research questions and theoretical perspectives. Our primary sources were eight completed doctoral theses in education from different universities. The analysis of the selected theses identified signposting with varied measures of success: while in some studies the signposting was most helpful, in others it seemed vague, handled clumsily or over-used. The paper should alert candidates and supervisors to ways and means of making their writing more reader-friendly and thus promote their chances of positive examiner impressions.","PeriodicalId":43109,"journal":{"name":"Per Linguam-A Journal of Language Learning","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80135923","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}
This article provides prospects on how English First Additional Language (FAL) teachers working in overcrowded intermediate phase classrooms can assess meaningfully. It is in response to numerous reports that highlight the poor performance in English First Additional Language by South African intermediate learners. Seeing that overcrowdedness has been singled out as one of the possible causes of this reality, this paper integrates overcrowdedness as an important variable. This work, informed by the complexity theory, was steeped in phenomenology as a research design, resulting in the use of the interpretive paradigm. Qualitative research methods were used where interviews and observations provided insight into good practice. Data were analysed mostly thematically, ultimately revealing the significance of assessment tools, the length and weight of assessments, selective approaches to assessments, informal assessments, observations and group assessment. These results illuminated the nonlinearity of the language classroom since other teachers can assess productively despite the number of learners in their classrooms. A notable issue about the insights is that it is rewarding to combine ingenuity and simplicity.
{"title":"Promoting meaningful assessment in an overcrowded English First Additional Language Intermediate Phase classroom","authors":"Sekanse Abiner Ntsala","doi":"10.5785/37-1-946","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5785/37-1-946","url":null,"abstract":"This article provides prospects on how English First Additional Language (FAL) teachers working in overcrowded intermediate phase classrooms can assess meaningfully. It is in response to numerous reports that highlight the poor performance in English First Additional Language by South African intermediate learners. Seeing that overcrowdedness has been singled out as one of the possible causes of this reality, this paper integrates overcrowdedness as an important variable. This work, informed by the complexity theory, was steeped in phenomenology as a research design, resulting in the use of the interpretive paradigm. Qualitative research methods were used where interviews and observations provided insight into good practice. Data were analysed mostly thematically, ultimately revealing the significance of assessment tools, the length and weight of assessments, selective approaches to assessments, informal assessments, observations and group assessment. These results illuminated the nonlinearity of the language classroom since other teachers can assess productively despite the number of learners in their classrooms. A notable issue about the insights is that it is rewarding to combine ingenuity and simplicity.","PeriodicalId":43109,"journal":{"name":"Per Linguam-A Journal of Language Learning","volume":"209 S647","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72407624","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}
Lina Vukosi, Corless Smith, E. Rautenbach, G. Collins
This study explored the various aspects of Grade 12 English as a first additional language (EFAL) learners’ oral proficiency and compared the different aspects of poor oral achievement in selected public and private schools in Gauteng, South Africa. Furthermore, it investigated reasons for the difference in the level of English oral proficiency of the learners in these schools. The difference in the level of English language proficiency was found to be linked to several sociolinguistic factors and environments that exert an influence on the teaching and learning environment. The South African learning environment is characterised by multicultural learners who attain English as a FAL. Public schools are state-governed schools and private schools are independent, often found in the CBD and owned by private stakeholders. The private schools are not necessarily elitist or wealthier than public schools in Gauteng which is a densely populated area. Learners’ oral proficiency was compared to determine which environment was perceived to facilitate the desired advanced level of English oral proficiency. The main question was: Which areas related to the oral English Language proficiency of Grade 12 FET English FAL learners need to be addressed and how does this differ between learners from private and public schools? This study dealt with the learner responses of stakeholders and FET Grade 12 learners in Gauteng in former model-C public schools in Soshanguve and private schools in the CBD of Tshwane. A mixed-methods research approach was followed in order to highlight specific areas and to uncover discrepancies pertaining to poor oral English language proficiency. This is followed by qualitative, semi-structured interview responses to clarify the central focus of the study. The findings also confirmed that a limited vocabulary, due to inadequate exposure to English at home was considered the primary cause of the problem.
{"title":"An analysis of learners' spoken English in public and private schools","authors":"Lina Vukosi, Corless Smith, E. Rautenbach, G. Collins","doi":"10.5785/37-1-973","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5785/37-1-973","url":null,"abstract":"This study explored the various aspects of Grade 12 English as a first additional language (EFAL) learners’ oral proficiency and compared the different aspects of poor oral achievement in selected public and private schools in Gauteng, South Africa. Furthermore, it investigated reasons for the difference in the level of English oral proficiency of the learners in these schools. The difference in the level of English language proficiency was found to be linked to several sociolinguistic factors and environments that exert an influence on the teaching and learning environment. The South African learning environment is characterised by multicultural learners who attain English as a FAL. Public schools are state-governed schools and private schools are independent, often found in the CBD and owned by private stakeholders. The private schools are not necessarily elitist or wealthier than public schools in Gauteng which is a densely populated area. Learners’ oral proficiency was compared to determine which environment was perceived to facilitate the desired advanced level of English oral proficiency. The main question was: Which areas related to the oral English Language proficiency of Grade 12 FET English FAL learners need to be addressed and how does this differ between learners from private and public schools? This study dealt with the learner responses of stakeholders and FET Grade 12 learners in Gauteng in former model-C public schools in Soshanguve and private schools in the CBD of Tshwane. A mixed-methods research approach was followed in order to highlight specific areas and to uncover discrepancies pertaining to poor oral English language proficiency. This is followed by qualitative, semi-structured interview responses to clarify the central focus of the study. The findings also confirmed that a limited vocabulary, due to inadequate exposure to English at home was considered the primary cause of the problem.","PeriodicalId":43109,"journal":{"name":"Per Linguam-A Journal of Language Learning","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84973368","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}
Kiswahili is a foreign language (FL) in Uganda. Formally, the teaching of Kiswahili begins in the lower secondary phase. In this phase, Kiswahili had been taught for many years without an authorised syllabus. Nonetheless, in 2008, the government of Uganda launched the existing grammatical syllabus (hereafter, 2008 syllabus). It should be noted that, while the teaching of standard Kiswahili is among the aims postulated in the 2008 syllabus, information and topics regarding, for example, the alphabet of standard Kiswahili are missing in this syllabus. Pedagogically, this situation appears to contrast with, for example, the advanced scientific suggestions that the learning of the alphabet should be among the initial topics in grammatical syllabi and subsequently, in the FL classrooms’ activities. Using perspectives on document analysis to constitute its methodology, in this theoretical paper, we first provide a general overview of the grammatical syllabi as a framework for teaching and learning FLs, drawing specific examples from the 2008 syllabus. Then, we analyse the aims of teaching Kiswahili as established in the 2008 syllabus. Thereafter, we examine the alphabet of standard Kiswahili. Lastly, we propose possible procedures for adopting the Kiswahili alphabet into the 2008 syllabus, as a way of facilitating the teaching and learning of standard Kiswahili mainly in Uganda’s lower secondary schools.
{"title":"(Re-)examining the standard Kiswahili alphabet in the teaching syllabus for lower secondary schools in Uganda","authors":"Caesar Jjingo, Marianna Visser","doi":"10.5785/36-2-770","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5785/36-2-770","url":null,"abstract":"Kiswahili is a foreign language (FL) in Uganda. Formally, the teaching of Kiswahili begins in the lower secondary phase. In this phase, Kiswahili had been taught for many years without an authorised syllabus. Nonetheless, in 2008, the government of Uganda launched the existing grammatical syllabus (hereafter, 2008 syllabus). It should be noted that, while the teaching of standard Kiswahili is among the aims postulated in the 2008 syllabus, information and topics regarding, for example, the alphabet of standard Kiswahili are missing in this syllabus. Pedagogically, this situation appears to contrast with, for example, the advanced scientific suggestions that the learning of the alphabet should be among the initial topics in grammatical syllabi and subsequently, in the FL classrooms’ activities. Using perspectives on document analysis to constitute its methodology, in this theoretical paper, we first provide a general overview of the grammatical syllabi as a framework for teaching and learning FLs, drawing specific examples from the 2008 syllabus. Then, we analyse the aims of teaching Kiswahili as established in the 2008 syllabus. Thereafter, we examine the alphabet of standard Kiswahili. Lastly, we propose possible procedures for adopting the Kiswahili alphabet into the 2008 syllabus, as a way of facilitating the teaching and learning of standard Kiswahili mainly in Uganda’s lower secondary schools.","PeriodicalId":43109,"journal":{"name":"Per Linguam-A Journal of Language Learning","volume":"112 1","pages":"28-44"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74488873","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 use of smartphones and tablet computers is at the leading edge of technology and studying. The majority of students who study English in previously disadvantaged institutions (PDIs) possess handheld mobile devices, and this augurs well for the effective use of these devices. The use of handheld mobile devices can revolutionise the learning and teaching of English language among the students, who usually queue to use desktop computers. The use of handheld mobile devices could also foster collaborative and independent learning. The aim of this paper is to discuss the responses of English language student educators to a questionnaire on the use of handheld mobile devices at a PDI in South Africa.
{"title":"Exploring the effective use of mobile devices by previously disadvantaged English language student educators the Constructivist way","authors":"M. S. Lediga, L. J. Ngoepe","doi":"10.5785/36-2-899","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5785/36-2-899","url":null,"abstract":"The use of smartphones and tablet computers is at the leading edge of technology and studying. The majority of students who study English in previously disadvantaged institutions (PDIs) possess handheld mobile devices, and this augurs well for the effective use of these devices. The use of handheld mobile devices can revolutionise the learning and teaching of English language among the students, who usually queue to use desktop computers. The use of handheld mobile devices could also foster collaborative and independent learning. The aim of this paper is to discuss the responses of English language student educators to a questionnaire on the use of handheld mobile devices at a PDI in South Africa.","PeriodicalId":43109,"journal":{"name":"Per Linguam-A Journal of Language Learning","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74450201","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}
Test validation may more aptly be conceived of as the process of designing language tests responsibly. While a good test gains in reputation as it is administered over time, the early stages of its validation are perhaps the most critical. There is now general agreement that the validation process should be reported in the form of an argument that brings together multiple sets of evidence to justify the design and implementation of the measurement instrument, the language test. The format of such integration is, however, still contestable ground. Referring to an example of language test design and development, this paper seeks to demonstrate how a framework for responsible test design may be employed to achieve such an integrated argument, as well as how two of the methodological tools most frequently employed to muster empirical evidence for validating test design, namely classical test theory (CTT) and Rasch analyses, complement each other in designing tests responsibly. While most language tests designed in South Africa have used CTT, the employment of Rasch analyses has been more limited. A secondary aim of the paper is therefore to provide applied linguists who work in the subfield of language testing with an example of how the latter kind of analysis can complement the former. In all, however, these disparate approaches must be integrated into the theoretical justification for the development of language tests, in order to satisfy a number of conditions for their responsible design.
{"title":"Complementary evidence in the early-stage validation of language tests: Classical Test Theory and Rasch analyses","authors":"A. Weideman","doi":"10.5785/36-2-970","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5785/36-2-970","url":null,"abstract":"Test validation may more aptly be conceived of as the process of designing language tests responsibly. While a good test gains in reputation as it is administered over time, the early stages of its validation are perhaps the most critical. There is now general agreement that the validation process should be reported in the form of an argument that brings together multiple sets of evidence to justify the design and implementation of the measurement instrument, the language test. The format of such integration is, however, still contestable ground. Referring to an example of language test design and development, this paper seeks to demonstrate how a framework for responsible test design may be employed to achieve such an integrated argument, as well as how two of the methodological tools most frequently employed to muster empirical evidence for validating test design, namely classical test theory (CTT) and Rasch analyses, complement each other in designing tests responsibly. While most language tests designed in South Africa have used CTT, the employment of Rasch analyses has been more limited. A secondary aim of the paper is therefore to provide applied linguists who work in the subfield of language testing with an example of how the latter kind of analysis can complement the former. In all, however, these disparate approaches must be integrated into the theoretical justification for the development of language tests, in order to satisfy a number of conditions for their responsible design.","PeriodicalId":43109,"journal":{"name":"Per Linguam-A Journal of Language Learning","volume":"39 1","pages":"57-75"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76496213","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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