Journal for Language Teaching = Ijenali Yekufundzisa Lulwimi = Tydskrif vir Taalonderrig - latest Issue

Another year has passed and when we look back at 2017 it has been a hectic year for all of us and overseeing operations associated with the Journal for Language Teaching was no exception. I am indebted to all colleagues who continued to support us, whether it be as advisors, reviewers or contributors. In particular, I would like to firstly thank Prof Rinelle Evans, chairperson of SAALT, for her continued patronage of our organisation and the Journal. Secondly, I wish to thank Mr Zandré Duvenhage who assisted me with the Journal – he took up a job offer in Namibia and I wish him and his wife well.

The paper sought to investigate Grade 7 pass rates in Zambian languages, English, maths and science subjects for three groups of students following Zambia’s change of initial literacy of 1996 from English to Zambian languages; to compare the pass rates across urban and rural schools, and to examine the extent of integration of English into the content subjects. A quantitative method was used to investigate the problem, the purpose of which was to explore the extent to which outcomes could be apportioned to the integration of English into the content subjects, typifying Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). Results showed that the pass rates for all the subjects were generally low and those for urban schools were better than the ones for rural schools. Pass rates in English tended to be slightly better than those in Zambian languages and those in maths and science – content subjects. Given the better pass rates in English, the study concludes that the outcome may be indicative of failure by the teachers to integrate English into content subjects. The study makes a case for implementing a CLIL approach in the African multilingual learning context for the improvement of academic achievement.

The reading habits and attitudes of learners are continuously discussed by academics and reading enthusiasts on an international platform. The purpose of these dialogues is to search for methods that could cultivate a love for reading and improve reading skills among learners. Subsequently, this paper reports the results of a study conducted on the reading habits and attitudes of Grades 8-10 English Second Language (ESL) learners in Eersterust, South Africa. The study was both quantitative and qualitative in nature. A questionnaire was administered to 73 Grades 8-10 learners, who were purposefully selected from two schools. In addition, individual interviews were conducted with five ESL teachers and two learner focus groups, in which the grades 8-10 learners from both schools were represented. The findings showed that the learners read English material, however, the majority of learners only read ESL materials in school, with the purpose of doing well academically. The results further showed that the learners were not reading for pleasure and had a negative attitude towards ESL printed material and preferred to spend their time on the Internet. Strategies to cultivate a culture of reading, in order improve the reading habits and attitudes of the ESL learners were suggested in the study.

Studies in user research with regard to specialised settings have not received much attention in lexicography, as has the use of dictionaries on mobile phones. This study investigated the user perspective by referring to user situations, user needs and user perceptions in a multilingual university setting. The research undertaken was unique in the sense that the author investigated user perceptions of a language for specific purposes (LSP) dictionary on a mobile phone. It presents an empirical study on dictionary use by semi-experts in a multilingual higher education setting. The major aim of the study was to describe usage situations, user needs and user perceptions of education students on the use of a multilingual mobile dictionary. A multilingual university setting is described, where the language of teaching and learning is not necessarily the home language of a student, thus highlighting the need for a specialised multilingual dictionary to be used as a source of knowledge. In accordance with the view of a dictionary as a container of knowledge, students express the need for different types of dictionary information in specialised dictionaries. Findings include the affinity of students for a mobile dictionary.

Questioning plays an important role in the teaching and learning process and is a cognitive strategy that is considered essential in fostering higher levels of thinking and reading comprehension. This article discusses a student selfquestioning and answering reading strategy by drawing on data from a study in which students participated in generating their own questions and answers in an academic development module. Data was collected by means of student and tutor feedback on the strategy use. The findings indicate positive student and tutor experiences with student self-reports indicating that while this technique was new to many of them and was perceived as challenging, it forced them to read the text many times in order to engage at a deeper level ultimately leading to an increased understanding of the text. The author raises concerns that despite the benefits of this strategy students are more likely to view it as a ‘once off’ intervention and therefore it is suggested that for greater effectiveness this strategy should be embedded in disciplinary teaching either explicitly or implicitly with sustained coaching and practice. Some practical ways in which disciplinary lecturers can help their students develop self-questioning and answering strategies are suggested.

In many placement tests, cut-off scores are determined once results become available. Various methods have been used to determine these scores. They are often also established arbitrarily by, for example, taking teaching capacity into account. This article illustrates how a cut-off point can be established my means of an objective statistical method. A test of Academic Literacy, TAG, is used to illustrate the method, which is based on historical data, an adjustment of scores to conform to the same norm, and a Receiver-Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve to generate a sensitivity/ specificity report. An optimal cut-off score is then fixed. We suggest that a statistical procedure such as the ROC method can play a role in setting standards and cut-off scores in a responsible and accountable manner.