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

For the first edition of the Journal for Language Teaching (51/1), a total of 18 submissions were received. Three of these submissions were from international scholars; the remainder were from South African scholars from nine different institutions. After completion of the review process, we were able to only publish 11 articles, one an international contribution and ten from local authors. We therefore have a retention rate of between 40% and 50%, which compares well with that of previous editions. This is an indication that our endeavours to maintain quality is fairly flawless and for this we express our gratitude to the reviewers, in particular for guiding (often novice) authors through the process.

This article reports on an initiative at the Vaal Triangle Campus (VTC) of North-West University (NWU) towards the active encouragement of functional multilingualism in tertiary education. More specifically, in an effort to support the potential use of Sesotho (Southern Sotho) and isiZulu in the teaching-learning environment at this campus, it was decided that an important first step should be an accurate and reliable determination of students’ levels of academic literacy (AL) in these two languages. Such a measurement would provide an indication of student readiness to make productive use of any extra learning support offered in these languages. 

Since there are no measuring instruments available to assess students’ academic literacy levels in Sesotho and isiZulu at tertiary level, it was decided that translating an existing test may be the most productive option in this case. The test selected for translation into Sesotho and isiZulu was the Test of Academic Literacy Levels (TALL), a test that has consistently shown high reliability measures in the assessment of students’ academic literacy levels in English. Because Sesotho is the home language used by the majority of students (other than English and Afrikaans) at the VTC, it was decided that Sesotho would be treated as priority in terms of the completion of the project. The article therefore documents the translation process for Sesotho, and discusses primarily positive findings regarding the creation of a conceptually and functionally adequate Sesotho version of the TALL through a process of translation.

This study investigates the manifestation of Transfer or Cross-Linguistic Influence (CLI) from language learners’ previouslyknown languages in the learning of a third language, Northern Sotho, by examining errors identified in their written productions in the target language. Data for the study was gathered from first year university students learning Northern Sotho L3, with a roughly homogeneous language background of isiZulu L1 and English L2 (elicitation tasks and questionnaires), and from three of their lecturers (interviews). The focus of the study was to determine whether the subjects produced patterns in their interlanguage that could be traced to one or both of their previously-known languages. Contrastive Analysis (CA) and Error Analysis (EA) techniques were used in the analyses of the learners’ interlanguage (IL), to identify and quantify the errors, as well as to compare and contrast the three language systems at play in the learners’ minds, so as to pinpoint the possible source languages of the transfer. The findings indicate that most errors relating to spelling, vocabulary, and grammar, in general, showed evidence of prevalent influence from the language learners’ previouslyknown Black South African language (isiZulu L1), with no visible evidence of influence from English L2.

Creative writing essays in Sesotho Home Language classes are marked using rubrics. Nevertheless, using the same rubric does not necessarily automate a uniform interpretation of the rubric. It is important to clearly define rubric criteria for teachers in order to counter the problem of misalignment in the usage of the rubric to mark learner essays. This article presents and explains a rubric explanation guide for the marking of Sesotho Grade 10 Home Language creative writing essays based on the interpretations of nine teachers from six schools in the Metsimaholo education district. The explanation guide is presented bilingually in English and Sesotho. This article presents a more in-depth explanation guide for the rubric which was proposed in Sibeko (2016). The aim hereof is to ensure that teachers comparably understand rubric criteria and approach marking from the same point of view. For the purpose of this article, the rubric used by teachers in the said district is discussed. Both novice and experienced teachers stand to benefit from this explained rubric guide.

In the international arena English proficiency is crucial. In South African schools, many students who study through medium of English have underdeveloped linguistic skills. Their English proficiency may improve if they are taught in consideration of their learning styles. Therefore, the main research problem of this study was: How can the teaching of English at school be enhanced in consideration of student learning style and classroom diversity? To address this question, the study investigated academic achievement in English and learning style, and their relationship with demographic variables; the differences in the learning styles of the top and the low achievers in English; and how the top-achieving students learned English in different contexts. The sample comprised 240 students enrolled at an independent school in the North-West Province of South Africa. The study implemented a mixed method research design by means of a structured questionnaire, followed by interviews with ten of the top-achieving students selected to ensure maximum diversity. The results indicated significant differences in the achievements in English and the learning styles of different student groups. The qualitative phase of the research shed light on the learning styles of the top performers in English in different contexts and sub-fields of English. Recommendations were made on how the teachers can take students’ learning styles and classroom diversity into consideration in their classroom teaching in the quest to improve academic achievement in English.

This paper reports on vocabulary development-related (mis)conceptions of ten purposively selected Grade 3 English Second Language teachers in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, with a view to indexing their vocabulary pedagogical practices. The efficacy of teacher cognition on teaching practices is the theory upon which the present study, which considers vocabulary development as a proxy for literacy attainment, is based. The theory is buttressed by literature on the research-based best practices in literature development against which teachers’ conceptions are measured. Semi-structured teacher interview findings showed that vocabulary instruction proceeded largely on the basis of intuitive pedagogical decisions which evince dissonance with researchbased best practices. There was a manifest disregard for both incidental and contextualised vocabulary development, and an apparent underestimation of learners’ potential for independent vocabulary acquisition. Professed instructional strategies only drew learners’ attention to the orthographic and phonological forms of the words at the expense of other crucial dimensions of word knowledge. The paper recommends a consideration of teachers’ vocabulary development-related perceptions as a point of departure for teacher education and teacher professional development, among others.

In a democratic South Africa, English has increasingly become the preferred medium of instruction despite the majority of South African learners being mother tongue speakers of other languages. Many learners in urban areas are enrolled to take English Home Language and especially novice teachers expect them to have mother tongue proficiency. However, the reality is that learners come from diverse backgrounds and a single class comprises learners with varying levels of English proficiency. This study seeks to establish who is the actual target audience seated in the socalled English Home Language class. Quantitative data were collected through a questionnaire completed by 642 Grade 8 and 9 respondents at three suburban schools in Gauteng. Cross tabulations were used to compare different variables. Key findings indicate that respondents – although multilingual – do not consider themselves adequately proficient in English. Secondly, the role of the caregiver as initial source of learning English has been underestimated. Although smallscale, the study highlights the mismatch between classroom reality and curriculum requirements. Results suggest that the national education authorities need to adapt policy documents so that what is currently expected of learners might be more easily accomplished in the English class. The questionnaire may serve as a useful resource to determine the linguistic profile of a particular target group.

Academic literacy interventions are becoming increasingly important in a country where the secondary education system no longer adequately prepares students for the literacy demands of higher education. This article investigates whether there was an improvement in students’ academic literacy levels between the onset and completion of an academic literacy module at a South African university. This is done by using a combination of instruments selected from a proposed evaluation design for academic literacy interventions, suggested by Fouché, Van Dyk and Butler (2016). A pre-test / post-test design is used, where, firstly, students’ results in a validated and reliable generic academic literacy test are considered. Secondly, students’ writing abilities are assessed by means of two instruments: a rubric and quantitative measures. Finally, students’ academic literacy marks are correlated to other variables, and interpreted within the context of the study, to give additional insight into the impact of the academic literacy course. Findings indicate that students showed an improvement across a wide array of academic literacy abilities, in particular their ability to use source material in their writing assignments, and their usage of a wider range of academic vocabulary. However, there were also areas where students did not display any improvement. Based on the experience of implementing various evaluation instruments, several recommendations are made on how future researchers could avoid pitfalls that were encountered in this study.

This article provides insight into the knowledge held by Zimbabwean Ordinary Level beginner teachers who teach Literature in English. An extant of research output on ESL focuses on curriculum, subject, learner, and pedagogical content knowledge of linguistic content, with limited, if any, focus on knowledge of Literature in English. To address this gap, this study employed a qualitative single case study design to gather data on the knowledge held by four purposively selected beginner teachers. In the context of this study, beginner teachers were college trained English teachers who had been in the profession for less than four years. The study was underpinned by social constructivism and current literature on experiential teacher knowledge. The study established as a novel finding that beginner teachers held attitudinal knowledge. Additionally, the findings affirmed that beginner teachers’ knowledge was a multiple-sourced construct that was fluid, idiosyncratic, attitudinal, pragmatic, and contextual. The study recommends that teacher preparation institutions consider the findings as basis for student teacher training programmes that foster connections between personal and experiential sources of knowledge construction.

A lack of transfer of academic literacy competencies was identified by academic literacy and Statistics lecturers involved in an extended programme course. This paper reports on one attempt at a workable collaborative solution to this challenge. The collaborative attempt is situated within the academic literacies framework, and is described. Thereafter, student feedback as well as critical self-reflections from participating lecturers are qualitatively analysed in an interpretative framework, to determine how key stakeholders experienced the collaborative intervention. The collaborative attempt was found to be valuable in more effectively achieving the outcomes of both courses, and in helping students see the relevance of academic literacy in content subjects – this is in line with an academic literacies framework which holds that academic literacy cannot be divorced from the contexts in which it is practiced. The primary factors that led to a successful collaboration were a willingness of all partners to participate in the project and regular communication between collaborators. Main problems encountered revolved around miscommunication between lecturers and students, and an insufficiently detailed timetable that resulted in pressure at certain stages.

This study investigated the English FAL teachers’ knowledge and their use of reading methods. A mixed method approach was followed, where both qualitative and quantitative research methods were combined. Qualitative methods preceded quantitative methods. During the first phase of the study 8 teachers who teach English FAL in the intermediate phase were interviewed. For the second phase of the study, a questionnaire was distributed to 80 teachers in the different towns in the Motheo education district. Most of the participants teach in the township schools where the learners learn in English and also do English as FAL. Qualitative data was analysed thematically, while quantitative analysis involved the use of descriptive analysis. The research findings imply the following: teachers have a superficial knowledge of reading methods and the main components of reading, there are other factors that affect the teaching of reading, and many teachers still shy away from infusing technology in their reading lessons.

The massification of higher education has led to a substantial increase in enrolments since 1993, and an astonishing 300% rise in first degree completion among black students. Yet questions remain about the level and adequacy of students’ preparation at school for such study. Drop-out rates of learners remain unacceptably high both at school and university level. Language ability is often identified as being one of several hurdles that prevent success, especially in higher education. At school there is an apparent misalignment between the aims of the current Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), and the subsequent instruction and assessment of students. CAPS requires that students should be prepared to handle academic discourse, yet no clear outline of what academic discourse entails is given. Consequently, many higher education institutions across the country require of students to write additional pre-admission or post-entry tests of language ability. In some cases the National Benchmark Test (NBT) is used to grant or deny access, or in others for placement of at-risk students on language development interventions, usually defined as “academic literacy” courses. The clear expectation is that these tests will have some measure of predictive value, or at least be useful as regards minimising risk of failure. Ideally, it would then be advantageous if students who need to improve their academic literacy levels could be identified at an earlier stage than university entry, whilst they are still in school. To monitor and gauge the value of language assessments and courses, however, one would first need appropriate, adequate and defensible assessment instruments. This paper discusses the need for and the refinement of an academic literacy test for Grade 10 students as a first step towards measuring and then developing the required level of academic literacy before entry into higher education.