Browsing by Author "Wildsmith-Cromarty, Rosemary."

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The African languages in South African education 2009–2011.
(Cambridge University Press., 2012) Wildsmith-Cromarty, Rosemary.
No abstract available.
AILA Africa Research Network Launch 2007 : research into the use of the African languages for academic purposes.
(Cambridge University Press for British Council and National Centre for Languages., 2008) Wildsmith-Cromarty, Rosemary.
No abstract available.
A balanced reading approach for grade one and two English L1 and EAL learners.
(2003) Gounden, Janakie.; Wildsmith-Cromarty, Rosemary.
This study reports on a balanced reading approach (BRA) designed for a multi-cultural classroom, including both Ll ( first language) and EAL ( English additional language ) Foundation phase learners. The purpose of this study is to explore how interactive reading approaches develop literacy skills for six African learners. The teacher as researcher developed a theoretical model, which informed her pedagogic practices in the balanced reading programme. She also engaged in action research to gain an insight into what teaching approaches, methodologies and resources make EAL learners learn more effectively. This information was disseminated to other educator colleagues. This study also examines parents' views on the BRA and their perceptions of the reading process. Data was drawn from the following sources: teacher observations and interactions with learners, semi-structured interviews with parents of learners, analysis of learner assessment and parental questionnaires. It was concluded that a balanced reading approach which values mother tongue instruction in a supportive learning environment enhances the self concepts and cognitive growth of EAL learners. This study has also demonstrated that collaborative active learning, extensive independent reading, language experience approach, home support , community support, high levels of intrinsic learner motivation and high teacher expectations of learners can positively impact on the EAL learners' academic progress and social growth at school. Keywords: Foundation phase English Additional Language Balanced Reading Approach III Additive Bilingualism Communicative Language Teaching Whole Language
Code-mixing in simultaneous language acquisition.
(2006) Hara, Agness Bernadette Chimangeni.; Wildsmith-Cromarty, Rosemary.
This thesis is based on the recorded speech and field notes of the author's three-year-old child who was acquiring three languages simultaneously (Chichewa, Chitumbuka and English). Chichewa is his mother's first language, Chitumbuka is his father's first language and English is both the language of the preschool that he was attending and the official language in Malawi. This study was unusual in that it involved African languages that are under-researched in the field of language acquisition and dealt with two cognate languages (Chichewa and Chitumbuka) and a non-cognate language, English. The fact that Chichewa and Chitumbuka strongly resemble each other may have made movement between the two easier for the child. The analysis of the child's recorded speech shows that he mixed more at the lexical level (64.2%) and less at the phonological level (6.3%). The findings demonstrate that what the child had learnt at school in English fulfilled a booster function when either Chichewa or Chitumbuka was used. The results also reveal that the child's language mixing was influenced by the topic of discussion, the context and the interlocutor's mixed input. The interlocutor's discourse strategies also had an impact on the child's use of mixing. The results therefore provide support for the bilingual bootstrapping hypothesis, the modeling hypothesis and the discourse hypothesis. The results also demonstrate that Chichewa was generally the matrix or host language when mixing occurred. At school, however, where only English was permitted, the question of a matrix language did not occur. Furthermore, the combination of lexical and grammatical morphemes demonstrates that Chichewa was dominant in the child's speech, in terms of the dominant-language hypothesis proposed by Petersen (1988). This study challenges the Free Morpheme Constraint and the Equivalence Constraint in that they do not appear to be universally applicable. Instead, the Matrix Language Frame Model is supported as it applies to code-mixing involving English and Bantu languages. This model was relevant, as the speech analyzed in this study involved code-mixing between English and the two Bantu languages, Chichewa and Chitumbuka. However, it was difficult to apply the Matrix Language Frame Model to some of the child's mixed utterances because the MLU was low. It is hoped therefore that researchers will create further models that will allow for an analysis of the mixed morphemes in single word utterances, especially for the Nguni African languages, which are agglutinative by nature.
A critical discourse analysis, through deconstruction and reconstruction of Grade 8 English language textbooks in light of the Hizmet humanistic philosophy for the purpose of character education.
(2019) Duymun-Demirtaş, Naailah.; Wildsmith-Cromarty, Rosemary.
The English language textbook as a vehicle of linguistic and general knowledge can at times contain topics which may not be appropriate for the diverse learners in a South African Grade 8 classroom. The focus of this research is on the deconstruction before the subsequent reconstruction of texts from selected Grade 8 English language textbooks to uncover hidden ideologies1 as well as power relations and naturalized subject constructions and assumptions which could impact on learners. The samples are of multimodal texts on topics such as teenage love and dating. The concept of metadiscourse as the voice of the author is also explored in terms of its influence on learners. Through the presentation of these topics and the assumption of authors, learners are all positioned as promiscuous sensual beings ready for romance. The theoretical and methodological frameworks comprise critical discourse analysis and eclectic theories and methods such as systemic functional grammar, appraisal theory, multimodality, and Thompson’s modes of operation of ideology. These are also used as analytical deconstruction and reconstruction tools. Textual fragments are reconstructed in light of character education and humanism, and subjects are re- imagined and re-presented to allow access to learners from multiple habitus. The aim of the reconstruction is to orient learners humanistically through the Hizmet2 /service philosophy towards universal values and ethics, with the hope of bringing up social capital in terms of a future of Golden Generation of quality individuals who will serve humanity with good morals.
Developing a workbook for a cooperative learning project : a critical exploration of the extent to which an English I cooperative learning project based on communication language teaching principles is compatible with the pedagogy of access proposed by the Multiliteracies Project.
(2000) Sanders, Nicole Joy.; Wildsmith-Cromarty, Rosemary.
This research report encompasses the development and implementation of a cooperative learning project over four cycles of action research. The context for this research is eleven business communication classes, primarily comprised of Black South African adult learners using English as an additional language. The project was developed in response to national recurriculation for Outcomes Based Education and Curriculum 2005, integrating aspects of the old English syllabus in a meaningful series of business communication activities that gave learners opportunities to interact with and visit local companies. Learners engaged in the project in groups and compiled various written responses, correspondence and reports in group portfolios. The project culminated in a group business presentation where the whole class learned about the company visited and peer groups joined the lecturer in the summative assessment process. The project aimed to empower students in a number of ways, using techniques such as peer-mediation, code-switching, genre-teaching and textual scaffolding. A study guide was produced in the second cycle of action research. The study guide was revised for the third and fourth cycles in response to reflections on student feedback and using Technikon Natal and the South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE) criteria. Data was collected using student reports and assignments, questionnaires and journals. Analysis of the data and the study guides was reflexive and guided further implementations. A fifth cycle is anticipated where the multiliteracies pedagogy will be applied to the activities of the project and the study guide will be transformed into an interactive learner workbook accordingly.
The development of a sustainability model for the integration and use of an African language as a language of learning and teaching in higher education.
(University of KwaZulu-Natal., 2010) Wildsmith-Cromarty, Rosemary.
This paper discusses the organic development of a Sustainability Model for the implementation of an African language, viz. Zulu, as a language of learning and teaching (LoLT) at tertiary level in a South African University. The model created the conceptual framework for research into and implementation of Zulu as a medium of instruction in selected subject areas at University level. The aim of this project is to promote multilingualism in higher education. It has been funded by the South Africa-Norway Tertiary Education Development (SANTED) programme. This article traces the initial development of this model, which drew on the findings of various research studies over a period of ten years, culminating in its application to the development of specialist discourse and terminology in Zulu in specific subject areas in the Social Sciences, Health Sciences and Humanities curricula. The project involved the collaboration of various subject specialists in Psychology, Nursing, Dentistry and Education (Foundation Phase level). The implementation has been two-fold: the offering of basic communication skills courses in Zulu for non-Zulu-speaking staff and students involved in the above professional disciplines, and terminology development in the respective disciplines in order to enable the use of Zulu in selected materials and tutorial groups. This SANTED-funded initiative (2006) has been a systematically-planned and deliberate intervention on the part of lecturers and researchers to introduce an African language as a potential LoLT, whilst at the same time contributing to the intellectualisation of the language in question.
The effects of the learn to read : reading to learn approach on the academic literacy performance of students in the BCOM4 English language and development programme.
(2012) Steinke, Kellie Jo-Anne.; Wildsmith-Cromarty, Rosemary.
This dissertation reports on a study to determine the effects of using the Learn to Read: Reading to Learn approach (R2L), as developed by Dr David Rose, on BCom4 Access Level students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The aim of the study was to examine the effects of the approach on learners‘ reading abilities and subsequent ability to write and structure texts according to the conventions required by the particular academic context (genre). Forty-six students who registered for the first year BCom4 Access English Language and Development Programme in 2011 participated. All these students come from disadvantaged backgrounds, where there has been a lack of both access to and a culture of reading. The intention of the intervention, if it proved successful in improving the academic literacy levels of participants, was to recommend the implementation of the R2L approach across the additional disciplines of BCom4. An Action Research approach was used, as well as a Case Study, beginning in February 2011 and ending November 2011. The participating students were taught to read selected texts and scaffolded in independent writing of the texts using the six stages of the R2L teaching cycle. Out of the original 46 students, ten were closely tracked. Various data were collected and analysed during the study period. The data from tracked students included pre- and post-intervention reading assessments; a questionnaire; assessments from written texts in the form of assignments, tests and examinations; and data from a focus group interview. Data collected from the entire study group includes written and verbal feedback concerning the effects of the approach. In addition, feedback from other lecturers within the BCom4 course was also recorded and described. The quantitative findings indicate that reading levels of the students increased between one and three levels over the study period, in keeping with the claims that R2L makes about its own efficacy. Comparisons were made of overall results for term and examination marks over both semesters. These consisted of written assignments and tests. The results showed that there was a general decrease in the marks achieved in the first semester of between 2 and 11% in semester scores and between 5 and 18% in the examination scores. This may have been due to the increase in the level difficulty of writing tasks throughout the year. The written assignments of the students also under-went detailed analysis, which indicated a significant improvement in writing at both the macro and micro levels of text, namely referencing, staging, grammar, spelling and punctuation. On a qualitative level, students and academic staff have noted beneficial effects of the approach in terms of the improvement of the reading and comprehension of texts in English as well as in related disciplines such as economics and mathematics. These findings correlate with R2L claims that it is able to improve the literacy performance of students between two and four levels across a one year period. This improvement is independent of the previous literacy history of students and can be applied across the curriculum, from foundational to tertiary education levels. The implications of these findings lead to recommendations that R2L continue to be developed and adapted for South African conditions and that it should be implemented across all modules within the Bcom4 Access programme at UKZN. In order to achieve its full potential in improving academic literacy, the R2L approach needs to function across the curriculum and not just remain in the domain of foundational or English language educators. The seriousness of the poor educational system in South Africa demands that all educators begin to see themselves as teachers of continued reading, whether their disciplines are Mathematics, Science or English language teaching.
An evaluation of language materials developed by the Language in Learning and Teaching (LILT) project in terms of the language development of the learners using them, based on what they aim to achieve and their perceived functions in the light of the guiding principles under-pinning the LILT project.
(2001) Du Preez, Elizabeth J.; Wildsmith-Cromarty, Rosemary.
The focus of the research reported on in this dissertation is an evaluation of the Language in Learning and Teaching project (LILT), in terms of its ability to facilitate English language development in schools where both educators and learners are second language speakers and where the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) is English. The research involved two main phases. During the first phase I established evaluation criteria from the literature review, from another project the English Language Education Trust, (ELET) and from my own experience and feedback from the end-users (Le. teachers) and the observation of workshops. In the second phase I evaluated the LILT materials against the criteria developed in the literature review, analysed the feedback from end-users in the form of a questionnaire and made recommendations. In this dissertation the following terms will be used interchangeably: teacher, educator, facilitator and tutor because in the quoted passages, the term teacher is largely used. However, in Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) the terms educator, facilitator and tutor are used.
An evaluation of oral feedback as a means of scaffolding for postgraduate student writing.
(2007) Kerchhoff, Jennifer Anne.; Wildsmith-Cromarty, Rosemary.
Universities in South Africa as yet do not provide multilingual education. For many students this means they have to use their second or additional language for the Discourse of the academic world. This dissertation investigates one Honours / Masters module offered by a lecturer in the theology department. It describes, in the form of a case study, how the lecturer uses the oracy skills (listening and speaking) to scaffold the students into the appropriate use of Academic Discourse. This lecturer uses the practicality of fieldwork, the intensity of emotional work and the flexibility of the spoken discourse to guide students into the reflexivity and criticality of the Academic Discourse. The data is discussed in terms of discourse analysis, genre theory and academic literacy, together with current understanding of feedback during process writing. My focus is on oral feedback. The results of this study indicate that the lecturer, and the students who took his module, felt satisfied that a greater depth of theological and linguistic criticality and reflexivity had been reached. The focus of this dissertation was on the students' uptake of the oral feedback given by the lecturer. It was the process that was explored rather than the final written product. Further research could investigate how much the students' writing improves as a result of intervention such as this. The lecturer's pedagogy maximised the language skills used in the Preacher (hortatory) Discourse that have something in common with the skills required in Academic (expository) Discourse. This dissertation concludes that these skills should be maintained while also developing the other skills required for Academic Discourse. These skills include the ability to be detached and uninvolved. However, if this detachment is to be achieved, the student needs first to be fully involved in the process so that transformation and appropriation can take place. This comes about through critical reflection - the hallmark of Academic Discourse.
Kossi-Komla-Ebri : an African voice in Italian contemporary literature.
(2008) Bellusci, Federica.; Wildsmith-Cromarty, Rosemary.; Kearney, John Anthony.
The early eighties saw Italy become a landing bay for thousands of immigrants who abandoned their homes in search of a better life. Almost immediately, Italian academics highlighted the importance of this new phenomenon but tended to emphasize the superficial aspects that all immigrants in Italy had in common, aspects linked to the way of life of the newly arrived immigrants which in essence was very different from the Italian way of life. Soon however, the need for the migrants to be heard grew and La Letteratura della Migrazione was born. This world-wide literary phenomenon manifested itself at a much later date in Italy, compared to other European countries, largely due to the fact that a cultural tradition imposed by colonialism did not exist. Paradoxically, it is this very lack of colonial history that has given Italian migrant writers the freedom to express themselves in a style of literature that is original and primarily spontaneous and in many ways different to other Italian writers. It is against this background that Kossi Komla-Ebri writes in Italian, the language he embraces by choice. Although this dissertation focuses initially on the first African migrant writers, it is primarily a detailed study of the characters in Komla-Ebri’s novel Neyla (2002) and in his collection of short stories All’incrocio dei sentieri (2003). In the broader sense, it explores those themes in his narrative common to migrant literature in general, such as the journey, alienation, otherness, loss of identity and the return home. While it is true that these themes represent universal archetypes present in literature since Homer, the study looks predominantly at how Komla-Ebri’s thematic exposition differs from other works in the same general categories. The study shows how in exploring and expounding the constant divide between two continents and two cultures, Komla-Ebri succeeds with great compassion and humanity not only to bridge the gap between diverse identities, but also to break away from the African/migrant writer category.
Nurturing a multilingual dispensation : the ideological influence of SABC TV broadcasting policy and practice on the language attitudes of a predetermined sample population.
(2011) Evans, Robert.; Wildsmith-Cromarty, Rosemary.
The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes of a predetermined sample population of SABC TV viewers towards SABC’s language policies, and to identify and critically analyse the factors that influenced these attitudes by approaching the subject matter from a variety of methodological positions. This is an especially important undertaking when considering that the South African media landscape has for decades been the site of political, social and ideological confrontation, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) notwithstanding. Since operating as a mouthpiece for the National Party during the apartheid era, the role of the SABC in contemporary post-apartheid South Africa has come into sharp focus. The SABC’s role in South African society, allied to its status as a public service broadcaster, is significant in terms of encouraging nation-building and a unified national identity or cohesive national identities. Furthermore, the relationship between the public broadcaster and national policy makers is central to attaining goals such as linguistic parity in multilingual situations, such as in South Africa. For the SABC, what would be a difficult task under normal circumstances is made even more challenging when considering the numerous linguistically harmful legacies that remain after the apartheid period, where African languages were devalued and disempowered in the eyes of their speakers. The status of English as an international language, as well as the role that it played near the end of the apartheid era, would also come to be an obstacle in the path to the equitable treatment of South Africa’s eleven official languages. As such, this study aimed in part to determine whether SABC TV has embraced, or is perceived to have embraced, the ethos of the Constitution (Act 108 of 1996) and its own multilingual policies. More importantly, the main focus of this project was to ascertain the effect of SABC TV’s linguistic policy and practice decisions on the attitudinal dispositions of its viewing public, and to attempt to frame these language attitudes in terms of the ideologies operating within South Africa and the SABC. To achieve this, an assortment of complementary data-gathering techniques were arranged in a multi-method and triangulation approach to investigating the complex research problem. A historical analysis of South Africa’s and the SABC’s social, political, and media landscapes identified ideologically significant events from South Africa’s history, and these included the introduction of tangible linguistic and ideological boundaries between the African languages, the hegemony of English as a language of social and economic mobility and as the language of the indigenous African populations struggle against apartheid, speakers of African languages being placed in opposition to their own languages thanks to the misuse of mother tongue education, the association of Afrikaans with the apartheid state and the theoretical commitment of the democratic government and the SABC to fostering inclusive multilingualism. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the SABC’s current language policy and language practices were also conducted. Whilst at face value SABC TV was seen to more or less meet the language delivery quotas stipulated by ICASA (a regulatory body) during the given period, further investigation determined that the manner in which the quotas were framed made it easy for the SABC to implement practicable strategies in implementing the multilingualism espoused by the Constitution (Act 108 of 1996). A survey and focus group interview were employed to investigate the language attitudes of the sample population in terms of the following themes: standardisation of languages (standard Sotho or Nguni), the efficiency of multilingual broadcasting in South Africa, the social and functional capability of African languages, the perceived positions of English and the African languages in South African society, and the role and responsibilities of the public broadcaster. The predetermined sample population comprised of mainly first language English and isiZulu speakers, and the linguistic attitudes between these two language groups were observed to significantly different on a number of key criteria, potentially due to those ideologically significant events uncovered with the historical description, as well as to the language policies and practices utilised by SABC TV. First language English speakers were neutral with regards to many of the issues surrounding the efforts of SABC TV at inclusive multilingual broadcasting, possibly influenced by the hegemony of English, as well as having a vested interest in maintaining the elite closure enjoyed by its speakers. Juxtaposed to the first language English speaking component of the sample population were the first language isiZulu speakers who exhibited much more of a loyalty towards their language, and towards the African languages in general. This study hopefully contributed in a small way to developing an understanding of the relationship between these speakers, as well as of their attitudes towards and expectations of language policies and practices at the level of both the SABC TV and government. By better understanding the intricacies of the complex and unique social milieu within it works, the SABC can be better equipped to formulate and execute policies and practices to best serve the needs of all South Africans.
Reading isiZulu: reading processes in an agglutinative language with a transparent orthography.
(2015) Land, Sandra Jane.; Wildsmith-Cromarty, Rosemary.
The focus of this thesis is skilled silent reading in isiZulu. It begins by exploring the current social and educational context of learning to read and practising reading skills in isiZulu. It then considers eye movement patterns that point to proficient reading or incompetent reading, and discusses pitfalls in designing research that aims to compare reading across languages. Thereafter, by exploring measurable aspects of eye movement patterns of a group of skilled adult readers of isiZulu it offers a tentative profile of the reading processes currently exhibited by these readers. This profile indicates that with an average reading speed of 815 letters per minute, isiZulu text takes more time to read than text in other alphabetic languages, and that readers‟ eye movement patterns differ considerably from the patterns known to characterise proficient reading of English. The comparison is pertinent since English is the most common second language amongst speakers of isiZulu. Psycholinguistic grain size theory provides a useful frame for understanding the differing reading behaviours that appear to characterise each language. The thesis goes on to analyse indications of automaticity in recordings of eye movement, and suggests textual factors that might be associated with immediate recognition of words or active decoding, which is the opposite of automatic recognition. Findings suggest that the agglutinative structure and conjoined writing system of isiZulu may be less conducive to the development and exercise of automaticity than orthographies of disjunctive languages. Finally, through a process of using the records of each reader‟s moving point of focus as a stimulus for recall the intricacies of the cognitive experience of reading of each participant are explored. Their finely detailed accounts are used to identify strategies consciously used by competent readers of isiZulu. Some of these strategies, such as visualisation, are common to efficient readers of all languages, while others might be peculiar to agglutinative and/or tonal languages. These strategies inform suggestions that may be helpful to educationalists in enhancing the development of effective reading skills in isiZulu.
The role of generic communication in preparing students for engineering workplace practices : the contribution of the communication course towards the student's preparation in genre and contextualized language in the workplace.
(2011) Hondy, Richard.; Wildsmith-Cromarty, Rosemary.
This thesis argues that generic communication practice plays an important role in preparing engineering students for the workplace. Engineering courses, being contextually-bound, cannot prepare students in the same way as generic courses, which can be more flexible in being able to bring workplace practices, documents and artefacts into the academic domain. Therefore the thesis promotes the view that the communication course can provide a basic structure in terms of genre training and technical language from which the students may access further knowledge from the workplace. In an engineering faculty, the communication course facilitates the student’s interactions in classroom discourse. The course also plays a vital role in the student’s transition from academic discourse to the professional discourse of the workplace. This research views this transition from a social perspective, placing the student within the context of the engineering faculty’s discourse community, and, subsequently, sees the student-trainee in the workplace as part of a community of practice. The study concentrates on the contradictions between these two contexts in order to investigate how the communication course impacts on the progress of the student’s discourse practices between classroom and workplace. The observable features of discourse which the investigation focuses on are genre rules, the use of technical language, and the student-trainee’s interaction with colleagues, supervisors, and artifacts of the workplace. The study uses discourse theory with an academic literacy underpinning to establish a framework for the student’s interactions with academic language. These interactions are explored by means of 100 questionnaires administered to first-intake engineering students at Durban University of Technology. The findings reveal that, while students say they do not always understand what is expected of them in terms of using genres to produce documents assigned by the communication course, they appear to be capable of using genre rules when applied to group tasks. Furthermore, students do not seem to regard technical language in its wider context, as a feature of classroom discourse practices. Instead they see it narrowly, as a necessary but isolated skill to be learnt for workplace discourse practices. The research considers the impact of these perceptions and practices on the findings and analysis of workplace practices. The investigation into workplace discourse practices is guided by activity theory which sees a document’s genre rules in a mediating function, and community of practice theory, which places the student-trainee’s interactions within the construct, situated learning. The study used the participant-observer technique to explore workplace discourse in eight engineering companies in Durban and surrounding areas. The observations were complemented by follow-up questions in interviews with thirty six student-trainees in these companies. The findings have shown that, even though students said they had difficulties with technical language in the classroom, they were able to apply it adequately within the context of the workplace. Furthermore, genre rules needed to be adapted to suit workplace practices, therefore the rules of document design in classroom practices should focus on flexibility as well as structure. The findings also suggest that the communication course should see the classroom and the workplace as two activity systems which complement each other, and the communication course should be placed in close proximity to the student’s entrance to the workplace.
The translatability of English academic discourse into isiZulu with reference to the discourse of mathematics.
(2009) Ntshangase-Mtolo, Phakamile.; Wildsmith-Cromarty, Rosemary.
This research investigates the translatability of English Academic Discourse into isiZulu with specific reference to the discourse of Mathematics. The focus is on the translation processes and strategies used in the translations to maintain the core meaning of concepts. The reason for the research is that African-language speaking learners experience problems in understanding and using crucial academic concepts in English and the language that contextualizes them. The research thus analyses translated texts from the mathematics and mathematical literacy learning areas selected from a Multilingual Teachers’ Resource Book written for learners at the GET Level (Grade 7-9) in order to explore the process of translation by examining the isiZulu translated texts (target texts) of English source texts, and their subsequent back-translations. The main focus is on the quality of the translation and the strategies translators use in order to retain the core meaning of the original text, especially when languages are non-cognate. The study found that although formal equivalence between non-cognate languages is difficult to achieve, functional or near-equivalence is not always appropriate either, especially in specialized discourses of a scientific or technical nature. The solution lies in building up the technical discourse in the African Languages. This research also explores possible limitations in the translator-training offered for bilingual translators of English and isiZulu and leads to recommendations as to what the translator-training should focus on in the long term. Findings from this research should contribute to the language policy debate on isiZulu as a viable medium of instruction as well as to the process of terminology development.