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Tsenang!: An interactive multimedia programme for learning Beginner Setswana
A.S. Berg & R.S. Pretorius
African Languages, School of Languages, PU for CHE
Abstract
In this article the interactive computer-based nature of the Tsenang! programme for learning Beginner Setswana is explained. The structure and components of the programme are presented. The programme consists of four chapters which are divided into lessons. Specific functions, grammar, skills and lexical items are linked to the lessons. The programme also includes exercises for the assessment of the functions, grammar, skills and lexical items. The selection, order and systematic presentation of the lessons, functions, grammar, skills and lexical items as well as the exercises play an important role in the learning of Setswana in this programme. The learning process in Tsenang! is based on interaction and active participation i.e., the processes of learning and exploring new material, consulting related items, consolidating new knowledge and assessment.
Keywords: language teaching; language learning; multimedia; computer assisted language learning; outcomes based education; Setswana
Opsomming
In hierdie artikel word die rekenaargebaseerde interaktiewe aard van die Tsenang! program vir die aanleer van Beginner Setswana verduidelik. Die struktuur en onderdele van die program word bespreek. Die program is saamgestel uit vier hoofstukke wat verdeel in verskillende lesse. Spesifieke funksies, grammatika, vaardighede en leksikale items is aan elke les gekoppel. Die program bevat ook oefeninge waarmee die funksies, grammatika, vaardighede en leksikon getoets kan word. Die seleksie, ordening en ’n sistematiese aanbieding van die hoofstukke, lesse, funksies, grammatika, vaardighede, leksikon en oefeninge speel ’n belangrike rol met die aanleer van Setswana in die program. Die leerproses in Tsenang! is gebaseer op interaktiwiteit en aktiewe deelname (dit is die prosesse van leer (verken nuwe studiemateriaal), die raadpleging van verwante items, die samevatting van verworwe kennis en toetsing).
Sleutelwoorde: taalonderrig; taalverwerwing; multimedia; rekenaargesteunde taalverwerwing; uitkomsgebaseerde onderrig; Setswana
Absolute tense forms in Tswana
R.S. Pretorius
Subject group African languages, School of languages, PU for CHE
Abstract
The theme of this article is “tense” as category of the verb in Tswana and more specifically the different tenses that can be identified according to the theory of absolute and relative tense forms. Several publications by experts were consulted to shed new light on the previously held view on tense in Tswana. These views were compared in an attempt to put forth an applicable framework for the classification of the tenses in Tswana and to identify the absolute tenses of Tswana.
Keywords: tense; simple tenses; compound tenses; absolute tenses; relative tenses; aspect; auxiliary verbs; auxiliary verbal groups; Tswana
Opsomming
Die tema van hierdie artikel is tyd as kategorie van die werkwoord in Tswana, met spesifieke verwysing na die verskillende tye wat in Tswana geïdentifiseer kan word volgens die teorie van absolute en relatiewe tye. Verskeie publikasies deur kundiges is geraadpleeg en hulle werk is vergelyk. Dit is gedoen om nuwe lig te werp op die tradisionele beskouing van tyd in Tswana en om sodoende ’n toepaslike raamwerk daar te stel vir die klassifikasie van die tye in Tswana. Daarna is die verskillende absolute tye van Tswana geïdentifiseer.
Sleutelwoorde:
tyd; enkelvoudige tye; saamgestelde tye; absolute tye; relatiewe tye; aspek; hulpwerkwoorde; hulpwerkwoordgroepe; Tswana
Bringing Foreign Language Learning into the 21st century
Hilda Thomas
Institution: University of Port Elizabeth
Abstract
Bringing Foreign Language Learning into the 21st Century. The different challenges facing foreign language lecturers are considered as well as the different methods used to teach a foreign language. Technology and multimedia are proposed not only as tools and supports but also as a possible solution. With the change in the student demographics, there is a need for engaged learners to take full responsibility for their language learning. There is also a need for lecturers who are not only language experts but who are also trained in the use of technology and who can facilitate foreign language learning.
Key words: foreign-language learning; technology and multimedia
Creative capstone computer projects for post-graduate students of English
Marieken Swart
Department of English, Faculty of Arts, University of Stellenbosch
Abstract
The capstone forms an integral part of outcome-based education. Based on a concept from early Roman building techniques, a capstone experience aims to bring a period of study to meaningful and practical fruition. With this in mind, the English Department at the University of Stellenbosch has designed a module in its Honours course that allows post-graduate students the opportunity to develop additional skills in the design and development of multimedia projects that effectively combine the knowledge they have gained during the course of their English studies with state of the art technological innovations in education. This paper explores the nature of the capstone experience and discusses the contribution it makes to the education and skills development of post-graduate students. It describes the main assignment of the module “Learning and Teaching through Multimedia”, shows that it demands carefully demarcated academic research, the ability to structure and present knowledge in an interactive multimedia environment and a sensitive understanding of both the learning and teaching process. As such, the assignment is a practical demonstration of skill and knowledge in an important, authentic context. The article is illustrated by extracts from multimedia projects completed by post-graduate students.
Keywords: Capstone; Multimedia projects; English language; English literature; Postgraduate
Afrikaans language teachers still use pick and shovel to mine the Information Super Reef
Danielle Heyns
School of Teacher Training, Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria
M.E. Snyman
Department of Information Science, University of Pretoria
Abstract
This article originated as a paper prepared for the 2002 conference of the South African Association for Language Teaching (SAALT) on the theme, “The changing contexts of language teaching: renewal or resistance”. Both report on research conducted to determine the extent to which South African teachers and, in particular, Afrikaans language teachers, utilise the Internet as an information resource. Information communication technologies such as the Internet can impact positively on many sectors in society, including the educational sector. Empirical research done to establish how Afrikaans language teachers use the Internet in their professional capacity indicates that there is still resistance and a lack of awareness among many Afrikaans language teachers with regard to exploring and utilising the possibilities that the Internet provides for information delivery and teacher support. In comparing the findings of this research with practices in some developed Western countries it became evident that teachers in South Africa are lagging behind.
Keywords: Afrikaans language teachers; internet; information resource; information needs
Intervention and language attitudes: the effects of one development programme on the language attitudes of primary school educators
Charlyn Dyers
Iilwimi Centre for Multilingualism and the Language Professions, University of the Western Cape.
Abstract
The Iilwimi Centre for Multilingualism and the Language Professions ran a development programme for primary school educators from 5 schools in the Helderberg Basin from 2000–2002. The aim of this programme was to help the educators to cope with the demands of the multilingual classroom as learner populations at these schools became increasingly diverse in terms of language and culture. The intervention included the following aspects:
Diversity Management;
Assistance with the formulation
of Language Policy;
Language
Acquisition in Xhosa and Afrikaans;
Assistance with
the new curriculum 2005;
Multilingual
materials production and
The creation of a
multilingual schools magazine.
In 2002, a research project was carried out on the development programme in order to assess the effect of this type of intervention on the teachers’ language attitudes, and also to determine whether such effects could be sustained beyond the period of the programme. The latter was assessed by considering the effect of the programme on teachers who experienced the foundation and intermediate phases of the programme through classroom observation, interviews and questionnaires. The period of the research also coincided with the senior phase of the programme. This article is a description of the research project and its findings.
Keywords: multilingualism; language attitudes; attitude change
Consciousness-raising about grammar in the second-language classroom: Utilising authentic samples of learner-learner interaction in a task-based oral activity
S.I. Brokensha & W.J. Greyling
Department of English, University of the Free State
Abstract
In recent years, the focus in second-language teaching programmes has been on task-based activities which are characterised by “a real-world relationship” (Skehan, 1998: 268) or ones that are aimed at empowering learners to use the target language with a view to accomplishing specific tasks outside the classroom situation. Where meaning is regarded as primary in task-based instruction, some researchers have argued that fossilisation of incorrect structures by learners may occur (Higgs & Clifford, 1982; cf. Richards & Lockhart, 1994: 107). More recent studies argue that linguistic support must not be omitted from language teaching programmes within a task-based, communicative approach (Swain, 1996; Doughty & Varela, 1998). The main aim of this research article is to consider how language practitioners can sensitise learners to aspects of linguistic form and provide feedback on form within task-based instruction. This article reports on the findings of a critical-reflective, Conversation Analytic (CA) study of two task-based, role-play activities undertaken at the University of the Free State in 1996. The analysis of the patterns of discourse reflected in the first activity revealed that learners were not offered form-focused input and feedback. Form-focused instruction was thus included in the second activity. In modifying the activity, the authors argued that the language practitioner could heighten learners’ awareness of grammatical structures in context by structuring the activity around authentic samples of learner-learner interaction generated during the role play. Once the modified activity had been implemented in the classroom, the authors analysed the discourse patterns in the activity in order to verify or disprove their claim. Although the second activity included form-focused input and feedback, it did not give learners sufficient autonomy to explore the possible directions in which their self-generated discourse could have gone. Specifically, the activity did not exploit the potential within learners’ interlanguages. For this reason, other kinds of form-focused input strategies are considered.
Keywords: Authenticity; Task-based oral activity; Form-focused input
Writing in English with an ‘African voice’: ownership, identity and learning
Elizabeth de Kadt
First Level School, University of Natal, Durban
Nhlanhla Mathonsi
isiZulu Programme, University of Natal, Durban
Abstract
The paper draws on the academic literacies approach to student writing and investigates academic writing, in English, by speakers of African languages at the University of Natal, Durban. Given that education can be considered to involve the formation of consciousness and identity, we ask to what extent these speakers of other primary languages feel able to participate fully in this and to claim ownership of the knowledge construction required in tertiary education. To answer this question we investigate whether black students feel able to write in the academic context with an ‘own voice’. Interviews with 20 students suggest that few respondents feel able to assume an African identity in our university. We consider ways in which the university might be more adequately constituted as a ‘site of diversity’ (Lillis, 2001): by reconsidering the current monolingual bias of teaching and learning, and by revisiting the knowledges that students are expected to own.
Keywords: academic literacies; academic writing; African languages; identity; voice; ownership; knowledge construction; diversity
An analysis of students’ needs in the study of spoken legal discourse
Philip H. Mhundwa
Communication and Study Skills: University of Botswana
Abstract
This article presents findings from a study that sought to identify the language and communication needs of students who were studying for the Certificate in Law at the University of Botswana. Data for the study was collected using a questionnaire and information recorded from class discussions and simulated court proceedings. The findings obtained from the study were used to design a module for teaching English for Academic Purposes (EAP).
Key words: Analysis of students communication needs; legal discourse; English for Legal Purposes; English for Legal Academic Purposes; Legal Discourse Analysis
Critical Constructivism and Language Teaching: New Wine in New Bottles
Timothy Reagan
Neag School of Education, The University of Connecticut
Abstract
The traditional craft of the teacher can be rescued and strengthened by understanding the connection between the content area of the curriculum and how it will be understood by the student. Understanding this connection involves recognizing the cultural pattern of thought (the episteme) that underlies the organization of knowledge in the curriculum unit as well as the phenomenological world of the student. The latter is essential for grasping what the student is likely to understand and how that understanding will be integrated into the student's pattern of thinking. (C.A. Bowers (1984: 78) Constructivism is very much in vogue at the present time. Indeed, constructivism has taken on the force of a slogan in many educational circles – a slogan that, like “student-centered curriculum,” “reflective practice,” and “learning by doing,” has become so commonplace as to inhibit rather than promote clear thinking about teaching and learning. Its popularity has also resulted in something of an intellectual backlash, demonstrated perhaps most clearly in Michael Devitt’s assertion that it is “the most dangerous contemporary intellectual tendency” as well as in efforts to link constructivism with other postmodern challenges to science and rationality.
Leanne Hinton and Ken Hale (Eds)
The Green Book of Language Revitalization in Practice
San Diego: Academic Press, 2001. Pp x, 450. Hb $ 99.95, Pb. $ 49.95.
Reviewed by Wilhelm van Rensburg
Curriculum Studies, Rand Afrikaans University
Red books list everything endangered; green books revitalize the endangered. That is exactly what Hinton and Hale set out to do when they brought together no less than-thirty three essays, divided into categories such as Language Policy, Language Planning, Maintenance and Revitalization of National Indigenous languages, Immersion, Literacy, Media and Technology, and Training in their Green Book to bring home the severity of languages in danger of disappearing and the necessity of revitalizing these languages. Otherwise speakers of endangered languages, they argue, face disenfranchisement and marginalization.
The categories are supposed to reflect the aim of the book: showing revitalization programmes in operation, and synthesizing principles and methods of language revitalization practice. Reference is made to Fishman’s (1991, 2001) steps with regard to reversing language shift, (a synonym for language revitalization?) and some of the chapters in the book are assigned to ‘illustrate’ his steps, but no clear outline of the structure and argument of the Green Book is given.
Although the reader gets an excellent idea of revitalization programmes in the US, Australia and the UK, the relevance of the book is sadly reduced because it omits countries such as South Africa and India where excellent work in this regard is taking place. With its eleven official languages and various initiatives at revitalizing indigenous/heritage languages such as the Khoe, Ju and !Ui language families, including the Khoekhoegowab (Nama), !Xun, Khwedam, N!u and Xirigowab (Griqua) languages, South Africa could hardly have been overlooked for inclusion in this book. Let alone the pioneering work on the Khoe and San Language body by the South African San Institute. This institute traces, documents and develops these languages in equally compelling ways as being described in the Green Book.
The authors justify their prime focus on the US and the various excellent and successful revitalizing programmes done there by pointing out that other countries can learn from the ‘principles’ underpinning these programmes. Essentially these principles come down to three: persistence, sustainability and honesty to oneself. These principles are stressed in each of the programmes. But the overall impression of the book is that endangered languages are studied and documented as cultural curiosities, and the use of indigenous languages are encouraged in various ways as a means of self-empowerment, as a way of perpetuating cultural hegemony. Hardly any chapters deal with the real empowering stuff: what can these speakers do with a revitalized language in the ‘real world’? To my mind, only one chapter deals with this issue in a direct way: Clay Slate’s “Promoting Advanced Navajo Language Scholarship” in which issues such as employability, transferability and accreditation issues are raised and discussed at length. Concerns expressed at the outset of the book about the loss of indigenous knowledge systems and the infringement of human rights in the face of globalisation are addressed in a frank way in this chapter, but in few others.
Another issue that is scantily addressed in the book is the delicate intersection of language and identity. Most of the chapters assume a homogenous view of cultural identity. Few show or report on clashing identities as a consequence of language use. That is why the most compelling chapter in the book is the last one by ‘independent scholar’, Linda Yamane. Hers is a testimony of real perseverance in tracing the recordings of her endangered Rumsien language, one of the Ohlone or Costanoan languages spoken by the native people of California’s Monterey area, and of her personal attempts to sustain the use of her language and of the honesty with which she reflects on the use of this language. This single personal testimony makes the book worth while as it single-handedly encapsulates all the principles of language revitalization.
‘To sleep, perchance to dream’, says a world weary Hamlet. Hinton and Hale are not as world weary. They have dreams; their authors write about their own dreams. (William Wilson and Kauanoe Kamanā write touchingly about “Mai Loko Mai O Ka ‘I’ini” – Proceeding from the Dream. It tells about the ‘Aha Pūnana Leo Connection in Hawaiian Language Revitalization. They say I ka ‘olelo no ke ola; I ka ‘olelo no ka make – in language rests life; in language rests death.) Hinton and Hale want to wake up ‘sleeping’ languages (a word preferred by Frank Manriquez, to ‘dead’ languages, such as his native Tongva). They want to give a voice to ‘silent’ languages. And they do so in this book. Hinton’s chapter on Audio-Video Documentation is seminal. So is Laura Buszars-Welcher’s one on whether the web can save her language. Hinton and Hale show that between the birth and the death of a language plenty of living and dreaming can be done.