A case study of two teachers' understanding of and attitudes towards bilingualism and multiculturalism in a South African primary school
- Authors: Sutton, Candace
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Bilingualism in children , English language -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Foreign speakers , English language -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- South Africa , Education, Bilingual -- South Africa , Language and languages -- Study and teaching , Language policy -- South Africa , Multicultural education -- South Africa , Language and education -- South Africa , Multiculturalism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2363 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002646 , Bilingualism in children , English language -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Foreign speakers , English language -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- South Africa , Education, Bilingual -- South Africa , Language and languages -- Study and teaching , Language policy -- South Africa , Multicultural education -- South Africa , Language and education -- South Africa , Multiculturalism
- Description: At present, there is an emphasis in South African education on promoting multicultural classrooms in schools. This thesis examines the classroom culture of a South African English-medium school, where the majority of the learners are Second Language English learners. It first describes, in the form of a case-study, how two teachers have constructed the culture of their foundation phase classrooms. It then considers why the two teachers have constructed their classrooms in such ways by exploring their knowledge and understanding of, and attitudes towards, multiculturalism, second language acquisition and multilingualism. The study also briefly considers whether teacher training has sufficiently prepared these teachers for the challenges of a multicultural classroom. The data is discussed in terms of education and second language acquisition theory and South African education and language policies. The results of this study indicate that for the most part the classroom culture is distinctly Western and that the teachers have two fundamental assumptions that underpin their action and classroom construction. The first is that a lack of exposure to English is the primary cause of language problems for L2 learners and the second is that the L1 does not need to be maintained or promoted in the school environment because learners are sufficiently exposed to their L1 in the home. The thesis concludes that shortcomings in training and information encourages these two assumptions to take root and that more in-service training that focuses specifically on the nature of second language acquisition and multiculturalism is necessary.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Sutton, Candace
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Bilingualism in children , English language -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Foreign speakers , English language -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- South Africa , Education, Bilingual -- South Africa , Language and languages -- Study and teaching , Language policy -- South Africa , Multicultural education -- South Africa , Language and education -- South Africa , Multiculturalism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2363 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002646 , Bilingualism in children , English language -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Foreign speakers , English language -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- South Africa , Education, Bilingual -- South Africa , Language and languages -- Study and teaching , Language policy -- South Africa , Multicultural education -- South Africa , Language and education -- South Africa , Multiculturalism
- Description: At present, there is an emphasis in South African education on promoting multicultural classrooms in schools. This thesis examines the classroom culture of a South African English-medium school, where the majority of the learners are Second Language English learners. It first describes, in the form of a case-study, how two teachers have constructed the culture of their foundation phase classrooms. It then considers why the two teachers have constructed their classrooms in such ways by exploring their knowledge and understanding of, and attitudes towards, multiculturalism, second language acquisition and multilingualism. The study also briefly considers whether teacher training has sufficiently prepared these teachers for the challenges of a multicultural classroom. The data is discussed in terms of education and second language acquisition theory and South African education and language policies. The results of this study indicate that for the most part the classroom culture is distinctly Western and that the teachers have two fundamental assumptions that underpin their action and classroom construction. The first is that a lack of exposure to English is the primary cause of language problems for L2 learners and the second is that the L1 does not need to be maintained or promoted in the school environment because learners are sufficiently exposed to their L1 in the home. The thesis concludes that shortcomings in training and information encourages these two assumptions to take root and that more in-service training that focuses specifically on the nature of second language acquisition and multiculturalism is necessary.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Ideology in editorials : a comparison of selected editorials in English-medium newspapers after September 11
- Authors: Lagonikos, Irene Theodosia
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001 , Editorials , Terrorism in mass media
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2354 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002636 , September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001 , Editorials , Terrorism in mass media
- Description: September 11, 2001 presented the world with events that challenged its conception of reality and called into question current ideologies. In order to make sense of the attacks, people turned to the media for information and interpretation. My interest lies in the media’s role in shaping ideologies as a result of the events of September 11, 2001. I focus on the newspaper editorial because it, in particular, functions not only to report the news but also to interpret the news for the reader. My analysis is centred on the first reaction to the events in five ‘core’ editorials drawn, respectively, from an American, British, South African, Zimbabwean and Kenyan newspaper. The specific focus, in each case, is the representation and evaluation of social actors, the events themselves and the schematic structure of the editorial. I adopt a critical perspective through the use of Critical Discourse Analysis, supported by Systemic Functional Grammar and APPRAISAL. This perspective involves three inter-connected stages of analysis: a Description of the formal discourse properties of each editorial; an Interpretation of the prevailing situational context; and an Explanation of the sociohistorical context in each case. Language, being a form of social practice, is a means by which power relations in society are reproduced or contested (Janks 1997). By analysing the editorials’ discourse I identify whose interests are being served and how each text positions a reader’s attitudes and opinions. My analysis reveals the fact that the editorials distinguish between “us” and “them” groups for the purposes of advancing and confirming in-group ideologies and agendas. This is achieved in each case through comparing the paper’s ideology with the opposing ideology, which is presented as deviant and unsupportive of the in-group. My analysis of the African editorials, in particular, further reveals the exploitation of this division for the purposes of promoting and interpreting local political and social issues. Examination of the processes and conditions surrounding the production of the editorials shows how they are significantly influenced and constrained by the ideologies of both the writer and newspaper owner as well as by the situational context within which they were written. My analysis of the schematic structure of the editorials, in line with Bolivar (1994), reveals consistent use of three-part structures by which editorial opinions are evaluated. In concluding I provide suggestions, based on my research, for how critical language awareness can inform media education at high school level in South Africa. I argue that students should be equipped with tools, such as those I employed, to critically analyse and uncover how language is used to promote ideologies in the editorial of newspapers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Lagonikos, Irene Theodosia
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001 , Editorials , Terrorism in mass media
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2354 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002636 , September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001 , Editorials , Terrorism in mass media
- Description: September 11, 2001 presented the world with events that challenged its conception of reality and called into question current ideologies. In order to make sense of the attacks, people turned to the media for information and interpretation. My interest lies in the media’s role in shaping ideologies as a result of the events of September 11, 2001. I focus on the newspaper editorial because it, in particular, functions not only to report the news but also to interpret the news for the reader. My analysis is centred on the first reaction to the events in five ‘core’ editorials drawn, respectively, from an American, British, South African, Zimbabwean and Kenyan newspaper. The specific focus, in each case, is the representation and evaluation of social actors, the events themselves and the schematic structure of the editorial. I adopt a critical perspective through the use of Critical Discourse Analysis, supported by Systemic Functional Grammar and APPRAISAL. This perspective involves three inter-connected stages of analysis: a Description of the formal discourse properties of each editorial; an Interpretation of the prevailing situational context; and an Explanation of the sociohistorical context in each case. Language, being a form of social practice, is a means by which power relations in society are reproduced or contested (Janks 1997). By analysing the editorials’ discourse I identify whose interests are being served and how each text positions a reader’s attitudes and opinions. My analysis reveals the fact that the editorials distinguish between “us” and “them” groups for the purposes of advancing and confirming in-group ideologies and agendas. This is achieved in each case through comparing the paper’s ideology with the opposing ideology, which is presented as deviant and unsupportive of the in-group. My analysis of the African editorials, in particular, further reveals the exploitation of this division for the purposes of promoting and interpreting local political and social issues. Examination of the processes and conditions surrounding the production of the editorials shows how they are significantly influenced and constrained by the ideologies of both the writer and newspaper owner as well as by the situational context within which they were written. My analysis of the schematic structure of the editorials, in line with Bolivar (1994), reveals consistent use of three-part structures by which editorial opinions are evaluated. In concluding I provide suggestions, based on my research, for how critical language awareness can inform media education at high school level in South Africa. I argue that students should be equipped with tools, such as those I employed, to critically analyse and uncover how language is used to promote ideologies in the editorial of newspapers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- «
- ‹
- 1
- ›
- »