An analysis of power relations, affiliation and individuation in selected coup, secession, and inaugural speeches of Nigerian leaders, 1960-2015
- Authors: Unegbu, Osondu Chukwuemeka
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Balance of power , Individuation (Linguistics) , Corpora (Linguistics) , Systemic functional linguistics , Presidents Inaugural addresses , Affiliation (Linguistics)
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/432399 , vital:72867 , DOI 10.21504/10962/432399
- Description: The focus of this study is the analysis of unequal power relations, affiliation, and individuation in selected coup, secession, and inaugural speeches of Nigerian leaders. The data comprises 16 speeches, which represent the total population of Nigerian presidential coup, secession, and inaugural speeches made by Nigerian leaders from 1960 to 2015. The written text of these speeches was collected from Internet sources. Corpus Linguistics (CL), and Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) were used to do a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data. Specifically, SFL’s Appraisal framework was used to analyse how the speakers coupled Ideational and Interpersonal meanings, in the Appraisal sub-systems of Attitude, Engagement, and Graduation, to realize unequal power relations, affiliation, and individuation. CL and SFL were combined using Bednarek’s three-pronged approach to discourse analysis to carry out macro-, meso-and micro-analysis of the speeches. This allowed for a perspective on the development of discourses over time (phylogenesis) and the way meaning-making resources were employed in the unfolding of individual speeches (logogenesis). Bednarek’s three-pronged approach was readapted into a four-pronged approach to allow for two levels of meso-analysis, one comparing speeches before and after the Nigeria-Biafra War and another comparing three genres of speeches: coup, secession, and inaugural speeches. Keywords, collocates and concordance results were used to compare the different and similar features of the linguistic resources used in the pre-and post-war speeches, and the three genres of speeches. Key findings show that the inaugural speeches used civil-oriented words and expressions to reproduce unequal power relations covertly and affiliate with all Nigerians, such as: “we will create greater access to quality education”. The coup speakers used mainly militaristic words and expressions to reproduce binary power asymmetry overtly, to create in-group and out-group affiliation and individuation, using expressions such as: “You are hereby warned”. The secession speaker affiliated with Biafrans and individuated away from Nigeria with overt power asymmetry in a militaristic fashion, using expressions such as: “totally dissolved”. This study contributes to the understanding of Nigerian political discourses by unravelling the interconnectedness of the couplings of linguistic resources in coup, secession, and inaugural speeches, and Nigeria’s sociopolitical experiences over time. The study can guide political speech writers and other contributors to political discourse in choosing appropriate lexemes and clause complexes for communicating citizens during different sociopolitical periods. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 2023
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2023-10-13
- Authors: Unegbu, Osondu Chukwuemeka
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Balance of power , Individuation (Linguistics) , Corpora (Linguistics) , Systemic functional linguistics , Presidents Inaugural addresses , Affiliation (Linguistics)
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/432399 , vital:72867 , DOI 10.21504/10962/432399
- Description: The focus of this study is the analysis of unequal power relations, affiliation, and individuation in selected coup, secession, and inaugural speeches of Nigerian leaders. The data comprises 16 speeches, which represent the total population of Nigerian presidential coup, secession, and inaugural speeches made by Nigerian leaders from 1960 to 2015. The written text of these speeches was collected from Internet sources. Corpus Linguistics (CL), and Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) were used to do a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data. Specifically, SFL’s Appraisal framework was used to analyse how the speakers coupled Ideational and Interpersonal meanings, in the Appraisal sub-systems of Attitude, Engagement, and Graduation, to realize unequal power relations, affiliation, and individuation. CL and SFL were combined using Bednarek’s three-pronged approach to discourse analysis to carry out macro-, meso-and micro-analysis of the speeches. This allowed for a perspective on the development of discourses over time (phylogenesis) and the way meaning-making resources were employed in the unfolding of individual speeches (logogenesis). Bednarek’s three-pronged approach was readapted into a four-pronged approach to allow for two levels of meso-analysis, one comparing speeches before and after the Nigeria-Biafra War and another comparing three genres of speeches: coup, secession, and inaugural speeches. Keywords, collocates and concordance results were used to compare the different and similar features of the linguistic resources used in the pre-and post-war speeches, and the three genres of speeches. Key findings show that the inaugural speeches used civil-oriented words and expressions to reproduce unequal power relations covertly and affiliate with all Nigerians, such as: “we will create greater access to quality education”. The coup speakers used mainly militaristic words and expressions to reproduce binary power asymmetry overtly, to create in-group and out-group affiliation and individuation, using expressions such as: “You are hereby warned”. The secession speaker affiliated with Biafrans and individuated away from Nigeria with overt power asymmetry in a militaristic fashion, using expressions such as: “totally dissolved”. This study contributes to the understanding of Nigerian political discourses by unravelling the interconnectedness of the couplings of linguistic resources in coup, secession, and inaugural speeches, and Nigeria’s sociopolitical experiences over time. The study can guide political speech writers and other contributors to political discourse in choosing appropriate lexemes and clause complexes for communicating citizens during different sociopolitical periods. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 2023
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2023-10-13
English morphological awareness and reading comprehension in deaf and hearing grade 3 to 7 learners from Lesotho
- Authors: Tšehla, Puleng Magret
- Date: 2024-04-04
- Subjects: Grammar, Comparative and general Morphology , Reading comprehension Lesotho , Deaf students Lesotho , Sign language , Reading (Primary) Ability testing Lesotho , Literacy Lesotho
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/${Handle} , vital:73169
- Description: There is a noticeable literacy crisis observed in both Deaf and hearing learners from Lesotho. This study investigates the English Morphological Awareness and reading comprehension of 26 Deaf and 82 hearing learners enrolled in grades 3 to 7 in two schools in Lesotho. This study employs a correlational cross-sectional quantitative design. Each participant completed two literacy assessment tasks: a reading comprehension task and a Morphological Awareness task. The Morphological Awareness task encompassed five subtasks that assessed the learners’ inflectional, derivational, and compound awareness. The results of these assessments are analysed through appropriate statistical analyses. In addition, errors made by the Deaf and hearing learners on the literacy assessments are compared and analysed. This analysis determines the types of errors made by each group and identifies the factors that influence these errors. The performance of both groups in terms of task scores, in general, was low. Deaf learners and hearing learners’ performance on the tasks was similar. This outcome contradicts most previous studies, which indicate that Deaf learners typically exhibit lower levels of Morphological Awareness development and reading comprehension compared to their hearing counterparts. The results of this study also suggest that there is a statistically significant relationship between Morphological Awareness and reading comprehension in both groups. Finally, Deaf and hearing learners made similar errors on the tasks. There was some evidence of influence from both the Deaf and hearing learners’ first languages (Sesotho and Lesotho Sign Language, respectively). The study demonstrates the need for more explicit morphological instruction to improve both Deaf and hearing learners’ literacy. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04-04
- Authors: Tšehla, Puleng Magret
- Date: 2024-04-04
- Subjects: Grammar, Comparative and general Morphology , Reading comprehension Lesotho , Deaf students Lesotho , Sign language , Reading (Primary) Ability testing Lesotho , Literacy Lesotho
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/${Handle} , vital:73169
- Description: There is a noticeable literacy crisis observed in both Deaf and hearing learners from Lesotho. This study investigates the English Morphological Awareness and reading comprehension of 26 Deaf and 82 hearing learners enrolled in grades 3 to 7 in two schools in Lesotho. This study employs a correlational cross-sectional quantitative design. Each participant completed two literacy assessment tasks: a reading comprehension task and a Morphological Awareness task. The Morphological Awareness task encompassed five subtasks that assessed the learners’ inflectional, derivational, and compound awareness. The results of these assessments are analysed through appropriate statistical analyses. In addition, errors made by the Deaf and hearing learners on the literacy assessments are compared and analysed. This analysis determines the types of errors made by each group and identifies the factors that influence these errors. The performance of both groups in terms of task scores, in general, was low. Deaf learners and hearing learners’ performance on the tasks was similar. This outcome contradicts most previous studies, which indicate that Deaf learners typically exhibit lower levels of Morphological Awareness development and reading comprehension compared to their hearing counterparts. The results of this study also suggest that there is a statistically significant relationship between Morphological Awareness and reading comprehension in both groups. Finally, Deaf and hearing learners made similar errors on the tasks. There was some evidence of influence from both the Deaf and hearing learners’ first languages (Sesotho and Lesotho Sign Language, respectively). The study demonstrates the need for more explicit morphological instruction to improve both Deaf and hearing learners’ literacy. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04-04
Pedagogic videos as a foreign language learning resource in textbooks used in the German studies section of a South African university: A digital multimodal discourse perspective
- Authors: Schafli, Sasha-Lee
- Date: 2021-04
- Subjects: Language and languages Study and teaching Audio-visual aids , Educational technology , Media programs (Education) , German language Study and teaching Foreign speakers Audio-visual aids , Visual learning , Rhodes University , German language Discourse analysis , Digital multimodal discourse analysis
- Language: English
- Type: Masters theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/177087 , vital:42789 , http://doi.org/10.21504/10962/177087
- Description: Video is a prominent teaching and learning tool within foreign language (FL) textbook media packages in the 21st century. While studies undertaken in the Global North highlight that video materials in the FL classroom have the potential to influence learning and cultural knowledge acquisition, there is a lack of research on the manner in which pedagogically designed videos influence adult FL learning and cultural knowledge acquisition in a South African context. In this study, I explore the opportunities and challenges in terms of language learning and cultural knowledge acquisition that arise from three pedagogic videos in the Menschen A1 textbook which is used in teaching students registered for the German Studies 1 course at Rhodes University. I compare and contrast two sets of data to examine the relationship between pedagogic video and student knowledge acquisition: the results of a digital multimodal discourse analysis (DMDA) of these videos, and questionnaires and transcriptions collected from semi-structured group interviews with German Studies 1 students. These questionnaires and transcriptions were analysed thematically. Findings in terms of the language learning experience indicate that actor over-exaggeration and visual aids assist students when learning German at this level with this type of video. However, these visual aids can be distracting and confusing without balanced representation and contextual information. Differences between videos in terms of speech rate seem to affect students’ perceptions of their ability to comprehend the videos. Students reported forming only positive impressions of German culture(s) on the basis of the videos. In general, students find Germans portrayed as friendly and helpful in the videos. The results of this investigation provide recommendations for the optimal use of this type of teaching and learning resource, for example, teachers/ lecturers/ facilitators should allow for focus group discussions on cultural discourse to occur in order to balance stereotype formation and should consider the speech rate of videos for language learning. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-04
- Authors: Schafli, Sasha-Lee
- Date: 2021-04
- Subjects: Language and languages Study and teaching Audio-visual aids , Educational technology , Media programs (Education) , German language Study and teaching Foreign speakers Audio-visual aids , Visual learning , Rhodes University , German language Discourse analysis , Digital multimodal discourse analysis
- Language: English
- Type: Masters theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/177087 , vital:42789 , http://doi.org/10.21504/10962/177087
- Description: Video is a prominent teaching and learning tool within foreign language (FL) textbook media packages in the 21st century. While studies undertaken in the Global North highlight that video materials in the FL classroom have the potential to influence learning and cultural knowledge acquisition, there is a lack of research on the manner in which pedagogically designed videos influence adult FL learning and cultural knowledge acquisition in a South African context. In this study, I explore the opportunities and challenges in terms of language learning and cultural knowledge acquisition that arise from three pedagogic videos in the Menschen A1 textbook which is used in teaching students registered for the German Studies 1 course at Rhodes University. I compare and contrast two sets of data to examine the relationship between pedagogic video and student knowledge acquisition: the results of a digital multimodal discourse analysis (DMDA) of these videos, and questionnaires and transcriptions collected from semi-structured group interviews with German Studies 1 students. These questionnaires and transcriptions were analysed thematically. Findings in terms of the language learning experience indicate that actor over-exaggeration and visual aids assist students when learning German at this level with this type of video. However, these visual aids can be distracting and confusing without balanced representation and contextual information. Differences between videos in terms of speech rate seem to affect students’ perceptions of their ability to comprehend the videos. Students reported forming only positive impressions of German culture(s) on the basis of the videos. In general, students find Germans portrayed as friendly and helpful in the videos. The results of this investigation provide recommendations for the optimal use of this type of teaching and learning resource, for example, teachers/ lecturers/ facilitators should allow for focus group discussions on cultural discourse to occur in order to balance stereotype formation and should consider the speech rate of videos for language learning. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-04
Seeing diplomatic constellations through diplomatic relations: an analysis of the positioning of Zimbabwe and the UK in Zimbabwean news articles
- Mvundura, Emaculate Musimeki
- Authors: Mvundura, Emaculate Musimeki
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Systemic functional linguistics , Linguistic analysis (Linguistics) , Journalism Language , Political media , Journalism Political aspects Zimbabwe , Great Britain Foreign relations Zimbabwe , Diplomacy Language
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/432388 , vital:72866 , DOI 10.21504/10962/432389
- Description: This study examines the positioning of Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom (UK) in the language of news articles about diplomatic relations between the two countries published in two prominent Zimbabwean newspapers, The Herald and The Standard, between 2016 and 2020, using Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and Legitimation Code Theory (LCT). Zimbabwe's present diplomatic discourses are a product of its colonial and post-independence history. This thesis places The Herald and The Standard within the larger context of the Zimbabwean media landscape as a state-owned and a privately owned newspaper, respectively. It contends that the two newspapers influence the positioning of Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom in public spheres where readers engage with the news concerning diplomatic ties. The research begins with a corpus-based examination of 42 news articles published between 2016 and 2020 in The Herald and The Standard. The investigation identified several angles through which Zimbabwe and the UK are positioned in the coverage. Zimbabwe is positioned through reference to its reform agenda, intentions for free and fair elections, and its diplomatic re-engagement drive. The UK is positioned as a source of development funding and new trade agreements, while improved diplomatic relations and the removal of restrictive measures against Zimbabwe are anticipated. Fine-grained analysis was conducted on four articles, two from each newspaper, selected to reflect the trends found in the corpus analysis. The fine-grained analyses showed how linguistic resources contributed to the positioning of the UK and Zimbabwe. Complementary analyses of these articles were conducted using LCT and SFL to describe how readers' knowledge of diplomatic relations is built using language in The Herald and The Standard. The study used the concepts of constellations and cosmologies from LCT to demonstrate how diplomatic knowledge is built in these news articles. In the articles, the constellations are related to policies such as Zimbabwe's reform agenda, people (diplomats and government officials) and moral judgments. Both newspapers contain both positive and negative positioning of Zimbabwe and the UK. However, The Standard is generally critical of removing the UK's sanctions on Zimbabwe and of the Zimbabwean government's reform agenda. Meanwhile, The Herald justifies Zimbabwe's Fast-track Land Reform Programme as resulting from Britain's refusal to fund a land redistribution programme as per the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement. The use of SFL's Appraisal framework helps to examine the linguistic resources used by The Herald and The Standard to describe the positioning of the two countries in relation to each other. Lexical strings help to establish diplomatic positioning in the news articles. These couple with Appraisal to accomplish individuation and affiliation. Affect and Judgement resources revealed the decisions taken by the UK to solve the conflict by encouraging the implementation of a reform agenda by Zimbabwe. Negative evaluation is consistently used to disalign with sanctions. The emerging patterns in the data show that diplomats representing the UK affiliate with Zimbabwe's stated economic and political reforms, and the government of Zimbabwe affiliates with the new trade agreement between Zimbabwe and the UK. At the same time, the UK diplomats individuate away from human rights abuses and the Fast-track Land Reform Programme. Affiliation strengthens confidence in diplomatic ties between Zimbabwe and the UK because the emphasis is placed on restoring them despite the conditions attached. The Herald and The Standard position Zimbabwe as a reformed country ready to implement policies to improve citizens' lives and as a country violating human rights and the rule of law. They position the UK as asserting power over Zimbabwe, willing to resolve the crisis through its foreign policy, and credited for assisting Zimbabwe. This strengthens re-engagement in diplomatic relations and commercial trade between the UK and Zimbabwe. In light of these findings, Zimbabweans are encouraged to cultivate an awareness that enables them to reflect on the challenges associated with diplomatic discourses and the implications for critically analysing the re-engagement initiative. They can promote re-engagement by being cognisant of specific values portrayed in The Herald and The Standard and challenging these values in the light of policy transformation to revive the relations between the two countries. The re-engagement process requires a transformation in Zimbabwe's modus operandi to improve the country's positioning in the diplomatic relations between it and the UK. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 2023
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2023-10-13
- Authors: Mvundura, Emaculate Musimeki
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Systemic functional linguistics , Linguistic analysis (Linguistics) , Journalism Language , Political media , Journalism Political aspects Zimbabwe , Great Britain Foreign relations Zimbabwe , Diplomacy Language
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/432388 , vital:72866 , DOI 10.21504/10962/432389
- Description: This study examines the positioning of Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom (UK) in the language of news articles about diplomatic relations between the two countries published in two prominent Zimbabwean newspapers, The Herald and The Standard, between 2016 and 2020, using Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and Legitimation Code Theory (LCT). Zimbabwe's present diplomatic discourses are a product of its colonial and post-independence history. This thesis places The Herald and The Standard within the larger context of the Zimbabwean media landscape as a state-owned and a privately owned newspaper, respectively. It contends that the two newspapers influence the positioning of Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom in public spheres where readers engage with the news concerning diplomatic ties. The research begins with a corpus-based examination of 42 news articles published between 2016 and 2020 in The Herald and The Standard. The investigation identified several angles through which Zimbabwe and the UK are positioned in the coverage. Zimbabwe is positioned through reference to its reform agenda, intentions for free and fair elections, and its diplomatic re-engagement drive. The UK is positioned as a source of development funding and new trade agreements, while improved diplomatic relations and the removal of restrictive measures against Zimbabwe are anticipated. Fine-grained analysis was conducted on four articles, two from each newspaper, selected to reflect the trends found in the corpus analysis. The fine-grained analyses showed how linguistic resources contributed to the positioning of the UK and Zimbabwe. Complementary analyses of these articles were conducted using LCT and SFL to describe how readers' knowledge of diplomatic relations is built using language in The Herald and The Standard. The study used the concepts of constellations and cosmologies from LCT to demonstrate how diplomatic knowledge is built in these news articles. In the articles, the constellations are related to policies such as Zimbabwe's reform agenda, people (diplomats and government officials) and moral judgments. Both newspapers contain both positive and negative positioning of Zimbabwe and the UK. However, The Standard is generally critical of removing the UK's sanctions on Zimbabwe and of the Zimbabwean government's reform agenda. Meanwhile, The Herald justifies Zimbabwe's Fast-track Land Reform Programme as resulting from Britain's refusal to fund a land redistribution programme as per the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement. The use of SFL's Appraisal framework helps to examine the linguistic resources used by The Herald and The Standard to describe the positioning of the two countries in relation to each other. Lexical strings help to establish diplomatic positioning in the news articles. These couple with Appraisal to accomplish individuation and affiliation. Affect and Judgement resources revealed the decisions taken by the UK to solve the conflict by encouraging the implementation of a reform agenda by Zimbabwe. Negative evaluation is consistently used to disalign with sanctions. The emerging patterns in the data show that diplomats representing the UK affiliate with Zimbabwe's stated economic and political reforms, and the government of Zimbabwe affiliates with the new trade agreement between Zimbabwe and the UK. At the same time, the UK diplomats individuate away from human rights abuses and the Fast-track Land Reform Programme. Affiliation strengthens confidence in diplomatic ties between Zimbabwe and the UK because the emphasis is placed on restoring them despite the conditions attached. The Herald and The Standard position Zimbabwe as a reformed country ready to implement policies to improve citizens' lives and as a country violating human rights and the rule of law. They position the UK as asserting power over Zimbabwe, willing to resolve the crisis through its foreign policy, and credited for assisting Zimbabwe. This strengthens re-engagement in diplomatic relations and commercial trade between the UK and Zimbabwe. In light of these findings, Zimbabweans are encouraged to cultivate an awareness that enables them to reflect on the challenges associated with diplomatic discourses and the implications for critically analysing the re-engagement initiative. They can promote re-engagement by being cognisant of specific values portrayed in The Herald and The Standard and challenging these values in the light of policy transformation to revive the relations between the two countries. The re-engagement process requires a transformation in Zimbabwe's modus operandi to improve the country's positioning in the diplomatic relations between it and the UK. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 2023
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2023-10-13
The invisible teacher: The teacher envisaged in the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) English First Additional Language (EFAL) Further Education and Training (FET) Phase
- Authors: Dowejko, Diane Agnieszka
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Educational sociology South Africa , Systemic functional linguistics , Curriculum-based assessment South Africa , Linguistic analysis (Linguistics) , Educational evaluation South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/406714 , vital:70301
- Description: Educational policy documents, which are intended to enlighten teachers about what they should teach and how they should assess learners, contain both language and knowledge. How this knowledge is construed through language may reveal the kind of teacher envisaged by the document, and the assumptions made regarding the dispositions of these educators. There is a plethora of research on the relationship between the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement for English First Additional Language in the Further Education and Training Phase (CAPS-EFAL) and its impact on the learner in the classroom, but little evidence of research related to how curriculum documents envisage the teacher, and linguistic research pertaining to CAPS-EFAL. This research aims to use linguistic analysis to discover how the teacher is envisaged in this document, while speaking to the broader subject of the relationship between teacher and curriculum policy. This study adopts a framework which inspects this language using Systemic Functional Linguistics to analyse language in relation to its functions in social contexts, and the instructional knowledge built in CAPS-EFAL through applying elements of Legitimation Code Theory, analysing processes of knowledge production and recontextualisation. An investigation of the language revealed assumptions that the envisaged teacher is one who is already highly trained in aspects of language teaching and classroom methodology and pedagogy. While the analysis also revealed a high level of guidance for the teacher, there was a strong focus on the knowledge within the curriculum, and several assumptions made regarding the teacher’s prior knowledge before encountering or utilising the document. The analysis also revealed that CAPS-EFAL acknowledges that the teacher requires a sound knowledge of technical terminology related to language teaching, as well as general classroom pedagogies and routines. In addition, the document assumes that the disposition of the teacher is one who can make decisions without the need for absolute confirmation or authority from curriculum documentation. Overall, the analysis revealed an élite code in terms of Specialization; CAPS-EFAL is therefore based on the legitimacy of both specialised knowledge and the disposition of the teacher. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
- Authors: Dowejko, Diane Agnieszka
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Educational sociology South Africa , Systemic functional linguistics , Curriculum-based assessment South Africa , Linguistic analysis (Linguistics) , Educational evaluation South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/406714 , vital:70301
- Description: Educational policy documents, which are intended to enlighten teachers about what they should teach and how they should assess learners, contain both language and knowledge. How this knowledge is construed through language may reveal the kind of teacher envisaged by the document, and the assumptions made regarding the dispositions of these educators. There is a plethora of research on the relationship between the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement for English First Additional Language in the Further Education and Training Phase (CAPS-EFAL) and its impact on the learner in the classroom, but little evidence of research related to how curriculum documents envisage the teacher, and linguistic research pertaining to CAPS-EFAL. This research aims to use linguistic analysis to discover how the teacher is envisaged in this document, while speaking to the broader subject of the relationship between teacher and curriculum policy. This study adopts a framework which inspects this language using Systemic Functional Linguistics to analyse language in relation to its functions in social contexts, and the instructional knowledge built in CAPS-EFAL through applying elements of Legitimation Code Theory, analysing processes of knowledge production and recontextualisation. An investigation of the language revealed assumptions that the envisaged teacher is one who is already highly trained in aspects of language teaching and classroom methodology and pedagogy. While the analysis also revealed a high level of guidance for the teacher, there was a strong focus on the knowledge within the curriculum, and several assumptions made regarding the teacher’s prior knowledge before encountering or utilising the document. The analysis also revealed that CAPS-EFAL acknowledges that the teacher requires a sound knowledge of technical terminology related to language teaching, as well as general classroom pedagogies and routines. In addition, the document assumes that the disposition of the teacher is one who can make decisions without the need for absolute confirmation or authority from curriculum documentation. Overall, the analysis revealed an élite code in terms of Specialization; CAPS-EFAL is therefore based on the legitimacy of both specialised knowledge and the disposition of the teacher. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
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