An analysis of the implementation of the integrated approach in a Luganda language classroom in Uganda
- Authors: Ssembatya, Henry Hollan
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Ganda language -- Study and teaching -- Uganda African languages -- Study and teaching , Language acquisition
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/14422 , vital:27590
- Description: This qualitative study set out to examine how the integrated approach to language teaching led to an enhancement in Luganda language practices in selected ordinary level secondary schools in the Kampala district of Uganda. The study was positioned within an interpretive paradigm, and employed a phenomenological approach in its intention to uncover the lived experiences and common hidden meanings that participants attached to the phenomena. Purposeful sampling was used to identify 30 teachers from 15 schools and 3 inspectors of school curricula who participated in the study. Data generation strategies included personal interviews and observations which were analyzed according to transcendental phenomenological data analysis methods such as bracketing, horizontalization, clustering into themes, textual description, structural description and textual-structural essence of the study. This study is located in the field of language education and informed by the theoretical framework of the cognitive constructivist theory of learning. In terms of the integrated approach in a Luganda language classroom, the findings show firstly, that teachers held positive perceptions towards the integrated approach in a Luganda language classroom and, as such, they perceived it as a basis for teaching language content and literacy practices collectively through various interactive strategies. Secondly, teachers implemented the integrated approach in a Luganda language classroom as a practical-based activity where learners are engaged in tasks which promote meaningful and real communication in the form of content, task-based instruction, literary texts or readers and contextual or experiential learning. Thirdly, findings on the enhancement of language practices in an integrated Luganda language classroom show that if teachers adopted and implemented the principles of the integrated approach, learners would be motivated to acquire not only the four language practices, but also other related practices such as cognitive, social and interpersonal practices which collectively simplify the language use. Lastly, while teachers are aware of what learners could achieve in an integrated Luganda language classroom, findings indicate that they are demotivated by the many challenges in the implementation process which stem from the teachers, the education system, the learners, and the integrated approach itself. The major implications and recommendations of this study’s findings include: firstly, teachers’ perceptions on the use of the integrated approach in a Luganda language classroom imply that since language learning is a function of social and meaningful classroom interactions learning activities should recognize a teacher as a reflective practitioner, consultant or facilitator of learning rather than an instructor. Secondly, the implementation of the integrated approach in a language classroom would require teachers to be grounded in both practical and theoretical instructional strategies which form a basis for monitoring and engaging learners’ oral and interactive practices. Thirdly, the enhancement of language practices is an outcome of classroom motivation and active interactions which involve creative and critical thinking. Thus, creating and sustaining situations for the enhancement of language practices in a language classroom would require effective branding of learners’ interactive activities with ample opportunities for practice as well as instructional support. Fourthly, considering the perceived challenges in the implementation of the integrated approach, the overall recommendation would be that those challenges need to be resolved if the integrated approach is to be successfully implemented in the context of the Luganda language. An awareness of such challenges provides teachers, educators and policy-makers with insightful ideas in terms of how to manage or change instructional strategies in the classroom.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Towards enhancing indigenous language acquisition skills through MMORPGs
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H , Mostert, André M
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Indigenous peoples -- Languages -- Study and teaching -- South Africa , Language and languags -- Computer-assisted instruction , Language and languags -- Study and teaching -- Technological innovation , Language acquisition , Computer games
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59343 , vital:27559 , http://alternation.ukzn.ac.za/Files/docs/17.1/08 Kas FIN.pdf
- Description: The growing interest and access to massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) has opened up significant new scope for educational methodologies, from standard language teaching options through to formalising the skills that a ‘player’ develops through their quests and other activities. This scope is extensive and has created numerous opportunities for innovation both within education and the world of work. This is evidenced by the increasing presence of educational establishments in the virtual world, with Second Life being the most popular for conventional educational purposes. In Second Life and many other realms participants are earning some income and in some cases enjoying a reasonable living from online activities, while developing their skills base. These MMORPGs may open opportunities for promoting language acquisition provided this is located within a suitably attractive realm; ‘players’ would then engage in activities that would contribute to their abilities to use the indigenous languages in everyday life. This article explores how such a system could be developed and the likely contribution it could make to promote a multilingual environment at school and post school levels. Further, it will identify the implications for the future of teaching and learning through the harnessing of MMORPGs.
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- Date Issued: 2010
In conversation with Barney: a critical discourse analysis of interaction between a child with autism and his co-participants
- Authors: Geils, Catherine
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Autism in children -- Case studies , Autistic children , Autistic children -- Rehabilitation , Discourse analysis , Children and adults , Language acquisition , Conversation , Children -- Language
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2980 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002489 , Autism in children -- Case studies , Autistic children , Autistic children -- Rehabilitation , Discourse analysis , Children and adults , Language acquisition , Conversation , Children -- Language
- Description: My study arose in the context of an intervention programme aimed at the development of a child with autism’s communication and social interaction skills. The approach I take is a social constructionist one in which language is considered to be constructive and constitutive of social and psychological reality. This orientation challenges the assumptions of a western psychiatric approach that emphasizes the impairment and deficits associated with autism. The participants of the study are a 6-year-old boy diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (Autistic Spectrum), and his mother, father, sister and a volunteer on the intervention programme. The discourse analytic method of conversation analysis is employed as a means of elucidating the collaborative mechanisms employed by both the child and his co-participants in making sense of one another. The specific aims of the study are to closely examine the communicative behaviour and interactive styles of the child and his coparticipants, their implications for communicative success (co-ordinated interaction) or breakdown (discordant interaction), and the implications for how the child is positioned within the discourse in relation to his co-participants. My constructions of the data suggested that a playful, activity-based interactive style constituted by non-verbal turns, affection and short, simple utterances enhance mutual participation and the accomplishment of co-ordinated interaction. Barney’s co-participants sometimes tend to dominate interaction and frequently employ a strategy of repetitive questioning, which functions to direct and constrain the interaction and results in the child’s withdrawal and discordant interaction. This tendency to withdraw, however, seems to function as a means by which the child is able to actively resist positioning by others, and thus constitutes himself in a position of greater power. Furthermore, his use of the pronoun ‘I’ and collaborative negotiation of the words yours and mine suggest the active co-construction and positioning of himself as a separate person in relation to his co-participants. This research informs intervention efforts and encourages the co-participants to reflect on how interaction is co-constructed between themselves and the child.
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- Date Issued: 2004
The development of the meaning of non-ostensive words in a group of primary school children
- Authors: Segal, Denise Erica
- Date: 1986
- Subjects: Connotation (Linguistics) , Children -- Language , Language acquisition
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2372 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004917 , Connotation (Linguistics) , Children -- Language , Language acquisition
- Description: The purpose of the present study was to investigate word meaning and its development in primary school children (6-12 years) . It was argued that the learning and development of the meanings of words such as pain cannot be primarily explained by means of ostensive definition. Furthermore, existing theories of word meaning which deal predominantly with substantive words fail to account for the learning of non-ostensive words. The pertinent psychological, linguistic and developmental psycholinguistic approaches to word meaning are reviewed briefly. The prototype approaches to word meaning are modified to apply to non-ostensive words . The focus is on conceptual meaning, that is, the way in which the senses of a word alter in different contexts. It is argued that the meaning of the word is its use in a diversity of linguistic contexts. The term "grammar" is applied in a unique way to encompass the meaning of the word (which stems in part from the words with which it co-occurs) as well as its selective use with other words in the language. Ninety-five metalinguistically-phrased tasks comprising short questions and picture-story sequences were analyzed in depth. The tasks were administered individually. A flexible interview afforded additional probing for each question. The analysis comprised percentage scores of responses at different age levels together with verbatim transcripts and qualitative descriptions: Uniformity, variation and developmental trends were found on different tasks for any particular word. Developmental trends were noted in children's understanding of particular words (for example, same), thereby extending the findings of previous researchers. There was evidence for a progression in children's ability to take into consideration that a word alters its sense according to the linguistic context in which it occurs (for example, same as it relates to chair versus dress versus pain). A comprehensive account of the words meaning could be established when a diversity of tasks was applied for each word. Children of different age levels employed different strategies in answering the questions posed. A model is proposed to describe the development of the meaning of non-ostensive words during the primary school years. It is suggested that psycholinguistic studies on word meaning be re-evaluated and that language and reading programmes incorporate the notion of "grammar". Application of this approach to the study of substantive word meaning in preschool children has important implications for theories of word meaning and for therapeutic intervention.
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- Date Issued: 1986
Role of early childhood development practitioners in developing children’s oral language in three selected centres in Buffalo City
- Authors: Nodlela, Lumka
- Subjects: Early childhood education , Language acquisition , Early childhood teachers
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/27887 , vital:70453
- Description: The child's language development is one of the most notable achievements of the preschool years. Children must develop their language skills effectively to access the curriculum. Practitioners of Early Childhood Development (ECD) have a substantial impact on children's spoken language development. As a result, three centers in the Buffalo City Education District are the subject of this dissertation's investigation into how ECD practitioners contribute to children's oral language development. The applicable theory used in the study was Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) theory. The existent phenomenon was examined using the interpretivist research paradigm and the qualitative research methodology. The study used a phenomenological research approach to examine the perspectives, functions, and experiences of individuals (ECD practitioners) in the growth of children's oral language. The study used purposive sampling. Participants were purposively selected as because of their proximity to the researcher’s workplace. The fifteen practitioners in the chosen ECD centers were interviewed in semi-structured interviews, and data were also gathered through observations. Following transcription, sorting, and categorization, the gathered data were thematically analysed using themes inferred from the study objectives. The study's conclusions showed that ECD specialists help children improve their oral language in a useful way. As a result, they require training in the creation and application of various strategies for fostering oral language in young children. Short courses will also assist practitioners in fostering the overall development of children. One of the key elements that interferes with effective teaching and learning at ECD centers, though, is a shortage of resources. , Thesis (MEd) -- Faculty of Education, 2023
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