Language intervention to facilitate the acquisition of English as a second langauge by pre-school children.
Date
1993
Authors
Jordaan, Heila Letitia.
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Abstract
This dissertation explores the role of the speech-language
therapist in second language acquisition. The motivation for the
study arose out of recent political changes in South Africa,
which led to desegregated education, and the need for young
children to cope with English as the medium of instruction from
the start of their schooling. The aim was to determine whether
language intervention provided by a speech-language therapist
significantly improved the English proficiency of a group of
black pre-school children. A pre-test, post-test, centrol group
experimental design was employed. The comprehension and
expression of English vocabulary and syntax of thirty, three to
six year old subjects was assessed using a modified version of
the Test of Auditory Comprehension of Language-Revised (Carrow,
3.988), a newly devised vocabulary measure, as well as crystal's
(1982) Profile in Lexical Semantics, and the Language Assessment
Remediation and Screening Procedure (crystal et aL, 1989).
The results showed that the English proficiency of the group of
children who received language intervention from a speech-language
therapist, improved significantly more than that of the
first control group, who received only additional input in
English, and the second control group, who received no input
beyond that provided through the regular pre-school programme.
The positive results of this research can now be applied to the
teaching of languages other than English, and the training of
teachers who would like to improve their skills at facilitating
language acquisition.
Description
A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Arts University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in partial fulfilment for the Degree
of Master of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology.
Keywords
Second language acquisition., English language -- Study and teaching (Preschool) -- South Africa -- Foreign speakers., Speech therapy for children.