3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item The effects of translanguaging treatment on reading literacy performance in Grade 3 and 4 classrooms(2020) Thusi, ThandekaThe multilingual landscape of South African schools has been viewed as a barrier for literacy development where English-only language in education practices continue to dominate. While the South African education system has adopted a language in education policy (1997), which is in support of multilingual education, the development of multilingual pedagogies and their impact on literacy development has not been adequately explored. Against this background, this study investigated the effectiveness of using translanguaging as a multilingual strategy for reading literacy trajectories in Grades 3 and 4 classes. The study is contextualised within scholarly literature that deals with themes that include automaticity, simple view of reading, translanguaging, early grade reading and oral classroom interactions which have been researched globally. Review of the literature under these research themes revealed that there was no adequate attention on reading literacy development between phases in multilingual contexts, which provide the rationale for the current study to fill in the gap. Through a mixed method approach, the study first adopted a translingual lens to observe literacy events that occur in the classrooms. Secondly, the study engaged with metacognitive reflections of teachers’ account of own lessons where teaching occurred in more than one language. Lastly, through analysis of a battery of literacy tests written by grade 3 and 4 learners, the study established the learners’ reading and comprehension skills in isiZulu and English. The results of the learners’ assessments were compared to determine the transition from foundation phase (Grades 1-3) to the intermediate phase (Grades 4-6) and ascertain whether or not there were patterns of a Grade 4 slump. The findings of the study indicate the level of engagement by the learners in literacy events was not high and a low teacher impact was observed. Secondly, the study found that while teachers were aware of their learners having reading difficulties, their expectations of the learners were higher than the results produced by their learners in the multilingual assessments that were administered. Noteworthy was their acknowledgement that their learners’ reading development in their home language was lower than their competencies in English. Lastly, the study found that the learners’ literacy development was significantly lower than the international benchmark and that the transition from Grade 3 to 4 did not result in an improved result for the literacy development in both English and isiZulu. Given these findings, the learners’ engagement in literacy events must increase to improve literacy skills of learners. In addition, there needs to be an improvement in the reading development of learners’ home language so as to upscale the literacy development of the learners. Given the limitations in the scope of the study, further research on the efficacy of translanguaging on a large scale is urgently needed to augment the findings of the study.Item Translanguaging practices amongst immigrant learners :implications for decolonised discourses(2019) Dhokotera, Clarahhe purpose of this study was to explore how the immigrant learners show their linguistic resources in monolingual biased spaces and how the teacher’s monolingual bias practices impact on the multilingual immigrant learners. This was achieved through the examination of teacher practices and approaches in English and IsiZulu language lessons. The multilingual theories, the Translanguaging and Decolonial theories were discussed to ascertain how these theories can be of great value in multilingual immigrant learner spaces. Related literature points out that there is interdependence between languages and fluidity of linguistic boundaries. Because of linguistic fluidity, the crossing over of languages is a social language practice amongst multilinguals. It is therefore obsolete to treat languages as separate entities and fixed Makalela, (2015), Garcia (2018) and Kirarmba, (2016). At further examination, the theory (Decolonial) points out one language use in classrooms as a colonial language teaching practice, which is based on monolingual ideologies of one language policy A qualitative design was used in an ethnographic case study, and lessons observations in English and IsiZulu were done. The observation data were augmented by teacher and learners interviews and validation was with data from learners creative work documents. The data were collected from four teachers (two IsiZulu and two English) and eight purposively sampled multilingual immigrant learners. The findings revealed that immigrant learners have numerous linguistic, cultural, and semiotic resources and experiences that they may use in language classrooms for enhancing their language learning. However, the resources are being hindered by the monolingual practices and methodologies which are still dominant in many language classrooms. The study therefore recommends the enhancement of teacher expertise and Translanguaging techniques and decolonial strategies in language teaching.Item Translanguaging in Rwandan classrooms: case of multilingual practices in two secondary schools(2017) Maniraho, SigfridIn the Rwandan multilingual context, an overwhelmingly dominant language of everyday communication (viz.: Kinyarwanda) is vying for space on the national linguistic market with three co-official languages. Of these, two (viz.: English and French) are influential internationally and one (viz.: Kiswahili) is influential regionally. This is a rather unique context of language use; and the present study set out to examine how “Translanguaging” as a teaching/learning strategy is likely to foster subject content learning and language competence development at the secondary school level. In this endeavor, the study specifically aimed (1) to describe the nature of Translanguaging as actually practiced in this particular context; (2) to ascertain the way in which it enhances subject content learning; and (3) to determine how it is likely to improve students’ language competence. The following findings were thus reached. With regard to the nature of Translanguaging; the study found that the aspects of the practice referred to as “Integrated Use of Languages” and “Centre Stage to Home Language” were extensively and usefully harnessed, especially through English-Kinyarwanda/KinyarwandaEnglish codeswitching. At the same time, however, the study found that a most important aspect of Translanguaging, the “Integrated Language Use Planning and Activity Structuring” was not observed, and this represents an crucial defect in the practice. As concerns the way in which Translanguaging facilitates Subject Content Learning, the study found that knowledge is effectively delivered and accessed, even though appropriate expression of that knowledge in the academic context is likely to be a big challenge. Finally with respect to how Translanguaging enhances Language Competence Development, the study found that; of all the “linguistic varieties (Franceschini 2011)” most likely to be used in the context under study; only one (viz.: Kinyarwanda-English codeswitching) is sure to develop rapidly, whereas the other varieties (English, French, Kiswahili, and Kinyarwanda) are likely to be learnt and/or developed moderately, owing mainly to the above mentioned “Integrated Language Use Planning” defect. Overall, it has appeared from the present study that; to a certain extent; it is good for secondary school education that teachers and students have intuitively adopted “multilingual practices” as a teaching/learning strategy. However, it would be highly recommended that the practice be consciously planned and systematically monitored and evaluated. Only in that way, it is suggested, multilingual practices can be fully and beneficially harnessed for concomitant advancement of subject content learning and language competence development