Philosophiae Doctor - PhD ( Language Education)

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https://hdl.handle.net/10566/10530

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Browsing by Subject "Critical pedagogy"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    An investigation of academic writing at the University of Namibia : engendering an experiential, meaningful and critical pedagogy for English for academic purposes
    (University of the Western Cape, 2016) Mukoroli, Joseph Namutungika; Sivasubramaniam, Sivakumar
    The study aims to investigate academic writing at the University of Namibia and intends to explore whether a critical, meaningful and experiential pedagogy in EAP that enhances voice and agency in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) can be engendered in the Namibian EAP classroom. Moreover, it aims to investigate the experiences and perceptions of first year EAP students regarding the current EAP pedagogy at the University of Namibia. The study aspires to generate an understanding of the components students find difficult when they engage in academic essay writing. It provides a holistic and profound understanding of what critical, meaningful and experiential pedagogy is and wish to propose the process-genre writing approach as tool to a critical, meaningful and experiential pedagogy to teaching academic writing. The study draws it theoretical underpinning from critical pedagogy as postulated by Freire (1973) and Canagarajah (1999). This research supports the premise that the English language classroom is a cultural space where various agendas are negotiated and contested and explores the complexity of language pedagogy in the English classroom (Canagarajah, 1999). Moreover, this study is based on the premise that pedagogies are not received in their own terms but are rather appropriated on different levels in terms of the needs, interests and values of the local communities (Canagarajah, 1999, p.121-2). As research design, the study adopts an exploratory design using both qualitative and quantitative data. Besides, the study uses SPSS analysis and written error analysis methodologies. While the former provides an understanding of EAP students' perceptions and experiences regarding the current EAP pedagogy at the University of Namibia, the latter examines the components that EAP students find difficult when they engage in academic essay writing. As instruments, the study uses a semi-structured questionnaire and academic essay administered to 200 EAP first year student- participants. The findings indicate that the current EAP pedagogy at the University of Namibia does not promote experiential, meaningful and critical learning nor does it enhance voice and agency in the EAP classroom, thus a critical, meaningful and experiential EAP pedagogy that enhances voice and agency can be engendered in the Namibian EAP classroom. The findings also indicate that EAP students find the use of APA referencing skills and the use of discourse markers the most difficult when they engage in academic essay writing. Furthermore, the literature that I reviewed for this study critically exposed how practices in EAP and institutional policies stifle voice and agency in the EAP classroom. The entire process of this study has generated some insights that can advance our understanding of a critical, meaningful and experiential pedagogy in EAP and academic writing. These insights are: (1) A need to enhance EAP educator’s critical awareness, (2) We must minimize students' text-appropriation, (3)A need to re-conceptualize and decriminalize the concept of plagiarism in EAP, (4) A new approach to teaching APA referencing in EAP academic writing, (5) A need to renegotiate voice and agency in academic writing, (6) Writing is a process not an event, (7) We need to move towards an appropriate critical, meaningful and experiential pedagogy in EAP. The study proposes the process-genre academic writing approach as pedagogy towards a critical, meaningful and experiential EAP pedagogy in teaching academic writing. All in all, the study upholds the premise that a critical, meaningful and experiential EAP pedagogy that enhances voice and agency can be engendered in the Namibian EAP classroom.
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    An investigation of language learning agency in English for academic purposes: The case of the Malawi University of Science and Technology
    (University of Western Cape, 2020) Mkandawire, Kondwani Kelvin; Sivasubramaniam, Sivakumar
    There is general recognition regarding the importance of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses in assisting students acquire academic discourses appropriate to specific disciplines of study. However, undergraduate students in multilingual contexts, where English is a second or foreign language face challenges in managing the transition from secondary school into the university, where they are expected to appropriate as well as acclimate to new discourses of communication deemed to be essential for their survival in the academic world. Although studies show the importance of agency in language learning success, institutional demands have sometimes led to the adoption of teaching and assessment practices that ignore the learners’ English language learning history, background, experiences and needs, which impact on their sense of agency and voice in the EAP classroom and eventually their learning success.
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    An investigation of language learning agency in English for academic purposes: the case of the Malawi University of Science and Technology
    (University of the Western Cape, 2020) Mkandawire, Kondwani Kelvin; Sivasubramaniam, Sivakumar
    There is general recognition regarding the importance of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses in assisting students acquire academic discourses appropriate to specific disciplines of study. However, undergraduate students in multilingual contexts, where English is a second or foreign language face challenges in managing the transition from secondary school into the university, where they are expected to appropriate as well as acclimate to new discourses of communication deemed to be essential for their survival in the academic world. Although studies show the importance of agency in language learning success, institutional demands have sometimes led to the adoption of teaching and assessment practices that ignore the learners’ English language learning history, background, experiences and needs, which impact on their sense of agency and voice in the EAP classroom and eventually their learning success. The study investigates whether the EAP course at the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) can engender agency and voice among first year undergraduate students transitioning into the University from community day secondary schools (CDSSs). It aspires to generate an understanding of the strong link that exists between institutional orientation to EAP, course design and pedagogical practice on the one hand and learner agency, voice and multiple meaning making in the EAP classroom on the other. Anchored theoretically in critical pedagogy (Freire, 1970), ecological affordances (van Anchored theoretically in critical pedagogy (Freire, 1970), ecological affordances (van Lier, 2000, 2004) and positioning (Davies & Harré, 1999), the study argues for EAP pedagogy that provides affordances, empowers and positions transitioning students for critical learning by deliberately making multiple meaning making, agency and voice the mainstays of course design and instruction. The investigation uses a qualitative case study methodology centred on understanding affordances for agency and voice in EAP learning, manifestations of and the factors influencing voice and agency from the perspectives of first-year undergraduate students transitioning from community day secondary schools (CDSSs) and EAP course lecturers. Collection of data involved semester-long observation of 44 EAP lecture sessions of roughly 2 hours each duration, as well as interviews with participant students and course lecturers, and analysis of documents. The findings indicate that design and pedagogical practice in the current EAP course at MUST fail to adequately engender agency and voice among students and to promote learner empowerment or encourage multiple meaning making in and outside the classroom. The entire study has generated some insights for advancement of critical EAP learning that can engender voice and agency, including the need for EAP to deliberately build in and promote learner empowerment, multiple meaning making and negotiation in order to move towards pedagogy that is appropriate for critical learning, voice and agency, the need for EAP to move away from closure-focused teaching, learning and assessment, the need for enhancement of EAP course lecturers’ critical awareness of the world views and inherent assumptions surrounding various approaches to EAP pedagogy, the need for enrichment of EAP learning environments with semiotic resources for learner engagement for agency, voice and multiple meaning making, the need for learning spaces that are enabling for students to identify and utilize affordances for EAP learning beyond the classroom, and the need for exploration of PowerPoint and related technologies for EAP instruction beyond current use as tools for transmission of content to students.