A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in the Department of Language Education in the Faculty of Education, University of The Western Cape
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Date
2019
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University of the Westernn Cape
Abstract
Writing is an important skill throughout learners’ schooling trajectory because it is through
writing that learners need to situate meaning and sense-making across the curriculum. Writing
proficiency becomes even more important when learners access tertiary studies. Yet studies
suggest that most students struggle with academic writing. Various authors suggest that writing
has not been taught appropriately especially in secondary schooling contexts in South Africa
and that writing becomes even more daunting for Second Language speakers of English when
they reach tertiary education. There is abundant literature on students’ challenges with
academic writing and ways to address academic writing challenges but the use of digital
storytelling in relation to academic writing development is recent and distinctively
underexplored in the literature.
In this study, I seek to explore the potential that digital storytelling has in the teaching of
undergraduate academic writing skills. I will focus on first year students' academic writing
skills, how they are taught currently and how technology in the form of digital storytelling can
help first year students improve their academic writing skills. The theoretical framework for
the study is largely based on the New Literacies Studies which is championed by members of
the New London Group such as Street and Street (1984) Lea and Street (2006) among others.
The theoretical framework will draw on the notion of literacy as social practice rather than a
set of reading and writing skills which explains why educators need to find new ways of
teaching academic writing skills. I use semiotics and multimodality as a foundational concept
for using digital storytelling in academic writing. That is because semiotics and multimodality
further support the idea that literacy goes beyond words but that audio and visual elements are
also part of learning and can help engage students in their academic work. The main aim of
this proposed research is to explore both students and lecturer practices of digital literacies in
the teaching and learning of academic writing at The Cape Peninsula University of Technology
(CPUT).
Description
Magister Educationis - MEd
Keywords
Academic writing, Academic literacy, Academic literacies model, Academic socialization model