- Title
- Learners’ understanding of their linguistic resources as a basis for learning natural sciences
- Creator
- Thorne, Rochelle Eugenia
- Subject
- Linguistic analysis (Linguistics)
- Subject
- Science -- Study and teaching -- Methodology
- Subject
- Science -- Study and teaching (Elementary)
- Date Issued
- 2024-04
- Date
- 2024-04
- Type
- Doctoral theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64049
- Identifier
- vital:73646
- Description
- With eleven official languages, South Africa is known for its multilingual environment. Despite this, the country's educational system heavily favours English and Afrikaans. Despite the varied linguistic backgrounds of learners, English continues to be used as the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT), which raises questions regarding fair access to education. Within the context of South Africa's constitution and policy frameworks, particularly the Language in Education Policy (LiEP), this study aims to investigate how group work activities in a Natural Sciences classroom can give learners an opportunity to mobilise their multilingual repertoires. Three formerly Afrikaans-medium high schools in the Northern Areas of Gqeberha, were the sites for this research which focuses on Grade Nine Natural Sciences learners. Through the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods such as questionnaires, classroom observations, and focus groups, the study explores how learners make use of their language resources to navigate science instruction in English. The results contest the idea that languages are distinct entities and show that learners use language interchangeably as a learning tool, a practice known as translanguaging. Group work becomes an important space in which learners exercise agency in language selection, enabling the link of dialogical, multilingual, and cultural responses. Sociocultural theory offers insights into group work relationships and provides the theoretical foundation for understanding how learners use language to understand scientific topics. Building on Gibbons' mode continuum (2003), which maps the shifts in discourse in classroom contexts from every day talk at the “here and now” to more specialized talk, the study also explored an expanded continuum which aimed at clarifying the nuances of language and cognitive progression among learners working in collaborative groups. This study adds to the conversation about language ideologies by recognising the ideologies of inclusion, access and identity which informed learners’ thinking and attitudes to language choice in education. Thus, the study emphasises the importance of a sophisticated comprehension of multilingual repertoires in the classroom. In order to better accommodate the changing linguistic patterns of multilingual learners, the study recommends re-evaluating language policies and encouraging educators to exploit the potential of group work to develop understanding of scientific concepts.
- Description
- Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Education, School of Post Graduate Education, 2024
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- application/pdf
- Format
- 1 online resource (xvi, 287 pages)
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Education
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Thorne, RE.pdf | 3 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |