Journal for Language Teaching

Editor's note

2025-03-18T20:10:49+00:00

We are very pleased to present our first publication (Vol. 59, no. 1) of the Journal for Language Teaching this year. This publication comes a bit earlier than our first issues in recent years. The reason for this is that although our DHET accreditation requires that we publish at least two issues a year, we have taken a conscious decision to work very hard towards publishing three issues this year. This has been necessitated by our own realization that the journal has grown tremendously in terms of popularity since we moved it to open access in the past three years or so. More and more authors continue to choose the Journal for Language Teaching as the final destination of their scholarly work. Although this is evidence of a boost in the reputation of the journal, it has also resulted in a huge backlog in our review process and consequently, unprecedented and undesired delays in our publications. We acknowledge the inconvenience that this has caused to the authors and apologise for it. We are working very hard to attend to this though. Our decision to get three publications out and to have Vol. 59, no. 1 published so early this year attests to this. We are also in the process of beefing up our editorial team for the purpose of expediting the review process and publications.

Reflections on student agency through the use of voice notes in university English tutorials during Covid-19

2025-03-19T07:12:00+00:00

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have had to reconsider and reshape their teaching and learning pedagogies overnight during the Covid-19 pandemic. The dramatic closure of education institutions in South Africa, and worldwide, gave rise to questions around our adaptability, readiness, and response to change in the HEI sector. While universities made the rapid move to emergency remote teaching and learning, it remained to be seen how students responded to this move. This study reports on the use of voice notes to promote student voice and agency in English tutorials at a university in Gauteng, South Africa. The main aim of this paper is to examine student reflections on the use of voice notes to foster agency in tutorials. Based on the inequalities present in South Africa’s education system, specifically HEIs, this paper is conceptually framed in critical theory. Through an examination of data elicited from student interviews, observations, and voice notes, this case study finds that participant reflections highlight the significance of a critical approach, in utilising voice notes in English tutorials, to assist students in being active participants in the teaching and learning process.

Impact of teachers' linguistic choices on ESL students' verbal participation in selected secondary schools in Ekiti State, Nigeria

2025-03-25T16:52:24+00:00

This study investigated the linguistic choices made by teachers and their effects on students’ verbal participation in English as a second language classroom interaction in selected secondary schools in Ekiti state in Nigeria. The study used a mixed methods approach and followed a case study as well as a descriptive research design. The approaches were triangulated to analyse extracts from 20 recorded classroom lessons and teacher interviews. The findings showed that the linguistic choices of teachers during classroom interactions significantly affected the classroom discourse structure and students’ verbal participation. The teachers’ linguistic choices were primarily made to accomplish the tasks of teaching the content and, as such, teachers were engaged mostly in initiating classroom exchanges, giving feedback, and keeping the interactions under control to the extent that students were mainly engaged to provide limited verbal responses to teacher initiations and directives. The study recommended teachers’ further professional training to enhance their discourse and pedagogical practices, provision of language teaching/learning resources and conducive classroom environments by the government. The development of applicable language policy and curriculum that facilitates rich classroom interactions and the development of student’s communication proficiency was also recommended to be the main focus of the Ministry of Education.

Fitting in, figuring it out: Attitudes to English at a South African university

2025-03-22T11:59:43+00:00

Students at South African higher education institutions typically need to use English as their language of learning and teaching. One of the objectives of this study was to explore what students felt about this, and how their perceptions and practices were linked to their identities. Small focus group discussions were held with students at a South African university. A framework of New Literacy Studies was used, which views student learning as a process of mastering discipline-specific, socially constructed norms and values, and sees the adoption of any kind of literacy as including the adoption of an identity. Critical Discourse Analysis was then applied to the transcripts of these discussions. Two of the Discourses revealed in this way were the ‘Model C was better’ and the ‘English to fit in’ Discourse. The former was a Discourse of deficit, with students attributing academic success to those who experienced ‘good’ schooling from ex-Model C schools and so were proficient in English. ‘English to fit in’, by contrast, was a Discourse underpinned by quiet pride in the students’ own multilingualism. It is argued that deficit discourses need to be noted and, if possible, countered, if efforts to improve students’ levels of academic literacy are to succeed.

Deaf students and South African Sign Language (SASL) in teacher training: Avoiding a Procrustean “BEd”

2025-03-18T19:18:25+00:00

South African Sign Language (SASL) is the main language of learning and teaching (LoLT) for Deaf students in South Africa. To provide education of a high standard to the Deaf, suitably qualified teachers are needed. However, teachers at schools for the Deaf are not currently required to have any specialised training or qualification in Deaf education; neither are they required to be fluent in SASL. This problematic situation is exacerbated by the fact that owing to misconceptions about SASL and a deficit view of its capabilities in academic contexts, generic curricula that rely on English as the LoLT continue to be used. There is a need to ensure that appropriate pedagogies are used with Deaf students and that they develop academic literacy in both SASL and English. This appraisal of institutional policies and plans and academic program structures at one institution responsible for the training of Deaf pre-service teachers is aimed at aligning policy and practice with the needs of Deaf students and promoting the further development of SASL as an academic language. It identifies a number of principles that can enhance the inclusivity and quality of education provided to Deaf students undergoing teacher training.

Integrating digital literacy into South African academic literacy: An autoethnographic exploration of evolving interventions

2025-03-18T19:18:25+00:00

The rapid advancement of technology has transformed the educational landscape, prompting institutions worldwide to integrate technology into their curricula to enhance personalized learning and student engagement. However, this advancement has also exacerbated existing educational inequities, particularly in developing countries like South Africa. Academic literacy is an established intervention aimed to support first-time entering students in higher education with their academic acculturation (Alexander et al., 2005; Council on Higher Education, 2017; Nel & Janse van Rensburg, 2022). However, while current academic literacy interventions provide crucial support, these interventions lack the necessary components to fully equip students for success in this technologically driven era. Using an explorative auto-ethnographic research design the inter-section of technological advancements and the pressing need for improved academic literacy interventions is investigated. Finally, the argument is made that the increasing digital divide necessitates a modernized approach to the development of literacy skills – one that seamlessly inte-grates digital literacy into existing academic literacy frameworks – to enhance student success and empower them to thrive in the digital age.

The foreign language classroom anxiety scale in the South African context: Drumming to a different beat?

2025-03-18T19:18:26+00:00

Anxiety in language learning has been studied for decades. One of the most widely used instruments allowing researchers to investigate this phenomenon is the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS). Only a limited number of studies have investigated the psychometric properties of the questionnaire to gauge the validity (factor analyses) and reliability (Cronbach Alphas) of the indicated factors and items for their specific context. The present study adopted a wider approach by including Rasch analyses to adjust the FLCAS for use in the South African context. Before submitting the questionnaire to 124 first-year students in French a translated version was prepared to ensure cultural adaptability.

The investigation was iterative and was conducted in two cycles which included exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, Cronbach’s Alpha and Rasch analyses to arrive at a proposed model to ensure sound measurement of foreign language anxiety for the specific context.

Results point to three factors with 25 relevant items. The original FLCAS was thus improved for the specific context by eliminating problematic items highlighted by the analyses and regrouping the remaining items into the three uniquely South African factors. This represents a first analysis from a Rasch analysis perspective in this context.

Ukusetshenziswa kolimi lwesiZulu njengesu lokuthuthukisa ulwazi lokubala kunzikandaweni wemfundo yasezikhungweni zokuhlunyeleliswa kwezimilo

2025-03-22T10:20:31+00:00

ENGLISH TITLE: The use of isiZulu language as the strategy towards developing numerical literacy in correctional centre classrooms

The advent of democracy in South Africa introduced the plethora of transformations in the Correctional Services framework. Amongst these transformations is the infusion of offender education component, economic development through rehabilitation, and the advancement of social cohesion through offender rehabilitation. These transformations are, even though not apparently so, intertwined and coordinated for the purpose of offender holistic rehabilitation. For example, vision for the Department of Correctional Services includes (but it is not limited to) offering formal education to offenders so that they will be pro-active in developing the South African economy and further attain the skill(s) of living in harmony with fellow South African citizens. Preceding research, which sought to reveal offender rehabilitation strategies has centralised and defined offender education as the resource for competing the offender rehabilitation process. However, it is paramount to note that offender formal education has been discussed at a very generic lens, without focusing on the role played by each learning area in completing the rehabilitation process. Furthermore, the language used in the learning, teaching and assessment of offenders has been overlooked, particularily in scholarship that focuses on offender development and care. In this paper, researchers sought to examine the teaching, learning and assesment of quantitative literacy and the impact thereof of using isiZulu language in correctional centre classrooms. From the pragmatic epistemological stance, researchers collected both qualitative and quantitative data through pre-tests, post-tests and semi-structured interviews to address the research question: How can the use of isiZulu as the Language of Learning and Teaching be associated with the developement of quantitative literacy in correctional centre classrooms? The intellectual piece was framed within the QUANT-QUAL explanatory sequential mixed methods design. The Andragogic theoretical ideas were used as lens upon which the study was underpinned. The findings reveal the statistically significant impact of isiZulu in the development of quantitative literacy. Amongst the findings which were inferred from the study is the significant role of isiZulu language in the development of mathematics deeper conceptual understanding. The study further revealed the two-fold role of language use in correctional centre classrooms (that is, the development of mathematics register and the development of isiZulu as a language). IsiZulu language was further distinguished as the tool towards the decolonization of the mathematics curriculum in correctional centre classrooms. Finally, the researchers propose the use of learners’ Home Language in adult correctional centre classrooms.

Iqoqa

Imfundo isetshenziswa ukuphelelisa ukuhlunyeleliswa kwezimilo. Imfundo yeziboshwa iye yadingidwa akwangahlolisiswa iqhaza elibanjwa isifundo ngasinye ekuhlumeleliseni izimilo. Nolimi olusetshenziswa lapho kufundwa, kufundiswa noma kuhlolwa iziboshwa luye lwashaywa indiva. Kuleli phepha, abacwaningi bebehlola umthelela wokusetshenziswa kolimi lwesiZulu lapho kufundwa, kufundiswa futhi kuhlolwa izibalo ezikhungweni zokuhlunyeleliswa kwezimilo. Kusetshenziswe indlelakubuka yokubheka ukwenzeka kwesenzeko simbe. Kuqoqwe ulwazi lobunjalo botho nolobungako botho ngamathuluzi amathathu; isivivinyo sangaphambi kocwaningo, isivivinyo sangemva kocwaningo kanye nenhlolovo esakuhleleka. Lo msebenzi uye wamiswa ngokomdwebomumo wocwaningo oluxube ubungako botho nobunjalo botho, kuqaliswa ngolwazi lobungako botho, kulandeliswa ngolwazi lobunjalo botho. Insizakuhlaziya ebheka isu lokufundiswa kwabantu abadala iye yasetshenziswa lapho kuhlaziywa ulwazi oluveze ukuthi ulimi lwesiZulu luthuthukisa ulwazi lokubala ngobungako obucacile uma luqhathaniswa nesiNgisi. Kuhlaluke iqhaza elidlalwa ulimi lwesiZulu ekuthuthukiseni ulwazi lokubala. Ulimi lwesiZulu luphinde lwahlonzwa njengethuluzi elinqanda ukuqonelwa kohlelo lwesifundo sezibalo. Abacwaningi baphakamisa ukusetshenziswa koLimi lwaseKhaya njengoLimi lokuFunda nokuFundisa konzikandaweni bokufundela ezikhungweni zokuhlunyeleliswa kwezimilo.