’n Genregebaseerde benadering tot die ontwikkeling van skryfvaardighede in Afrikaans as tweede taal op universiteitsvlak

Date
2018-03
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Degree programs offered by universities prepare students for their target professions. The preparation includes enabling students to effectively cope with the texts that form part of their target contexts. It often happens that students first need to be prepared to function effectively within the university context even before they can be prepared for their target professions. Within the South African context, students who are second language speakers of Afrikaans often come from parts of South Africa where Afrikaans is the minority language. Therefore, the classroom in which they receive their school education is at times not fully equipped with sufficient Afrikaans input. When these students arrive at an Afrikaans university, they are in a more difficult situation than their classmates who are native speakers and who have sufficient access to appropriate Afrikaans inputs. In this dissertation, I propose the genre-based approach from the systemic functional linguistic perspective for the development of writing skills in Afrikaans as a second language. Three research questions are examined. Firstly, research has been conducted into the nature and characteristics of texts from the response genre, which form part of an Afrikaans as a second language writing course. The second aspect researched is how the analysis of the latter texts can be used in an Afrikaans language acquisition module to develop second language writing skills. Thirdly, the concept of affordances was involved in order to identify language affordances within the context of a course for Afrikaans as a second language. Regarding the methodology, model texts from the response genre are analysed using a custom genre-analytical questionnaire (based on the functional language model) as well as by textual analysis. Each of the texts are analysed with reference to the context, the ideational meta function, the interpersonal meta function and the textual meta function. The genre-analytical questionnaire – updated from Paltridge (2001) – is adapted to focus on each of the latter aspects. The questionnaire is supplemented by a textual analysis focusing on, inter alia, the nature of the sentences and the types of processes present. Conclusions on the nature of each of the subgenres of responses (reviews, character analyses and thematic interpretations) are made following the genre analyses. I argue that the deductions from the genre-analytical questionnaire as well as the textual analyses can be adapted for use in the second language classroom for development of second language writing skills. Thus, the genre-analytical questionnaire has been further adapted to serve as a practical classroom worksheet. Another argument presented in this dissertation is that the teaching and learning cycle (the practical application of the genre-based approach) allows space for lecturers to assist students in the awareness of language affordances. The assumption that awareness of language affordances leads to higher motivation with regard to the development of writing skills is examined in the dissertation. I find that multilingual students potentially possess more affordances and that lecturers can facilitate students with regard to goal setting for writing skills development. I also find that students need to be made aware of the usability and relevance of all classroom activities, and that sufficient opportunity should be given to second language students to practice and develop their skills. The research undertaken for this dissertation is of the first in which the systemic functional linguistic view of the genre-based approach is applied to Afrikaans as a second language. Furthermore, this study links the three research areas of the genre-based approach, second language writing skills and affordances – something that has not been done before in the field of Afrikaans as a second language.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Graadprogramme by universiteite berei studente voor vir hulle teikenberoepe – onder meer die bekwame omgaan met die tekste wat deel vorm van hulle teikenkontekste. Dit gebeur dikwels dat studente eers voorberei moet word om doelmatig binne die universiteitskonteks te funksioneer en effektief met dié tekste binne die akademiese konteks om te gaan voordat hulle op hul teikenberoep voorberei word. Binne die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks kom studente wat tweedetaalsprekers van Afrikaans is, menigmaal vanuit dele van Suid-Afrika waar Afrikaans die minderheidstaal is. Daarom is die klaskamers waarin hulle hul skoolonderrig ontvang by tye nie ten volle toegerus met genoegsame Afrikaanse insette nie. Wanneer dié studente op ʼn oorwegend Afrikaanse universiteit kom, is hulle in ’n moeiliker situasie as hul klasmaats wat moedertaalsprekers is én wat genoegsame toegang tot geskikte Afrikaanse insette gehad het. Hierdie proefskrif stel die genregebaseerde benadering vanuit die sistemies-funksionele linguistiese perspektief voor vir toepassing in die tweedetaalklaskamer ter ontwikkeling van skryfvaardighede in studente se tweede taal. Die proefskrif sentreer rondom drie navorsingsvrae. Eerstens is ondersoek ingestel na die aard en eienskappe van tekste vanuit die responsgenre, wat deel vorm van ’n skryfkursus in Afrikaans as tweede taal. Die tweede fokuspunt is op watter wyse die analise van tekste in die responsgenre in ’n Afrikaans taalverwerwingsmodule gebruik kan word vir die ontwikkeling van tweedetaal-skryfvaardighede. Derdens is die konsep van voorsienbaarhede betrek om sodoende taalvoorsienbaarhede binne die konteks van ’n kursus vir Afrikaans as tweede taal te identifiseer. Betreffende die metodologie, is modeltekste vanuit die responsgenre ontleed aan die hand van ʼn aanpassing van Paltridge (2001) se genre-analitiese vraelys (gebaseer op die funksionele taalmodel); sowel as deur ʼn tekstuele analise met verwysing na die konteks, die inhoudelike metafunksie, die interpersoonlike metafunksie en die tekstuele metafunksie. Afleidings oor elke subgenre van die gekose responstekste (resensies, karakteranalises en tematiese interpretasies) word na aanleiding van die genre-analises gemaak. Ek argumenteer dat die afleidings vanuit die genre-analitiese vraelys en die tekstuele analises aangepas kan word vir die ontwikkeling van tweedetaalskryfvaardighede in die tweedetaalklaskamer. Derhalwe het ek die genre-analitiese vraelys verder aangepas om as praktiese werksblad in die klaskamer te dien. Ek voer in die proefskrif verder aan dat die onderrig- en leersiklus (die praktiese toepassing van die genregebaseerde benadering) ruimte laat waarin dosente studente kan bystaan in die bewusmaking van taalvoorsienbaarhede. Die proefskrif ondersoek die aanname, naamlik dat ’n bewuswording van taalvoorsienbaarhede tot hoër motivering ten opsigte van die ontwikkeling van skryfvaardighede lei. Ek bevind dat veeltalige studente potensieel oor meer voorsienbaarhede beskik as eentalige studente en dat dosente bepaalde doelwitte by studente kan fasiliteer ten opsigte van die ontwikkeling van skryfvaardighede. Ek bevind verder dat studente bewus gemaak moet word van die bruikbaarheid en relevansie van alle klaskameraktiwiteite en dat genoegsame geleentheid aan tweedetaalstudente gegee moet word om hul vaardighede te oefen en te ontwikkel. Die navorsing wat vir hierdie proefskrif onderneem is, is een van die eerstes waarin die sistemies-funksionele linguistiese siening van die genregebaseerde benadering op Afrikaans as tweede taal toegepas word. Dié studie koppel die drie navorsingsterreine – die genregebaseerde benadering, tweedetaalskryfvaardighede en voorsienbaarhede – iets wat nog nie van tevore ten opsigte van Afrikaans as tweede taal gedoen is nie.
Description
Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2018.
Keywords
Afrikaans language -- Acquisition, Second language writing skills, Afrikaans language -- Writing -- Study and teaching (Higher), UCTD
Citation