Browsing by Author "Asheeke, Josefina"
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- ItemExaminer’s persception of grade 10 English second language “errors” in Namibia(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-12) Asheeke, Josefina; Van der Walt, Christa; Ruiters, John; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Curriculum Studies.This study was conducted to explore examiners’ perceptions of Grade 10 English Second Language (ESL) at Junior Secondary Certificate (JSC) level and to increase awareness of varieties of English. The study is situated in the Namibian context. An interpretive approach was employed to understand how examiners perceive Grade 10 English second language learners' ‘errors’. Semi-structured interviews were used to obtain information from six participants who are national markers of Grade 10 ESL papers in the Omusati region. The data were compared to the national examiners' reports for 2012–2016. The study was a qualitative case study. The unit of analysis in this case study was the perceptions of six examiners from the Omusati region of Namibia. This study was based on a sociolinguistic approach to the language. The replies of the six respondents and the examiners’ reports revealed that the Grade 10 learners’ level of proficiency in English is not at the level or grade they are in. In other words, they do not meet the requirements of the Grade 10 level. Both datasets revealed a perceived gap between learners from rural and urban schools. Learners from rural schools were perceived to be disadvantaged in terms of English proficiency compared to those in urban schools. Furthermore, the language spoken in certain areas influences learners' production of language. According to the examiners, learners have difficulty with interpreting questions correctly and as a result, they write off-topic. The findings revealed that 80% of learners do not keep to the word limit. This negatively affects the marks allocated because the examiners have to stop marking at the number of words expected. Most interestingly, the study revealed that learners were creating new forms of English which were seen by examiners as a direct translation from learners' home language into English. These types of translation mostly occur when learners translate idioms into English and when they write about things that relate to their culture. This led examiners to consider the possibility that an indigenous variety of English, colloquially referred to as ‘Namlish’, may be emerging in Namibia. Although this kind of English has not yet been standardised, it was acknowledged to exist in Namibia alongside the preferred British English.