Department of Modern Foreign Languages

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Browsing Department of Modern Foreign Languages by Subject "Academic writing development"

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    Trajectories of learning : the use of multimodal resources to enhance academic writing development in open and distance e-learning
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-03) Du Toit, Jacques Avril; Bergman, Lesley; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Students’ transition from school to university is as much multifaceted as it is complex. Such complexity is particularly evident among first-year students entering Higher Education. One should be especially cognisant of such complexities when considering variables such as learner characteristics in relation to their approach to distance learning, as well as their writing skills and digital literacies development. Student support frameworks should be put in place to complement subject-related content. Currently, strategies to support students with their academic writing abilities are limited, and findings are often inconclusive. In 2015, a study was conducted at an Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL) Writing Centre to explore both theoretical and practical issues related to an Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)-driven writing intervention to first-year students studying through distance learning. A digital writing portal, through the curation of OERs, was designed and used to find ways to steer follow-up interventions. The study focused primarily on learner experiences, and the use of OERs to support practice-based activities within the skill-set of academic writing ability at university level. This qualitative study focused on learner experiences and the usability and pitfalls of Information and Communication Technologies in complementing writing intervention during practice-based activities within the skill-set of academic writing at university level. Mainly positive responses were received in instances where the theory of multimodality and Connectivism followed. Findings suggest that cognitive-linguistic activity is often not evident within the framework of both higher and distance education, especially where academic writing skills development is needed in context to scaffold actual content cognitively within the curricula itself. With a strong focus on Multimodality and Connectivism, this study showed that learners were able to work with reference points and to conceptualise images and texts related to the content which allowed them to practice writing conventions better. Finally, by applying theories of first-language transfer (Gass, 1988; Ellis, 2000), the students’ ability to digest newly introduced materials as well as their ability to understand and follow instructions were also key themes which emerged as workable opportunities to model their understanding of writing practices favourably.