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Item Open Access Exploring reading attitudes and habits of pre-service teachers responsible for early literacy development(University of the Free State, 2023) Boshoff, Elani; Du Plessis, Colleen Lynne; Drennan, Laura MariaReading is a crucial part of academic study and scholastic performance. Strong reading skills, which entail positive reading attitudes and robust reading habits, are needed to facilitate learning. Teachers, in particular, need to have a love for reading and regular reading habits themselves to be influential role models for their learners. However, studies show that, although pre-service teachers believe reading is important and/or beneficial, they do not maintain strong reading habits themselves, and they do not see reading as pleasurable. Such teachers may struggle to impart to their future learners positive reading attitudes that they themselves do not have. This study focused on pre-service teachers because they are uniquely positioned to reveal current reading attitudes cultivated by South African schools, and because they still have the opportunity to develop positive reading attitudes during their teacher training. The cohort includes pre-service teachers who are training to become Foundation or Intermediate Phase teachers; thus, the title of the study refers to pre-service teachers who will be responsible for early literacy development. The study aimed to learn about pre-service teachers’ reading attitudes and habits, and underlying reasons for them. To do this, insights were gained from a thorough literature study on reading as a cognitive process, the development of reading attitudes and habits, reader-text transaction types, and instructional approaches for meaningful reading practices within a Humanist and Social Reformist curricular philosophy. For the purposes of exploring the reading attitudes and habits of pre-service teachers responsible for teaching young learners, the English Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS) was developed as the data collection instrument. Key findings were that although most of the pre-service teachers expressed positive reading attitudes, their reading attitudes do not align with their reading practices, and they do not engage in extensive or pleasure reading. The cohort’s reading habits can be described as efferent rather than aesthetic; they seem not to focus on a love for reading and a regular reading habit for its own sake — rather, many think of reading as a necessary obstacle that must be overcome for academic purposes such as completing assignments. They read texts associated with their course work rather than literary works that could provide educational and personal benefits. Although many mentioned the value of literature in education to acquire knowledge and develop language proficiency, very few mentioned the need for teachers to read often or have a love for reading. Moreover, most were not encouraged to engage in meaningful ways with literature at school. They were taught with rote learning techniques in which learners were expected to memorise teachers’ notes instead of generating their own ideas and interpretations. It is possible that the lack of personal and meaningful engagement with literature texts is a cause for their lack of extensive and pleasure reading. The results of the survey also revealed a concerning prevalence of reading anxiety amongst the cohort of pre-service teachers. Participants indicated that they struggle to understand what they read, which may affect their studies negatively, given the amount of reading students are expected to do at university. Interestingly, participants showed a strong preference for printed texts. The fact that much of their academic reading is done through digital modes, via the Internet or through online learning management systems, may be a contributing factor to reading anxiety. Responsible design principles in applied linguistics remind us that the efficacy of our solutions is more important than their trendiness. If we wish to establish healthy reading attitudes and habits, digital reading modes may not always be the best tool to facilitate engagement with literature in classrooms. Recommendations based on the findings include prioritising reading literacy education in teacher training programs, as well as foregrounding the literature component of language curricula. Pre-service teachers need to be made aware of their example as reading role models, and they should also be given opportunities to nurture their own reading attitudes and habits during their training. They need to be equipped with the tools and techniques necessary to teach their future learners important reading skills, while encouraging a love for reading and the development of robust reading habits.Item Open Access Reading the forest as inter-species commune in Matthee's circles in a forest (1984) and Ehrlich & Reed's my octopus teacher (2020)(University of the Free State, 2022) Louw, René; Aghoghovwia, P.; Strauss, H. J.This study investigates the forest as a site of commune for human and nonhuman sentients in Matthee’ s Circles in a Forest (2005), the Afrikaans novel published in 1984 and the English translation published in 2005, and the Netflix nature documentary, My Octopus Teacher (2020). The objective of this work is to find the ways in which the forest space extends and adds to the conversation around ecological sustainability by means of regenerative communities. South African author, Dalene Matthee’s Circles in a Forest (2005) presents the Knysna forest as an example of a sustainable biological and relational system that is made possible by the responsible practices of those who partake in its community of human and nonhuman inhabitants. South Africa’s first ever Netflix Original nature documentary, My Octopus Teacher (2020), directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed, documents the interspecies encounters between a local film maker, Craig Foster, and a common octopus or octopus vulgaris, within a False Bay kelp forest, located within the South Atlantic Ocean, off the South African coast. This dissertation investigates how intimate connections between human and nonhuman lead to rehabilitative and sensitising possibilities within the space of the forest. A textual analysis of the two primary texts alongside a comparative study reveals how the forest offers alternative ways of practicing community-based ethics within human-disturbed landscapes which can be used to inspire sustainable futures for the environment. The terrestrial Knysna forest and aquatic kelp forest engage in relational economies of reciprocity, vulnerability, and deep interconnection, the combination of which forms the units of exchange between the encounters of humans, nonhumans, and the environment.Item Open Access Trauma and memorying in King's killing Karoline, Msimang's always another country and Smith's the camp whore(University of the Free State, 2022-03) Dicks, Tamia Tina; Manase, Irikidzayi; Dlamini, NonhlanhlaIn this study I read Smith’s The Camp Whore (2017), King’s Killing Karoline (2017) and Msimang’s Always Another Country (2017) through theories of life narratives, memory, trauma and feminisms in order to unpack the representation of the authors and fictional character, Susan (Smith), in relation to narration, gender, belonging, memory and identity reformation. The study also considers the autobiographical and fictional characters as gendered subjects, their specific experiences in history and everyday life experiences and the different ways in which the narrators attempt to resist existing oppressions, engage in memory making and healing, and reconstitute themselves. Therefore, this study evaluates the narrators' life experiences through South Africa's history, their individual traumatic and other lived experiences, and how this leads to the reconstruction of their identities. This study also evaluates how the narrators claim their place in historical events such as the Anglo-Boer War, the apartheid and post-apartheid era, and the way their narratives engage with official histories. These objectives assisted in developing an analysis of the ways in which the auto-biographers, King and Msimang, and the fictional character, Susan, resist their oppressions, partake in memory making and healing, and reconstructing their identities. The research also presents the link between the authors and character under study’s experiences and the recollection of their countries’ history. I therefore underline further the link between their individual traumatic and other lived experiences and their identity reformation. In addition, I consider how the women reflect their agency and subjectivity through finding healing and attaining their subjectivity through writing.Item Open Access The politics of narrating the performance of power in selected Zimbabwean autobiographical writings(University of the Free State, 2019-03) Barure, Walter Kudzai; Manase, Irikidzayi; Nyambi, OliverOver the past six decades, Zimbabwean politics and its trajectories have evolved as a result of nationalism, ethnocentrism, decolonisation, neo-colonialism, neoliberalism, nativism, Afro- radicalism and globalisation. These discourses have made Zimbabwean political actors and their supporters pit against each other on grounds of patriotism, race, gender, political affiliation, ethnicity and hegemonic struggles. Furthermore, this study analyses how these varying positions spurred the (dis)continuities between patriotic and ‘oppositional’ narratives in postcolonial Zimbabwe (specifically post-2000). It is important to explore how the schema of inclusion and exclusion manifest themselves in competing autobiographical narratives within the nation’s complex and contested political space. This dissertation analyses the politics of narrating the self, performativity and power in the autobiographical works of Tsvangirai, Msipa and Coltart. The primary concern of this study is to juxtapose these narratives and highlight salient connections between self and nation, past and the present and, autobiography and postcolonial theory. Reading these political autobiographies side by side locates the self in historical and aesthetic contexts that illustrate the faultlines of representation and identity. The study mainly refers to postcolonial theories by Bhabha (hybridity, liminality and mimicry) and Mbembe’s (African modes of writing the self) which interrogate the designation and discrimination of identities and the innovative sites of collaboration and contestation. The study also invokes Smith and Watson’s (2001) delineation of autobiographical modes of narration and McAdams’ (2006, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2018) psycho-literary approaches to personal narratives to critically interrogate narrative identity, life-transitions and imaginative acts of writing the self. Such an eclectic approach dispels illusions, self-justifications, myths and subjective generalisations of historical events and performances. A key finding of this study is that postcolonial politics in Zimbabwe is circumscribed and constituted by metaphors of hybridity, mimicry, liminality and new modes of writing. This dissertation concludes that ‘oppositional’ narratives appropriate and emulate the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front’s (ZANU-PF) performance of power to the extent of being travesty of democracy. I also suggest that a revisionist and inclusive writing of the nation goes against the grain of discriminatory and demonisation discourses that foreclose the imagination of having a future President from a minority tribe, race, younger generation, feminine gender and opposition party.Item Open Access A theoretical justification for the design and refinement of a Test of Advanced Language Ability (TALA)(University of the Free State, 2018-09) Steyn, Sanet; Weideman, A. J.; Du Plessis, C. L.The emphasis on political equality among the official languages of South Africa makes equivalence in the instruction and assessment of these languages at school level an important objective. The results of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination signal a possible inequality in the measurement of language abilities between the set of Home Languages (HLs) offered, as well as in the measurement of First Additional Languages (FALs). This necessitates action on the part of applied linguists to find a viable instrument for equivalent assessment. In order to do so, one must first find common ground among the various languages on the basis of which one can then derive a generic set of abilities that form part of an advanced language ability in any of these languages. As components of an overall ability, these will inform an idea of advanced language ability on which the further articulation of a construct for such a test should be based. This study explores the assumption that there are certain functions of language that all languages have in common, even though these different languages may not necessarily operate equally well in all material lingual spheres of discourse. Using as a theoretical basis the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), as well as current thinking about language teaching and assessment, this study not only provides a definition and further explication of advanced language ability but also describes the design of an assessment instrument to test this ability, the Test of Advanced Language Ability (TALA), that operationalizes the components of this construct. This test could potentially be the basis of a new, generic component of the NSC examination for Home Languages that might provide us with an instrument that can be demonstrated to be equivalent in terms of measurement, should it prove possible to develop similar tests across all the Home Languages. The study concludes with an evaluation of this instrument, a critical look at the limitations of the study and an overview of the potential utility of both the instrument and the findings of this investigation beyond its original aims.Item Open Access Language learning beliefs and motivation of Foundation and Intermediate Phase Education students in developing mastery in English(University of the Free State, 2018-10) Mhlongo, PraysGod Siphesihle; Du Plessis, C. L.; Weideman, A. J.Understanding what makes some individuals more successful in learning second languages is imperative if we are to design solutions that can potentially improve the language learning skills of learners who are not doing so well. Consequently, the ongoing debate over the predictors of successful language learning has prompted a number of investigations attempting to address this enquiry. Most noticeably, Language Learning Beliefs (LLBs) and language learning motivation, which are at the center of the current study, have significantly shaped the current views in the field of second language acquisition. Although one cannot overlook the valuable findings on these two language learning aspects over the past decades, the concern is that very few studies have attempted to study the potential interdependence among factors that inform language learning. Furthermore, the findings of previous studies do not consider the variation and role of learners' socio-economic backgrounds and ethnicity. The current study hopes to address this knowledge gap and come up with interventions that can help to improve the performance of learners and students in English. The study first seeks to identify the LLBs and motivation of Foundation and Intermediate Phase Education students before determining which of the two aspects can best predict the performance of students in mastering English. The nature of the study necessitated the adoption of a mixed-methods approach. A survey questionnaire, Beliefs About Language Learning and Motivation Inventory-Modified (BALLMI-M) consisting of open and closed-ended statements was designed to identify students’ views pertaining to LLBs, as well as to investigate their motivation for learning English. Furthermore, students were asked to complete the Test of Academic Literacy (TAL) as a pre- and post-test in order to identify their initial literacy levels, and to measure any improvement of their language ability, subsequent to the language course intervention. All the data collected were then analysed on two different occasions. In the first phase the LLBs and motivation were analysed separately in an attempt to identify the predominant LLBs, as well as to measure the students’ levels of motivation. The outcomes resulting from this analysis revealed the inconsistencies in students’ LLBs. This conflict in students’ LLBs made it impossible to correlate their LLBs with the motivation score. The conclusion, however, was that the anticipated relationship between students’ LLBs and their language learning motivation was insufficient to ensure mastery of English. This inference was based on the observation that a large number of students were highly motivated despite the eclectic nature of their LLBs. The second phase involved correlating dependent and independent variables with the aim of finding the best predictor of students’ achievement in English. Following the meticulous correlation of these variables, the TAL pre-test emerged as the best predictor of academic success, outperforming both the LLBs and language learning motivation which were initially anticipated to predict or determine students’ performance. In conclusion, a few important issues surfaced through the investigation. Of particular relevance are the following: 1) Contrary to the anticipated interrelation between LLBs and motivation, TAL’s strong predictive ability can be ascribed to its reliability to measure language learning ability; 2) that possessing constructive LLBs does not necessarily guarantee mastery of English at a more advanced level; 3) that the need to assimilate and adopt the identity of native speakers of English is not the primary reason for learning English for the majority of students in South Africa; and 4) that the students’ motive for learning English in the South African context is largely extrinsic. As a result of such factors, the current study proposes that language researchers focus on examining the factors that inhibit mastery of English in a multilingual and multicultural context such as ours, as opposed to prioritizing research on strategies to increase the motivation levels of students or aligning the LLBs to those of a teacher or a lecturer, as this has proven to be difficult.Item Open Access A woman’s pilgrimage to herself through the mother complex: A Jungian reading of selected works by Sylvia Plath(University of the Free State, 2017-06) Pridgeon, Sarah Josie; Brooks, MarizaSylvia Plath’s work pioneers woman’s experience of herself, her identity, and the ample mental, psychic, emotional and physical phases of female development. Past scholarship has endeavoured to examine her work in terms of the father-daughter relationship, mostly within a Freudian ‘oedipal’ framework. Yet, to date no substantive study has sought to examine the inverse: the effects the mother-complex has had on her work and by implication, her identity and development as an individual, woman, poet and mother. To address this lacuna this study aims to examine the overlooked and highly significant effect the mother-complex has had on Plath’s construction of her identity in her work using anomalous Jungian theory, which posits that above all individuals seek ‘attainment of self’, that is, to unify the various dimensions of their psyche and become whole. I aim to analyse the rich transformative archetypes and symbolism indicative of this personal quest which was augured by her confrontation of the mother-complex. To ascertain the effects and examine such development, the apposite, selected texts for this study comprise the last phase of her works, her late poems (post-1961) and novel (The Bell Jar, 1963), which I have supplemented with her journals (The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath, 2000) and the correspondence she had with her mother (Letters Home: Correspondence 1950-1963, 1975) to provide a thorough and all-inclusive investigation of this phenomenon. Plath’s confrontation of the rudimentary mother-complex and identity construction evident in these texts manifests in the consequential search for role models, the thematic dichotomies of life/death, creation/destruction and perfectionism characteristic of Plath’s work. The theoretical framework used to ascertain this hypothesis includes previously unapplied and befitting Jungian theory, Bowlby’s attachment theory as well as second-wave feminist theory. The foremost theoretical constructs, which highlight the effects the mother has on the daughter’s psyche and psychic growth, emphasises the interconnected dimensions of the psyche using Jung’s concepts of the mother-complex, shadow, persona, wise old woman and animus. Attachment theory demonstrates the preliminary nascence of this mother-complex. Alongside the analytical psychology and developmental models, aspects of second-wave feminism elucidate the impact that psycho-social factors have on identity development, and woman’s inherent ambivalence, as modelled by the mother and other women. This includes Betty Friedan’s ‘feminine mystique’ and how 1950s woman’s potentialities were restricted due to static professional and personal norms; Simone de Beauvoir’s concept of the ‘eternal feminine’ and woman as Other and Judith Butler’s ‘gender performativity’ which confines woman’s capabilities and influence to restrictive gender norms. Altogether this multi-faceted framework provides pertinent clarifications from a new angle for this hypothesis in connection with her mother Aurelia Plath, necessitating the impact of this on her life and work. This study, representative of one poet’s quest to cherchez la femme which follows the inherent need for ‘attainment of self’, can be extrapolated to fit into a broader framework that addresses the customary mother-daughter relationship interconnected with woman’s identity. The expansion of these two fundaments, relative to all women on a (personal and) collective level, is addressed in the last chapter of this study. This challenges the existing conceptualisations thereof to create a new narrative that is conducive to and necessitates woman’s multifarious needs, as an attempt to rewrite and recreate a unique trajectory for the development of the restrictive and prescriptive expectations established in woman’s consciousness, symptomatic of culture, as well as the affinities and aspirations within the collective unconscious.Item Open Access African writers' use of symbolism, myth and allusion in presenting the ideology of leadership in post-independence Africa: a study of selected novels by Ngugi Wa Thiong'o, Chinua Achebe and Ayi Kwei Armah(University of the Free State, 2000-11) Sebolai, Kabelo Wilson; Uwah, M.This dissertation was aimed at examining African writers' use of symbolism, myth and allusion in presenting the ideology of leadership in the post-independence Africa. Specifically, it focussed on Ayi Kwei Armah's The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born, Ngugi Wa Thiongo's Petals of Blood and Chinua Achebe's Anthills of the Savannah. One of the basic problems of the African continent has been the quality of its political leadership. In most cases, leaders that take over power in Africa after independence are not different from their colonial masters. Having attained power, these leaders exhibit worse oppressive tendencies than their erstwhile colonial masters. The African writers of this period have responded to this harsh reality with works that are critical of the excesses of these leaders. Strange as it seems, although it was fashionable for black writers to pit themselves against the system of apartheid at its peak in South Africa, the same writers have in the main, not yet responded to some of the excesses of the country's leadership in the new dispensation. This research was therefore necessary because of the literary vacuum left by the demise of apartheid in the literary output of South Africa's post-independence period. There is so much the writers have to say in this period especially when one considers the fact that problems experienced in the post-independence Africa in general are beginning to manifest themselves in South Africa as well. While writers in other parts of the continent have produced works that mirror the hopes and aspirations of the masses in the post-independence period, such has not been the case in South Africa. This dissertation was in a small way, intended to serve as a wake-up call to South African writers. It was meant to signal a resuscitation of literary creative writing in the post-apartheid South Africa; a type of literature whose concerns will resemble those of the general post-independence prototype in Africa. The dissertation examined critical novels of other African writers in the post-independence period and presented these as examples for South African writers to follow.Item Unknown A critical study of specific exploded violent hierarchies in five novels by Toni Morrison(University of the Free State, 2000-01) Strauss, Helene Johanna; Brooks, M.; Lovisa, M.In a study of Toni Morrison's fiction it is appropriate to consider some of the relevant philosophical insights of Jacques Derrida, particularly Derrida's theory of deconstruction and the way in which it facilitates the explosion of violent hierarchies. Firstly, a general overview of relevant Derridean terminology is given. In his work, Derrida exposes many classical philosophical oppositions in which one pole of the opposition dominates the other. In fact, he questions the very nature of a Western reason which causes difference to be viewed as opposition. He uses the phrase 'violent hierarchy' to show that there is no peaceful co-existence of terms within oppositions but that one term traditionally has the upper hand. Derrida also demonstrates that these hierarchical structures of dominance and oppression not only manifest themselves in language but are also promoted by logocentric language. By insisting on the play of différance in language, Derrida offers a way in which these violent hierarchies can be exploded. The term 'explode' is similar (yet not identical to) the Derridean term deconstruction. However, instead of deconstructing Morrison's texts, the aim of this study is to lay bare Morrison' s treatment of the tensions inherent in specific hierarchical structures of dominance. To explode the chosen violent hierarchies is to expose the contradictions and ironies in certain hierarchic structures which manifest themselves and are reflected in language, whereas deconstruction itself is a complex reading strategy that Derrida uses when revealing discrepancies within certain classical philosophical texts. The term 'explode' is thus a more accurate description of what is aimed at in this research. Next, the study entails an assessment of exploded gender, class and racial hierarchies in five novels by Toni Morrison. In The Bluest Eye and Sula, Morrison's explosions of the male/female violent hierarchy are evaluated, while violent class hierarchies are addressed in Song of Solomon. Finally, the way in which Morrison explodes racial and colourist hierarchies in Beloved and Paradise is researched. By opening up language to the play of différance and consequently undermining traditional metaphysical binary reason Morrison, like Derrida, encourages the perpetual explosion of these violent hierarchies in both literature and society at large.Item Open Access Writing for equality: a comparative study of the writings of Wollstonecraft, Schreiner and Woolf on the status of women(University of the Free State, 2007-08) Morgan, Yvette Margaret; Raftery, M. M.Patriarchy has tainted the mind of society, thereby creating gender discrimination and inequality. Until recently, this bias against women filtered down to women writers too. This MA dissertation is a comparative study of the works of Mary Wollstonecraft, Olive Schreiner and Virginia Woolf in their socio-historical context. While Wollstonecraft and Woo If lived in Britain, Schreiner spent most of her life in South Africa. It is interesting to observe that these three writers, working in two different countries, Britain and South Africa, shared strong ideas on women and education, double standards in society, professions for women and the roles of women in society. While sharing ideas, each writer lived in her own unique milieu and thus held certain beliefs more strongly than others. By evaluating women's literature dating from the late 18th century, this dissertation examines the evolution of women's situation in society and obtains, for the reader, a sense of what social issues were relevant at the time and how these issues have changed and/or stayed the same. The three authors chosen were also influenced by their predecessors' thoughts, which is clear in their literature. By looking at their work in the context of society and the influence of previous feminist literature, the reader can see the power that their thoughts and words hold. Though some of the problems about which these authors wrote so tellingly (for example, inequality under the law) have become redundant in Western society, many of the issues addressed in their writing have formed the baseline of feminist beliefs and are still very relevant today.Item Open Access Applied linguistic principles and designing CALL programmes for the ESL classroom(University of the Free State, 2004-05) Muller, Frederick Mark; Greyling, W. J.Applied Linguistics is largely concerned with teaching English as a second language (TESL) (Cruttenden, 1994, p6). This is not a simple field. There are a number of variables, such as the personalities of the individual students and teachers involved and the approach to learning used. Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) has been used for some years in a variety of approaches and learning environments. In these the primary focus of CAI has been on providing materials for learning in methods that stimulate learning more effectively - either by providing enhanced access to texts or by providing rapid feedback to set problems. The one facet of teaching where CAI is not extensively used (except in a facilitatory role) is providing an environment in which students can practise generating texts and have these understood. This dissertation investigates the potential of using computers to process text in such a way as to enable evaluating the cohesion and coherence of texts. It takes an interdisciplinary approach which exploits methods and insights from applied linguistics, artificial intelligence (AI) and computer-assisted language learning (CALL) to explore the potential of automating textual analysis, comparison and evaluation. This dissertation develops the hypothesis that a dependency-based grammar can be used to generate a computerised representation of the sense contained in a text and that this representation is sufficient to allow contextual comparison of texts. This comparison can be used, in turn, to evaluate texts by means of comparing the representation to that of a model answer, thus providing a means of evaluating the cohesion and coherence of the text. The potential of using such a system in constructing CALL programmes and the extent to which it can assist in the process of second language acquisition (SLA) is also discussed. Existing research studied during the writing of this dissertation included an examination of existing uses of computers in language teaching, particularly those associated with developing communicative competence. These studies pointed to a need for a utility that would enable teaching aids to evaluate texts contextually. Various methods of performing this evaluation were considered. This included the examination of a selection of grammatical systems with a view to determining their strengths in building a representation of the sense contained in a text. In addition, current applications using natural language processing (NLP) and AI were examined with a view to how these could be adapted or used to enable CALL programmes to evaluate coher~nce and cohesion in texts. Furthermore, guidelines are proposed for developing CALL programmes using this type of evaluation. These requirements are used as a template for implementing a programme aimed at performing a contextual evaluation by means of a comparison of texts. This programme is discussed in terms of the grammatical model used as well as the implications this holds for future development. Lastly, the implications using this kind of system in CALL programmes would have for teaching and teacher training are examined and suggestions for the future improvement and development of this sort of application are made. The main conclusion of this dissertation is that computerised contextual evaluation of texts is possible, though with the caveat that the evaluation is limited by the extent to which world-knowledge can be represented.Item Open Access The high school teacher's role in maximizing learners' initiative in English second language classes in Lesotho(University of the Free State, 2000-11) Rantsoai, Ntsotiseng Mary-Goretti; Ullyatt, R. C.English: The introductory chapters of this study explain minimum and maximum learner initiative and the forms in which they can be identified in the language teaching-Ieaming process. In other words, second language learners' and teachers' positions in language classrooms are defined. In so doing the advantages and disadvantages of maximum and minimum learner initiative were shown. The repercussions of the traditional IRF pattern of interaction in English second language classes are discussed in datal Using Bowers (1987) as conceptual framework, the researcher proceeded to identify the most recurrent pattems of interaction in Form E classes in some of the high schools in Lesotho, with specific reference to lingual data. She audiotaped seven pre-counselling lessons and seven interviews between the teachers and her. She also gave a questionnaire to the students so that she could collect more data for validation and triangulation purposes. The transcription of the lingual data, in Bowers' (1987) pre-counselling phase, revealed that most of the teachers adhered to the traditional IRF discourse cycle in English second language classes. The analysis of the lessons, interviews and questionnaires led to Bowers' (1987) counselling/intervention phase. It also made it easy for the teachers to identify their learner initiative-minimizing techniques in language classes. This meant a detailed discussion on maximizing and minimizing learner initiative and their effects in second language learning. The teacher's role in maximizing leamer initiative was thus emphasised. The researcher, then, suggested various ways in which the teachers could maximize leamer initiative. They were also advised to set learning outcomes so as to provide a guide for the implementation of these suggestions. The intervention phase was followed by the post-counselling/intervention phase of Bowers' model. Each of the seven teachers had his or her post-counselling lesson recorded and transcribed. The main purpose was to make it easy for the researcher and the teachers to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention phase. Evidently all the teachers had maximized leamer initiative through different techniques although they could not implement all the suggested techniques. One cannot tell whether the teachers still adhered to the notion of maximizing leamer initiative after the researcher's departure. The researcher therefore recommended, in this study, that second language teachers should receive regular counselling from the inspectors, their colleagues in their schools and from other schools, and lecturers from Lesotho College of Education and the National University of Lesotho. The need for teachers' communicative and pedagogic competences to be developed is also apparent from this study.Item Open Access The discourse of the opressed and the language of the abandoned in selected plays of Harold Pinter(University of the Free State, 2000-10) Jacobs, Edwena; Brooks, M.; MacDonald-Smythe, A.The focus of this study is to explore the notions of oppression and abandonment and language and discourse as it pertains to the works of Harold Pinter. A selected reading of three psychoanalysts: Erich Fromm, Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan facilitates an explanation of the psychological effects of oppression, violence, victimisation and alienation. According to Fromm, isolation is wo/man's most prodigious fear as being abandoned from society institutes psychological disturbances. In the Pinterian landscape, the characters are subjected to isolation and abandonment due to the oppressive society in which they are positioned. The Freudian concept of unconscious discourse offers an engaging explanation of the way in which Pinter's characters use discourse to signify their ontological fears and repressed desires. Freud's theory on the mechanisms of the id, ego and super-ego, and how these concepts correspond to repression and thus anxiety, highlights the significant themes in Pinter's plays. The Lacanian notion of Other as it relates to the laws and restrictive demands of society is manifested in Pinter' s plays as an omnipresent menace. Thus the characters attempt to retreat from society as it threatens to annihilate them, should they not conform. Ironically the tyrannical society is too powerful for the characters, and consequently destroys them when they endeavour to defy the laws of the Other. Accordingly Pinter's plays end with this final image of oppressed and abandoned characters struggling in vain against the oppressive Other.Item Open Access Glossy mags and the sexes: a critical discourse analysis of FHM and Cosmo(University of the Free State, 2009-05) Conradie, M. S.; Brokensha, S. I.English: The following dissertation reports on a research study of the lifestyle magazines For Him Magazine and Cosmopolitan. Quantitative and qualitative methods were combined in an investigation of linguistic patterns which serve to construct a particular perspective on masculinity and femininity. The quantitative analyses focused on identifying patterns in the distribution and connotation of various words. The qualitative analyses focused on various grammatical and semantic features in specific articles of both magazines. The results suggest that both magazines tend to hone masculinity and femininity to certain subjects and descriptions. Cosmopolitan, however, might be characterised by a slightly more flexible discourse. In addition, this study also contains suggestions on how research of this nature may be incorporated into an academic course for students of Applied Linguistics.Item Open Access The perilous realm of Faërie: an analysis of constructions of gender and society in selected fairy tales(University of the Free State, 2012-11) Potgieter, Marike; Raftery, M. M.English: Fairy tales emphasise such things as the passivity and beauty of female characters, thus functioning as gendered scripts which serve and support the dominant gender systems in societies. Beauty, which is represented as an ideal state of being in fairy tales, is a socially constructed notion indicating that the physical appearance of a woman is her most important quality, and that she should therefore strive to perfect it. The ideal of feminine beauty is “viewed largely as an oppressive, patriarchal practice that objectifies, devalues, and subordinates women” (Baker-Sperry & Grauerholz, 2003: 711); however, some women willingly strive to attain beauty since this is seen as a way to empower themselves. Studying the significance of beauty in fairy tales from a gendered perspective can provide an insight into the dynamics that exist between power, culture and gender, as well as their significance. This study is therefore interested in the gender dynamics of the texts, the state of gender relations between various characters from the texts, and the patriarchal attitudes limiting characters (particularly female characters) to a certain sphere of existence. Thus, the norm of being accepted (as well as other societal norms) plays an important role. The instructions found in stories reassure readers that they have not strayed from the accepted path, but that they are defining themselves within the framework of the society they live in. Thus one is taught to act and react in certain circumstances, sometimes to the detriment of one’s personal growth. All societies have their shared belief structures, which are embedded in the tales, whether the message is religious or moral. Depending on the source of the translation, the same tale can teach different moral lessons. In “Aschenputtel” one finds that a person who does bad things and uses deception to get ahead in the world will be severely punished for his or her transgressions. The French version, “Cendrillon”, on the other hand, teaches its readers or audience to treat other people in the way that they themselves would like to be treated. Beauty, as illustrated in fairy tales, has an interesting relationship with industriousness, goodness/morality, economic privilege, danger, and class. In fairy tales, it appears, beautiful women are usually kind-hearted and hard-working, as illustrated in the tales discussed in this dissertation. They are usually rewarded for their goodness (beauty) by gaining some form of monetary gain and/or an increase in their social standing (class). Beauty also seems to go hand-in-hand with danger; they become targets of malicious attacks because of their physical appearance. Women are usually treated as inferior to men since fairy tales are set in patriarchal societies. Some women would say that these messages are archaic and demeaning. However, these tales can still teach valuable life lessons if the reader is willing to navigate through the perilous realm of Faërie, wary of the pitfalls, dungeons and traps left along the way by generations of storytellers. Thus, the reader of fairy tales must gain mastery of the text in order to avoid these traps and to be able to master the lessons and morals embedded within the talesItem Open Access Imagining the mad woman: applying concepts of the narrative imagination, psychoanalytic and feminist theory to "The bell jar" and selected poems by Sylvia Plath(University of the Free State, 2011) Kriel, Johanet Alice; Brooks, MarizaIn this dissertation, several aspects and processes of the female and melancholic psyche are discussed in terms of Sylvia Plath’s life and work. The two pivotal theoretical schools which are thus of interest are psychoanalysis and feminism. In addition, there is another conceptual framework that is of importance to this study, namely American moral philosopher Martha Nussbaum’s notion of the narrative imagination and its role in liberal education. However, this theory is not discussed in detail but rather provides the broader framework for the dissertation; setting the tone for the discussions as it were. While this particular analysis is thus by no means comprehensive or complete, the aim is for the reader to actively apply his/her narrative imagination in order to more fully grasp the internal world and external circumstances of the female figures in Plath’s work and thereby grasp some of Plath’s psychical processes (as opposed to attempting a holistic grasp on Plath’s psyche). In terms of psychoanalysis, the various influences that can potentially impact (often negatively) the human psyche are considered. The focus is mostly on the female psyche, and therefore the analysis concentrates specifically on the following: the influence of the Electra/Oedipus complex on the girl/woman’s relationship with the father figure (both her actual father and the symbolic order which functions as a father in patriarchal society) and subsequently with her sexual/romantic partners; the girl/woman’s intense and ambivalent relationship with the mother figure (as the primal love-object and as the model of ideal femininity); and the reciprocal dynamic which exists between these relationships and the girl/woman’s psyche and life. The influence and incarnation of various other psychoanalytic notions are also considered; such as the ideal ego, the divided self and the masochistic ego. Furthermore, the characteristics and possible effects of melancholia and the deathdrive are examined, particularly in terms of suicide as an act of self-affirmation. In so far as it is possible and plausible, these psychoanalytic notions are related to Plath’s work and, by inference, to certain aspects of her life. With regards to feminist theory, theorists who also employ a psychoanalytic stance (such as the so-called “French feminists” Hélène Cixous, Luce Irigaray and Julia Kristeva) with regards to the specific position of the female figure in patriarchal society were examined. As such, the thoughts of several well-known and lesser known feminist theorists (for example, Jacqueline Rose and Juliet Mitchell) are discussed and applied. Of particular importance is patriarchal society’s definition of womanhood and the conflicts which women experience because of this, specifically within the unique cultural setting of 1950s America. Therefore, the influences of the symbolic order in numerous of its figurations are examined and how they can silence women, specifically the female writer. Other central concepts in reaching a deeper understanding of Plath’s work and some of the psychical aspects she probes therewith include: the women’s role as commodity and fetish object, the mother figure’s role in perpetuating patriarchal pressure on her daughter, the female and especially the maternal body as embodiment of the abject, and conversely the way in which writing her body can offer the woman a subjective affirmation in the form of écriture féminine.Item Open Access Changing perspectives on accuracy in the teaching of English as a second language(University of the Free State, 2015-08-20) Ullyatt, Ruth Carol; Greyling, W. J.Abstract not availableItem Open Access The development of reading at a township school: an action research study(University of the Free State, 2009-11) Van der Westhuizen, Jeanne Suzette; Van Wyk, A. L.Reading in South African schools is rated amongst the worst in the world. Many children come from backgrounds where reading is uncommon. Since reading is the key to the mastery of other subjects and a predictor of future success, there is mounting disquiet about learners’ reading ability. Accordingly, the principal of a secondary township school requested help with reading development. This project aimed to design a programme of reading intervention that would lead to on-going, sustainable second language reading development, with the focus on improving the educators’ skills to teach reading. Because the chosen methodology was action research, the teachers were included as participants and co-researchers. An additional aim was to reflect critically on the interventions in order to ensure more generalised understanding of an educational problem. The results of this study will have value in that they will facilitate a closer understanding of reading development in one township school as an example of a general educational problem.Item Open Access The transnational intellectual in contemporary Nigerian literature(University of the Free State, 2013) Pretorius, Marilize; Strauss, H. J.; Brooks, M.𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 This thesis investigates the effects of globalisation on identity formation and how this specifically impacts on the ability of the intellectual to function in Nigerian society as presented in three contemporary Nigerian novels. Chris Abani's Grace/and (2004), Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun (2006) and Sefi Arta's Everything Good Will Come (2006) are examined in terms of the Afropolitan and Afrotransnational identities that Nigerians develop through their encounters with and participation in the globalising processes, namely through circulation and transformation (Ashcroft, 2009). These identities correlate with the extent to which intellectuals are able to address the right audience with a message relevant to their context and concerns and delivering this message effectively so as to affect a positive change in society as required by Said (1994). The degree to which intellectuals fulfil these three requirements determines whether they are labelled academics or vernacular intellectuals. The former consists of those intellectuals who exhibit an Afropolitan identity which often causes them to use predominantly western concepts and perspectives to define and explain African problems. They also seldom go beyond discussing and theorising the causes and effects of problems in Africa. Even when they are able to come up with solutions, they rarely translate this into practical intellectual activity with others. On the other hand, vernacular intellectuals exhibit Afrotransnational identities. Afrotransnational refers to the unique African expression of transnationalism that Africans, and specifically Nigerians in this case, develop as they consume and transform global products and ideas within the local. This enable intellectuals to draw from both western and African knowledge, perspectives and practices and combine them in a manner that allows them to work towards finding solutions for African problems. Vernacular intellectuals are also able to meaningfully engage a wider audience in a manner that mobilises them to take action that subverts and resists oppression. The Nigerian context with its militarypowered dictators complicates the function of the intellectual as they disallow active participation by members of society in the public sphere. Intellectuals, and indeed all member of society, are consequently forced to either remain silent in the face of injustice and oppression, making them complicit; taking revolutionary action in speaking the truth to power, which puts their lives at risk; or finding alternative ways of resisting oppression. Functioning as vernacular intellectuals is further complicated for women in Nigeria. Like their male counterparts, they too have to fulfil all three Said's (1994) requirements and have to overcome the effects of dewomanisation (Sofola, 1998) which renders them unable to effectively engage with women's issues in Nigeria due to their western education. The development of an Afrotransnational identity enables them to combine the knowledge and practices from both sides of the urban and rural divide to address women's issues. Women also have particular challenges in negotiating this divide between the urban, modem and rural, traditional spaces in Nigeria. Patriarchal society still imposes certain limitations on women's role in the home and society which affects the extent to which they are allowed to function as vernacular intellectuals. Women can find ways of liberating themselves from the limitations of motherhood and the kitchen by using these to their own advantage, but the use of customary law alongside civil law still disempowers women to a large extent in Nigeria. It is imperative that men and women collaborate in allowing women the freedom to function as intellectuals in both the public and private spheres. ___________________________________________________________________Item Open Access 'n Kultureel-sosiale studie van nagtelike aktiwiteite in antieke Rome, gebaseer op primêre bronne(University of the Free State, 2007-08-26) Van den Berg, Marlene; Cilliers, L.English: Not only did the Romans work very hard during the night, but they also enjoyed eating, drinking and partying. Although there were only limited sources of light, they used their evenings and nights optimally. During the first and second centuries A.D., there was a definite renaissance in commercial life, in cities as well as in the country. Basic concepts were standardised, such as the calendar (by Caesar), time reckoning by means of sun dials and water clocks. There were also improvements in the ways of recreation, entertainment and different kinds of artificial light. In this study primary sources of information were used. The chapter on the sources is an endeavour to combine the biographical information of the specific writers and the influence of their milieu on their writing and way of life, with the extracts from their work. Martial and Juvenal give an exaggerated reconstruction, which however contains many apt descriptions of the social milieu. Pliny in his encyclopaedia (Naturalis Historia) gives useful facts on e.g. the making of candles and how time was reckoned in experimental ways,. The question when time should be regarded as “day” or “night” already existed in ancient Rome. When the cock’s crow to announce the morning was no longer regarded as sufficiently correct, night guards were used to announce a new day. That was before scientific inventions such as the sun dial and later the water clock were used to determine time. Lighting was an important factor as it became dark quite early and after sunset, the Romans were dependent on artificial light. Not only did torches, candles and later even lamps enrich the quality of life, but crime was also limited by lighting. Prices and availability of fuel played a big role in the distinction between the social classes. Apart from the personnel of the fire brigade who could be called out at night, bakers, prostitutes, light house sentinels, doctors and bar- and restaurant owners also worked during the night. The army, responsible for the safety of the inhabitants of the country, sometimes had to act during the night, thus it is logical that they had to be on call day and night. Many authors such as Quintilian, Seneca and Pliny the Elder also worked during nighttime. The Roman day ended at around the eighth hour with the cena as the main ac tivity of the late afternoon and evening. It was during this time that citizens were busy eating and drinking in the triclinium to forget the day’s worries. Two relevant issues in modern times are gender inequality and social stratification. From the study it is clear that discrimination is not a modern tendency but already played a role in ancient times. Women and poor people were scoffed, humiliated and deemed inferior. The research field of this dissertation thus lay on the socio-cultural level, with specific reference to the experiences of different social classes and males and females with regard to nocturnal activities in ancient Rome. This study presents a more nuanced picture of the social life in ancient Rome. The central theme of this work, however, stands in contrast with previous studies since nocturnal activities are not mentioned in passing only but are discussed in detail, in order to point out the wide range of these activities.