Browsing English by Title
Now showing items 1-20 of 39
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Academic writing in Blackboard: a computer-mediated discourse analytic perspective
(University of the Free State, 2012)English: This article reports on how text-based synchronous and asynchronous modes of communication in Blackboard were employed at tertiary level to encourage students to share their perceptions of academic writing and ... -
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)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 ... -
Alienation as a fictional construct in four contemporary British novels : a literary-theoretical study
(University of the Free State, 2008-05)This study discusses Melvin Seeman's 1959 theory of alienation within a postmodern, post-structuralist and systems theory context. Seeman's five aspects of alienation, namely powerlessness, meaninglessness, normlessness, ... -
Applied linguistic principles and designing CALL programmes for the ESL classroom
(University of the Free State, 2004-05)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 ... -
Changing perspectives on accuracy in the teaching of English as a second language
(University of the Free State, 2015-08-20)Abstract not available -
Critical linguistics and postmodernism: assessment with reference to selected English texts
(University of the Free State, 2006-05)This research study sets out to investigate the relationship between critical linguistics and postmodernism and to mount a critical assessment of these two areas. Firstly, it provides an overview of these two areas and ... -
A critical study of specific exploded violent hierarchies in five novels by Toni Morrison
(University of the Free State, 2000-01)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 ... -
Deconstructing the otherness of queer identity in contemporary lesbian fiction
(University of the Free State, 2011-01-03)This dissertation explores queer identity construction using theories of gender fluidity and performance. The research suggests that binary structures such as masculine/feminine, male/female, and heterosexual/homosexual, ... -
The design, refinement and reception of a test of academic literacy for postgraduate students
(University of the Free State, 2012-01)English: A number of studies have indicated that the literacy levels of students at tertiary institutions in South Africa are lower than required for academic success. Nonetheless, the possibility exists that some of these ... -
The development and implementation of an English language and literature programme for low-proficiency tertiary learners
(University of the Free State, 2001-11)The University of the Free State, like most other tertiary institutions in South Africa, is faced with the challenge of establishing a framework within the university for redressing inequalities in education: inequalities ... -
The development of reading at a township school: an action research study
(University of the Free State, 2009-11)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 ... -
The discourse manifestations of analytic, functional-analytic, and experiential language activities for intermediate to advanced learners of English
(University of the Free State, 2016-03-02)This study has two principal aims. First, the descriptive aim is to describe the patterns of discourse that characterize three language teaching styles referred to by Allen (1987) in his variable focus curriculum scheme ... -
The discourse of the opressed and the language of the abandoned in selected plays of Harold Pinter
(University of the Free State, 2000-10)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 ... -
Glossy mags and the sexes: a critical discourse analysis of FHM and Cosmo
(University of the Free State, 2009-05)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 ... -
The high school teacher's role in maximizing learners' initiative in English second language classes in Lesotho
(University of the Free State, 2000-11)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 ... -
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)In 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 ... -
The impact of a discourse-based teacher-counselling model in training language teachers for outcomes-based education
(University of the Free State, 2001-11)As outcomes-based education (OBE) is an approach to learning that fosters usable knowledge and skills in learners, with attitudes and values that are aligned with the ideals of the South African Constitution, it was a ... -
The importance of reading in nurturing emergent literacy skills in pre-school learners, with special emphasis on children from disadvantaged backgrounds
(University of the Free State, 2011-01)This dissertation explores the benefits of nurturing early literacy which are increasingly being recognized. Many language practitioners (Snow, Barnes, Chandler, Goodman and Hemphill, 1991; Gestwicki, 1997; Krashen, 2004; ... -
Investigating the efficacy of the "Skills for a Changing World" first-year literacy course
(University of the Free State, 2011-11-30)The academic performance of students entering higher education in South Africa has been high on the agenda of universities, organisations working in this sector, the Department of Education, and the media. The reason for ... -
Konstitutiewe voorwaardes vir die ontwerp van 'n toets van akademiese geletterdheid
(University of the Free State, 2010-11)English: Throughput rates at South African universities are low and contribute, among others, to financial losses for a number of stakeholders: students, their parents/guardians, donors of scholarships, universities and ...