Masters Degrees (English)
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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)Sylvia 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 ... -
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 ... -
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 ... -
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)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 ... -
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 ... -
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 ... -
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 perilous realm of Faërie: an analysis of constructions of gender and society in selected fairy tales
(University of the Free State, 2012-11)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 ... -
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 ... -
Changing perspectives on accuracy in the teaching of English as a second language
(University of the Free State, 2015-08-20)Abstract not available -
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 transnational intellectual in contemporary Nigerian literature
(University of the Free State, 2014-07)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 ... -
'n Kultureel-sosiale studie van nagtelike aktiwiteite in antieke Rome, gebaseer op primêre bronne
(University of the Free State, 2007-08-26)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 ... -
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, ... -
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 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 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 ... -
Magic as moral education: J.K. Rowling's revival of reading and its role in adolescent personal development
(University of the Free State, 2011-01-03)English: Being literate is a privilege which is often taken for granted. The ability to read the morning newspaper or the subtitles of one’s favourite soap opera is often viewed as trivial, or incidental, and yet South ...