ENGLISH CS 774
Teaching English in multilingual classrooms
Lecturer: Mr FWM Knoetze
Tel: +27 (21) 808 2266E-mail: fwmk@sun.ac.za
Office: G.G. Cillié Room 3015 (Education)
Lecture times: Mondays 09h00 – 11h00, Thursdays 13h00 – 14h00
Consultation times: Please consult the notice on my door.
Classroom: The tearoom on the 5th floor.
(Venues may change on short notice!)
What can you expect?
English
Curriculum Studies 774 has as its purpose the study and critical analysis of English
language teaching to home and first additional language students in the
South African context. We will deal with macro issues (mainly in the first
few weeks) like the role of English in multilingual and multicultural
communities, the ESL/ EFL divide, English as a language of academic access and
the role of the English teacher as a gatekeeper to further education. Micro
issues (for the rest of the year) will include the teaching of the so-called
four skills and the development of an integrated approach to lesson planning
and assessment. The perspective is a World Englishes one, with a focus on the
role of English in multilingual communities, where it is used for communication
and academic purposes, rather than as a means to be integrated into an English
community.
Language use and practices in the classroom.
Teaching of language modules (eg. Afrikaans, English and IsiXhosa) take place in the relevant language in order to promote the use and understanding of the language. These modules are therefore exempt from the various provisions of the Language Policy (as approved by the Senate on 22 June 2016).Instruction in this module occurs mainly in English and students are encouraged to communicate mainly in English in the classroom. All forms of assessment will also be done in English.
What will this module NOT do?
The
module cannot prepare you for all teaching contexts and all learner levels. It
is a basic start to a learning curve that will keep climbing as your teacher
competence develops.
What are the broad objectives?
To
pass this module, students have to demonstrate their ability to:
1. Analyse and describe the consequences of
English as a global language in terms of local and international educational
issues;
2. Apply, in culturally sensitive but critical
terms, the insights gleaned in (1) to lesson analysis and lesson planning;
3. Design lessons in an
integrated fashion so that the four skills are developed and the objectives assessed
appropriately;
4. Synthesise the above in oral
and written presentations by showing evidence of the extent to which academic language use has been mastered.
For
more details and a breakdown of the preparation you need to do for each period,
please see Programme of work. Note that it is only valid for the first two quarters (the first
semester).
The
contact sessions will be a mix
of lectures, discussions and group work. You will be expected to prepare for
these sessions and your preparedness will also be assessed. You are expected to
submit all assignments personally in class. Your performance
in groups and a culturally sensitive attitude (as required in objective 2) can
only be assessed in class.
You cannot
complete this section of the work as if it is conducted at a distance
education institution. Your work will only be assessed when you personally hand in assignments and attend
classes. The University regulations regarding absence from classes will be
enforced strictly. If you miss three
continuous weeks of classes for whatever reason, you will not be allowed to
continue the module and to write the final test. We only have 14
(interrupted) weeks of classes and 3 weeks’ absence will mean that you miss
almost a quarter of the work. Should
you miss four (non-consecutive) weeks in total, you will similarly not be
allowed to continue the module and write the final test.
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Communication:
I regard e-mail as
legitimate communication with my students and I will send you material and
marks and requests to your student
e-mail address from time to time. For practical purposes you may not submit your class assignments
electronically (unless I ask you to do so) because you will be required to work
on the assignment in class. When I ask you to submit assignments electronically
they must be labelled in the following way: Your
name Eng774 Date on which assignment must be handed in, e.g. Smith Eng774 Method 14April.doc. I may also ask you to do Internet searches on
a limited scale. You are, of course, welcome to communicate with me by e-mail.
You are also welcome to use the learning portal bulletin board for discussions
with your fellow students. I do not commit to checking the bulletin board every
day for questions or comments addressed to me – rather use e-mail for that.
Prescribed texts and compulsory reading.
The prescribed
books for this module are:
- Learn2Teach by C van der Walt, R Evans and WR Kilfoil and
- English Handbook and Study Guide by Beryl Lutrin and Marcelle Pincus.
- One of the Shakespearean dramas prescribed for the FET phase (English home and additional language); either Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet or Macbeth.
- We will choose one of them to focus on for lesson planning and assessment. You will need to read the play (again) in your own time to refresh your memory regarding plot, character and themes. Detailed knowledge is not required and you need not buy the book.
- OPTIONAL: English Grammar by Rose and Purkis.
*Hotlinks to representations of prescribed books (above) serve as illustrations only, and do not constitute endorsement of the respective sites or vendors.
Your preparation for class should not take longer than 3-4 hours per
week (reading and writing): if you cannot manage this, you need to take steps
to increase your reading speed.
Interactive notebook:
You
are expected to keep your interactive notebook (the course file) up to date and
tidy. As you receive your marked assignments, they have to be filed in the
course file. At the end of each semester you will hand in these files for assessment. Refer to the corresponding page: Interactive Notebook (live page).
Assessment and assessment criteria:
This
module uses continuous assessment. This means that you will accumulate marks in
the course of the year by handing in class work, doing research assignments and
writing tests. Everything that is marked, will count. Your year mark (for this
part of the module) will be weighted as follows:
- 25% for class attendance and the completion
of class work.
- 50% for bigger classroom assignments (above
10 marks/ credits for an assignment)
- 25% formal tests.
The
final mark will be calculated by assigning 70% to the year mark and 30% to the
final assessment.
Since
very little time is left after the practical teaching period in the third
quarter, the first semester marks are crucial for your year mark. Please see
the page titled Assessment criteria for various types of assignments for rubrics and marking
schedules.
Please note the new University policy and guidelines regarding plagiarism (4) and procedures for the investigation and management of allegations thereof (5) at http://www0.sun.ac.za/research/policies-and-guidelines.html
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It is not all doom and gloom....
The above rules and arrangements are meant to provide security, so that
we all know what is expected. I hope you will feel free to come and discuss any
problems that you may have with these arrangements. I hope we will have fun too
in the course of the year!
I wish you all the best for 2017!
