Reading in the Intermediate Phase for Zulu L2
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READING IN THE INTERMEDIATE PHASE FOR ZULU L2 BY ESTELLE RASSMANN MINI-DISSERTATION submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in APPLIED LINGUISTICS AND LITERARY THEORY in the Department of Applied Linguistics and Literary Theory at the RAND AFRIKAANS UNIVERSITY JULY 2003 SUPERVISOR: DR M. PIENAAR ii I declare that, with the exception of such assistance as has been acknowledged, the dissertation hereby submitted for the degree of Master of Arts, is my own composition and has not previously been submitted by me for a degree at another university. k1. .Lama,A, ESTELLE RASSMANN JULY 2003 R ! uU AFRIKAANSE UNIVER SZI4e4 Not EM ORA N \,) AAN: 0 DEPARTEMENT : \--;\ VAN: Mev Lawrence, FAKULTEIT LETTERE EN WYSBEGEERTE DATUM: 04/04/30 Finaal gebinde kopie Ontvang asseblief bogenoemde kandidaat se gekorrigeerde gebinde kopie vir u eie gebruik. Baie dankie vir u samewerking tydens die eksaminering van die 5kripsie/Verhandeling/Proefskrif. Vriendelike groete Mev. MJ Lawrence EKSAMENAFDELING: FAKULTEIT LETTERE EN WYSBEGEERTE [RAUDOK. SK VR PR. FINAL GEBINDE KOPIEE. Finaal gebinde kopiee (Eng)] iii ABSTRACT It is the contention of this study that historical factors surrounding education and the teaching of African languages in South Africa have led to there being deficiencies in second-language Zulu courses for learners of diverse language and cultural groups in primary schools. The focus of this investigation is on the authentic cultural content of courses and the application of reading research from Applied Linguistics to such courses. The research concerned with second-language learning, reading, reading comprehension, cultural schemata and intercultural competence is examined in this study. An application of this research to Zulu second-language teaching materials, in order to demonstrate ways in which different kinds of reading and cultural schemata can be taught to ten to fourteen year-old L2 learners with limited vocabulary and linguistic competence in Zulu, is made within a single teaching theme. The study illustrates ways in which reading is a particularly effective teaching device in the second-language Zulu classroom and that multi-level tasks can be devised which promote the development of reading skills and strategies, the textual as well as the intercultural competence of diverse groups of learners. iv PREFACE The use of pronouns Within the context of this dissertation the pronoun she has been used and should be assumed to have generic reference. In direct quotations the pronoun he has been retained. Spelling The British spelling system has been used in this study. In direct quotations the spelling of the author or publisher has been retained. The use of abbreviations The following abbreviations have been put to use in this study: C1 The culture of the mother tongue C2 The culture of the second or foreign language C3 The 'third' perspective of the C1 and C2 that enables learners to take both an insider's and outsider's view on those cultures CHE Christian Higher Education FL Foreign language or L2 taught through the medium of the L1 LEA Language Experience Approach L1 First language (i.e. mother tongue) L2 Second, third, fourth, additional or foreign language V CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Overview of the teaching of reading in schools 1 1.2 Background and history of the teaching of Zulu as a second language in primary schools 3 1.2.1 Prior to 1994 3 1.2.2 Post 1994 6 1.2.3 Choice of second language 7 1.2.4 Change in teachers of African languages 7 1.2.5 Cultural content of teaching materials 7 1.2.6 The influence of structural linguistics 11 1.2.7 Second language learners in the ten to fourteen year-old age group 11 1.3 Problem statement 13 1.4 Purpose of this study 13 1.5 Overview of the study and outline of chapters 15 CHAPTER TWO CULTURE AND CULTURAL SCHEMATA 2.1 Introduction 17 2.2 Culture and language learning and teaching 17 2.3 Culture — definitions and characteristics 20 2.3.1 Characteristics of Culture 22 2.3.2 Intercultural Communication 23 2.3.3 Acculturation 23 2.3.4 Cultural Diffusion 24 2.3.5 Cultural Beliefs and Values 24 2.3.6 World View 25 2.4 Cultural Schemata 26 2.4.1 Cultural Schemata and L2 Learning Materials 27 2.5 Teaching Cultural Schemata 29 2.6 Conclusion 32 vi CHAPTER THREE READING 3.1 Approaches and Models of Reading 33 3.1.1 Transmission Model 34 3.1.2 Translation Model 34 3.1.3 Interactive Model 36 3.1.3.1 Bottom-up and Top-down 37 3.1.3.2 Schema theory 38 3.1.3.3 Macro and Micro structures 39 3.1.4 Transactionist Approach 40 3.1.4.1 Efferent and Aesthetic reading 41 3.2 Types of reading 42 3.2.1 Browsing 43 3.2.2 Skimming 43 3.2.3 Searching 44 3.2.4 Scanning 44 3.2.5 Careful reading 44 3.3 Reading Skills and Strategies 45 3.3.1 Skills 45 3.3.2 Strategies 47 3.3.2.1 Metacognitive strategies 48 3.3.2.2 Cognitive strategies 49 Word recognition or decoding 50 Automaticity 50 Vocabulary acquisition 50 Grammatical skills 51 Cohesion 52 3.4 Texts 53 3.4.1 Appropriate texts 53 3.4.2 Authentic texts 54 3.4.3 Textual Schemas 55 3.5 Motivation and Engaged reading 56 3.6 Reading Comprehension Instruction 57 3.6.1 Factors and skills 57 vii 3.6.1.1 Decoding or fluency in word recognition 58 3.6.1.2 Linguistic knowledge 58 Vocabulary instruction 58 Syntax, rhetorical patterns, grammatical features 60 Textual competence instruction 60 3.6.2 Metacognitive strategies 61 3.6.2.1 Pre-reading strategies 61 3.6.2.2 While reading strategies 63 3.6.2.3 Post-reading strategies 63 3.6.3 Tasks to promote engaged reading 64 3.7 Conclusion 65 CHAPTER FOUR DATA ANALYSIS AND READING MATERIALS 4.1 Introduction 66 4.2 Supporting and background reading materials 66 4.3 Types of reading exercises 67 4.3.1 Exercises for comprehension instruction 67 4.3.2 Intercultural competence instruction 67 4.4 Taxi texts 68 4.4.1 Area in which data collection took place 68 4.4.2 Method of data collection 69 4.4.3 Data in chronological order 69 4.4.4 Characteristics of the texts 76 4.5 Analysis of Cultural Schemata 77 4.5.1 Taxis as conveyors of culture 77 4.5.2 lzibongo, Izithopho and Zulu naming customs — Parallels with taxis 78 4.5.2.1 lzibongo 78 4.5.2.2 Izithopho — Personal praises 81 4.5.2.3 Name giving categories 83 4.6 Analysis of Formal Schemata 88 4.6.1 Linguistic Schemata 88 4.6.1.1 Imperative 88 viii 4.6.1.2 Vocative 89 4.6.1.3 Imperative with Object Concord or Reflexive Prefix 89 4.6.1.4 Remote Past for emphatic use 89 4.6.1.5 Sequences of Commands 90 4.6.1.6 Present Subjunctive 90 4.6.1.7 Concordial Agreement (cohesion) 90 4.6.1.8 Tenses 91 4.6.2 Syntax 91 4.7 Examples of different types of reading exercises 91 4.7.1 Searching reading 93 4.7.2 Scrambled sentences 93 4.7.3 Coherence 94 4.7.4 Use of background knowledge 94 4.7.5 Transactionist reading 94 4.7.6 Jigsaw reading 97 4.7.7 lzimpicabadala — Riddles 99 4.8 Conclusion 99 CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 Conclusions 100 5.2 Recommen dations 101 APPENDICES APPENDIX A Key to and lesson materials from Thuthukani 2 and 3 Teacher's books 104 APPENDIX B Scanning reading for background/cultural information 119 APPENDIX C Learners' reading (and writing) exercises from Thuthukani 2: 53 f.; Thuthukani 3: 1-4 Workbooks 124 APPENDIX D Situational reading for use by learners across the curriculum 133 ix BIBLIOGRAPHY AND LITERATURE LIST 139 FIGURES Figure 1 Example of inappropriate visuals 10 Figure 2 Example of inappropriate visuals 10 TABLES Table 1.1 Language teaching situation prior to 1994 6 Table 4.1 Zulu data 69 Table 4.2 Data in other languages 73 Table 4.3 Learner classification of English texts 95 Table 4.4 Learner classification of Zulu texts 96 Table 4.5 Learners' engagement in transactional literary reading 97 1 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Overview of the teaching of reading in schools The body of research that has been carried out into second language teaching and learning is substantial. It comprises numerous approaches, models and theories for each of the different language skills, which constitute second language acquisition. In the last twenty-five years, reading, which forms part of this discipline, has received a great deal of attention from researchers (see Urquhart & Weir 1998). Grabe indicates that: A description of reading has to account for the notions that fluent reading is rapid, purposeful, interactive, comprehending, flexible and gradually developing (cited in Cowley 1998: 44). Definitions of reading appropriate to this research are discussed in depth in chapter three, as a single definition of the process is not considered to be adequate for the purposes of this study. The lack of, or failure to develop, reading skills and strategies in all subjects across the school curriculum, and the teaching of reading, with regard to both process as well as comprehension instruction, is an area of concern for educators worldwide (Maria 1990; Evans 1992; Wray & Lewis 1997). Wray and Lewis have stated that: Recent work has suggested that much more attention needed to be given to the issue of genre in children's reading and writing and that there was a body of linguistic knowledge with which teachers needed to familiarize themselves if they were to successfully help children cope with the reading and writing demands of schooling and the world beyond school (1997: 1).