Cohesion in the Written English Texts of Hearing Impaired
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COHESION IN THE WRITTEN ENGLISH TEXTS OF HEARING IMPAIRED LEARNERS IN SELECTED HIGH SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF IN KENYA ANTONY SOMBA MANG’OKA A Thesis Report Submitted to the Institute of Post Graduate Studies of Kabarak University in Partial Fulfillment for the requirements for the Award of Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree in English Language and Linguistics. KABARAK UNIVERSITY OCTOBER, 2019 DECLARATION This thesis is my own original work and to the best of my knowledge, it has not been presented for the award of a degree in any other university or college. Signed _________________________ Date________________________ Antony Somba Mang’oka GDE/M/1285/09/11 ii RECOMMENDATION To the Institute of Post Graduate Studies: This research Thesis entitled “Cohesion in the Written English Texts of Hearing Impaired Learners in Selected High Schools for the Deaf in Kenya” and written by Antony Somba Mang’oka is presented to the Institute of Postgraduate Studies of Kabarak University. We have reviewed the Thesis report and recommended it to be accepted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Language and Linguistics. Sign_________________________ Date_________________________ Prof James Onyango Ogola Department of Literary and Communication Studies Laikipia University Sign_________________________ Date_________________________ Dr Phylis Bartoo Department of Literature, Language and Linguistics Egerton University iii COPYRIGHT © 2019 Antony Mang’oka All rights reserved. No part of this thesis may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by means of either mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any other information storage or retrieval system without permission in writing from the author or Kabarak University. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, I am grateful to God through whose grace I have completed this study, and to all who have ceaselessly prayed for me and wished me well. God richly bless you. My heartfelt acknowledgement goes to my tireless supervisors, Prof James Onyango Ogola, and Dr. Phylis Bartoo, whose valuable guidance has helped shape this work, and for their patience throughout the research process. Your professional and personal commitment made this work a success. May the Almighty God bless you. My special appreciation goes to my dear wife and my children for being a great source of inspiration; my mother, my brother and my sisters for their encouragement and moral support. v DEDICATION To my dear wife, Anne Wachera, and my lovely daughters, Esther Mwikali and Eva Wanjiru. To my mother, Rose Mwikali and my late father, Matthews Mang’oka. vi ABSTRACT Previous studies reveal that the hearing impaired learners face several challenges in their written English. These challenges affect their communication, which is likely to affect their education and career aspirations. This study investigated the use of cohesion in hearing-impaired learners’ English written texts. It investigated ways by which hearing- impaired learners in Form Three have been able to achieve cohesion in their written texts as well as the errors related to the use of cohesion. The study was guided by the following objectives: identify the grammatical and lexical features that the hearing-impaired learners use in writing to achieve cohesion; describe the grammatical and lexical features that the hearing-impaired learners use in writing to achieve cohesion; determine the types of cohesion that are prominent in the writing of hearing-impaired learners; analyze the errors in the use of cohesive devices in the hearing-impaired learners’ written texts; and investigate the grammatical errors related to use of cohesive devices in the written texts of hearing-impaired learners. The study is significant because it embraces the means by which hearing-impaired written texts are linguistically and logically connected. The study confined its investigation to the use of cohesion in the hearing-impaired learners’ English written texts. The data for the study was collected from the written texts of Form Three hearing impaired students sampled from three secondary schools located in Nyeri County, Nakuru County, and Machakos County. The written texts were picked from written assignments from different subjects as well as from one free composition. The data from the class assignment captured normal English writing situation. The study was guided by Halliday and Hasan’s theory of Cohesion to identify, describe and categorize cohesive devices in the texts. Corder’s Error Analysis theory guided the research in identifying and categorizing the errors made by the hearing impaired learners in an attempt to write cohesively, while Selinker’s Interlanguage theory was used to explain the learners’ interlanguage and causes of the errors. The researcher found out that all the cohesive devices posited by Halliday and Hasan were present, but at varying frequency. In grammatical cohesion, reference had the highest frequency of occurrence and ellipsis the least. In lexical cohesion, reiteration was higher than collocation. The researcher also found out that the hearing-impaired learners had challenges in writing cohesively. There were several errors related to the use of cohesive devices as well as grammatical errors. The study concluded that the hearing impaired learners use cohesive devices though with challenges. It recommended further research in the writing of the hearing impaired and that teachers give a lot of emphasis in the teaching of parts of speech and grammatical categories. The findings of this study provide a theory-governed description of cohesive ties used by the hearing impaired learners in Kenya. The findings also contribute to the increasing body of knowledge in studies related to the writing and communication of deaf learners. The study is useful to teachers, researchers, the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development and the Ministry of Education in the formulation of future educational policies regarding the education of the hearing-impaired learners in Kenya. Keywords: Cohesion, cohesive devices, lexical-ties, errors, hearing-impaired learners vii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ................................................................................................................. ii RECOMMENDATION .....................................................................................................iii COPYRIGHT ..................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ v DEDICATION .................................................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ......................................................... xi OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS ...............................................................xiii CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Background to the Study ............................................................................................. 1 1.3 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................ 7 1.4 Purpose of the study .................................................................................................... 8 1.5 Objectives of the Study ............................................................................................... 8 1.6 Research Questions ..................................................................................................... 9 1.7 Significance of the Study ............................................................................................ 9 1.8 Scope of the Study .................................................................................................... 10 1.9 Limitation of the Study ............................................................................................. 11 1.10 Assumptions of the Study ....................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER TWO .............................................................................................................. 12 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................. 12 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 12 2.2 Education of the Hearing Impaired Learners ............................................................ 12 2.2.1 The Nature of Education of the Deaf ..................................................................... 12 2.2.2 Strategies Used in Deaf Education ..................................................................... 15 2.2.3 Approaches Used in Teaching the Hearing- Impaired in Kenya ....................... 16