It is against this background that this study was conducted to explore the effectiveness of the pedagogy of use in the teaching of the ALUGS module. The study was located within an interpretive paradigm and used a qualitative approach in the analysis of research data.
Introduction
Based on Gee's (1996) theory, the latter is described as the primary discourse, while the former is the students' secondary discourse. Academic literacy modules were introduced in most South African universities to address students' academic challenges.
Rationale and context of the study
The results revealed that the fear of failure instigated by the difficulty level of the module had already created a sense of negativity among the students even before they enrolled in the module. What was confusing at the time of the semi-empirical study was that the module was introduced to minimize students' academic challenges by providing them with the necessary support for academic success.
The objectives of the study
Significance of the study
The structure of the thesis
Instead, it is taught as a set of mental skills which Street (2003) labels 'mind technology'. Consequently, these three instruments, for the purpose of research instrument triangulation, were used to increase the trustworthiness and reliability of the research.
Limitations to the study
Not only that, the fact that the researcher was also involved in teaching the module also contributed to the limitations of the study (see Chapter 5). Finally, issues regarding research design, ethics, and limitations of the study were also discussed.
Introduction
I was taught (in high school) that in an essay you should write an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. But when I was writing the body, I was often missing information, but ALE let me know that in the body of the essay, the paragraph should have its own information and another paragraph should start with another thing that was the things I didn't know before ; I learned it at ALE and it helped me" (Intvs/ Stu. 3).
The Study Skills Perspective of Academic Literacy
The Academic Socialization Perspective of Academic Literacy
The implication, then, is that students will unconsciously develop the necessary academic writing skills by immersing themselves in the culture of disciplinary discourse without explicitly teaching these skills. He adds that the recent inclusion of non-traditional students in the system (especially in the context of South Africa) has led to the ineffectiveness of the implicit approach.
The ‘Academic Literacies’ Perspective of Academic Literacy
Furthermore, on the plurality of literacies, the academic literacy model holds that literacy means different things to different cultural groups. Thus, the academic literacy approach, being a socially situated approach to teaching writing, is favored in this study.
Academic Literacy: a socially situated practice
Thus, emphasis should be placed on the acculturation process in acquiring academic literacy. Thus, writing instruction in the academic literacy program should be discipline-oriented and not serve a generic purpose of essayistic literacy.
What then is Academic Writing?
Therefore, it is essential to keep in mind that academic writing is embedded in a discipline, as well as cognitively demanding. Therefore, academic writing should be seen as playing an important role in the success or failure of students entering university.
Academic Writing Challenges of First Year HEI Students
Accordingly, academic writing challenges cannot be said to be problematic for L2 speakers of the language alone, but L1 inclusive. However, the focus of the present study is on students' writing practices, not those of teachers or supervisors.
Understanding the concept and context of Academic Language Proficiency
Apart from the fact that the majority of first-year students are L2 users of the university language of instruction, research has also revealed that the L1 speakers of the English language do not possess academic language skills as they are embedded in the new ways of knowing (Lea and Street, 1998). Ramcharan (2009, p. 16) laments that the recent decline in the language proficiency level permeates the "tertiary entrant students".
Student Writing and Feedback
Conceptual and Theoretical Frameworks
Drawing from social theories of learning, this study is adapted from New Literacy Studies (NLS). The discussion begins with New Literacy Studies (NLS) as the meta-theory used within this study.
The New Literacy Studies: a socio-cultural perspective of literacy
The concept of meaning-making within the NLS view of literacy therefore only becomes a reality when there is purposeful negotiation and interaction between the tutors and the students in the learning of academic writing. The plurality of literacy as stated in the NLS is therefore of great importance for the present study, the reason being the historical background of literacy development in South Africa.
Street’s Autonomous and Ideological Models of teaching Literacy
In the ideological model, the acquisition of academic writing is embedded in and a product of sociocultural practices. In this way, academic writing is understood as what people do with literacy (writing).
Academic Literacy and Gee’s Discourse Theory
Similarly, Gee has also described academic literacy as a discourse – “a way of being in the world”. Thus, academic literacy cannot be described as a social practice until it includes identity sets for the members of the academic community.
Apprenticeship: a pedagogical model of teaching academic writing at HE
As a result, students' challenges in acquiring academic discourse can be interpreted as an influence of teaching style. Leaving the teaching of the rhetorical process to an "outside" AL practitioner rejects Gee's theory.
Conclusion
Therefore, further training is proposed, where the language specialists have ample opportunity to equip their professional content "specialist" colleagues with what is missing. However, such a partnership should not directly involve the language specialists in the teaching-learning process.
Introduction
You have been selected as a participant in this research because of your rich experience in lecturing this module..., you have the right to withdraw during the participation process..." (intvs/researcher).
Research Paradigm
Therefore, the interpretive paradigm frames this study in that it seeks to understand, describe and interpret the "emic lived" experiences of the university students enrolled in the ALUGS module. Based on the nature of the paradigm, the interpretive paradigm is subjective, as it is about understanding the world as it is based on the subjective experiences of individuals.
Research Methodology
Its purpose is to understand and describe the nature and impact of the pedagogical practices used in the module in order to provide possible and useful suggestions for further studies. The use of the qualitative research method will therefore help to a large extent to collect rich and in-depth data about students' writing practices within the ALUGS module.
Research Design
Stake (1995, in West and Illinois, 2011) confirms that the purpose of the case study design is a detailed study of the case as a self-contained entity. Since specification, uniqueness and understanding a phenomenon are considered the essential qualities of the case study, the current study chose to use the phenomenological case study for the purpose of understanding the lived experiences of the study participants.
Research Instruments
Documentary evidence
Thus, to examine the institutional perspective of the module, the 2014 Faculty handbook and the second semester ALUGS course pack from 2014 will be used. This has been used to help understand why writing is taught as it is within the module; that it is the content of the course package that dictates what they should learn and how they should learn it.
Observation
In order to be a part (entry) of the situation under study and to understand it, the researcher has chosen to be a participant observer. The first research question, how writing is taught within the ALUGS module, led the researcher to focus on how lecturers and tutors teach in the classroom.
Interviews
Is there any difference or similarity between the teaching of writing in the ALUGS module and the way you were taught in secondary schools. Are you restricted to a certain way of teaching in the ALUGS module or are you allowed to make choices in your approach.
Data Analysis
The use of semi-structured interviews, document evidence and observation in this study resulted in the generation of large amounts of data, resulting in the difficulty of understanding this date for both the readers and the researcher. In the final stage of the analysis process, the theoretical framework was used to understand the collected data.
Sampling Method
In addition, two lecturers, two lecturers and four students participated in the interview in order to collect quality data. Furthermore, the remaining non-student participants consisted of four practitioners; two teachers who are actively involved in teaching the module and two supervisors on the module.
Validity and Reliability of the research
Ethical Considerations
Summary
For example, my teacher wants me to write the way he asked me to write, not according to what I have been taught during ALE (ALUGS)" (Intvs.
Introduction
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with two lecturers, two tutors and three students who were actively involved in the teaching and learning of the ALUGS module. However, the participant was directly involved in the day-to-day administration of the module.
Conceptualizing the ALUGS module: an autonomous perspective
They were also used to understand how students conceptualized and perceived the ALUGS module particularly in relation to academic writing. The first section will thus be a discussion about how the study participants have conceptualized the ALUGS module.
Students’ perception of the ALUGS module: a conduit for academic literacy development
Surprisingly, it appears that the three students felt that the module was useful. This is therefore an indication that the module was experienced as useful by the students.
Students’ Perceptions of Lecturers and Tutors
Therefore, she seems to have appreciated the importance of smiling while teaching the module. The first student, Simple, suggested some improvements to the teaching of the module.
Tutors’/ Lecturers’ Perceptions about ALUGS Students
AL practitioners also have their own perceptions of the ALUGS module in relation to the students'. This therefore reveals that the focus of the module was on equipping students, especially ESL students, with writing skills.
Tutors’/ Lecturers’ Perceptions of the ALUGS module
However, this lecturer added that the approach used in the teaching of the module follows the principles of the genre approach to the teaching of writing. One can then assume that the topic may have been properly addressed in the older versions of the module.
Classroom Observations
Data Analysis II – On Rationalizing the Pedagogical Choice
This chapter focuses on the rationale for choosing the pedagogy used in the ALUGS module. Data collected from the documentary evidence was mainly through the faculty handbook and the ALUGS module course packs.
On exploring the choice of the pedagogy at play: an analysis of consequential data
The excerpt further revealed that some of the teachers also struggled to teach the module. It therefore appears that the content of the module course package was based on the academic skills model.
The impact of the pedagogy at play on students’ writing practices within the ALUGS module
The first sentence in the introduction to the assignment reads: "Genre analysis is the study of the use of language in a particular sentence". To further explore the impact of the module on students' writing practice, the next section considers the students' own perspectives on their writing practice.
Students’ perceptions of the impact of the module on their writing practices
From the students' own perception of the module, it seems that the ALUGS module has not prepared them for the writing practices in other modules. Having established that students have different perceptions of the impact of the module on their writing practices, the next section will turn to HE practitioners' perceptions of the impact of the ALUGS module on students' writing practices.
Practitioners’ perceptions of the impact of the ALUGS module on students’ writing practices134
The above extract indicated that students' writing practices improved as a result of what they learned in the ALUGS module. Similarly, the other supervisor, Mrs. Rak, was of the opinion that the module was able to positively influence students' writing practices as:.
Discussion of Findings, Implications of the Study and Future Research, and Conclusions
Discussion of Findings
How is writing taught within the ALUGS module?
It is against this that Barton and Hamilton (2000) assert that literacy is not an entity but a social practice. Therefore, it is argued that academic writing within the context of this study (being described as a social practice) should be conceptualized as what people do with literacy, rather than an isolated entity.
Why is writing taught the way it is being taught within the ALUGS module?
The findings revealed that the focus of the latter was language-oriented, and as such it was revealed that the new module adopted the learning outcomes of the old version. Nevertheless, it was also argued that the writing teaching within the module was focused on skill acquisition because the module content positioned it as such.
What impact does the way writing is taught have on students’ writing practices within the
It was found that the reference style students were taught both in tutorials and during lectures contradicted what students found in their course packs, leading to confusion. From this student's perception of the module, it was revealed that students still struggle with structuring their essays despite everything they were taught in the exercises.
Implications of the study and future research
Throughout the study, it was found that the pedagogy used in teaching the ALUGS module was not inclusive, thus placing students at the bottom of the teaching/learning process. Thus, it is recommended that future research should focus on specific approaches that can help in effective teaching of the module in the near future.
Conclusion
He is also interested in students' understanding of the module's approach to teaching writing. He is also interested in students' understanding of the module's approach to teaching writing.
