Communicative language teaching practices

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English as a global language

Al-Alweiny (2001), Anonymous (2004c), Balfour (2002), Bosman (2000), Bosman and van der Merwe (2000), Crystal (1997), Gradoll (1997), Mathebula (2004), Sono (1994), Talgori (2001) and Wright (2002) offer different perspectives on the reasons for and the effects of English as a dominant global language. Bosman and van der Merwe (2000), Crystal (1997), Gradoll (1997) and Talgori (2001) concur on the view that English is currently a dominant global language. Bosman and van der Merwe (2000) note the standing that the language enjoys as a language of the educated and economically prosperous. Crystal (1997) echoes this view, arguing that English is dominant because of the increase in contact between cultures through international relations and travel. Gradoll (1997) notes that despite the fact English will not be spoken by as many people as, for example, Mandarin, the economic output of English-speaking nations will exceed that of Mandarin-speaking nations in the future. Consequently, English will continue to enjoy the standing it presently does. Talgori (2001) concurs with the Introduction to this study when he argues that the global interest in learning English can be attributed to globalization.

synopsis of the first chapter

Chapter One sets out the research methodology employed in this study. It includes the literature study and describes the research hypotheses underpinning the argument of this project. The relationship between economics and education is not deterministic and so, by means of a critical approach to literacy, the subject boundaries of English can be shifted to include workplace skills. Finally, Chapter One describes the theories of language and learning adopted in this study.

synopsis of the second chapter

Chapter Two redefines work in such a way that there is no longer a gap between work that is done in the classroom and work that is done in the workplace. This resolution presupposes that workplace English skills are pursued in the classroom. The qualitative evaluation of the sources used includes a discussion on the relevance of qualifications. Of central importance to the thesis of this study is the demonstration, following the redefinition of work, of the compatibility of the principles of Curriculum 2005/C21 with those underpinning workplace English skills.

School and work

Ingemar Gustafsson (1987) states that the role of the school in spreading ideologies about work is to motivate learners to work and, secondly, ‘… to justify changing methods of production or the social organisation of work [and to prepare learners for these changes]’.3 There appears to be a commonsense attitude regarding the relationship between education and economics; this attitude is clearly evident in the headline of the Mail and Guardian’s ‘Getting Ahead’ section of August 11-17, 2000 that reads: ‘Education vs. the market’. Gustafsson’s claim implies that the school is an agent for change, as does the heading; the caption heading implies that the school and the market are in opposition to each other. Both quotations imply that work and education are opposed to each other.

Academic qualifications and work

In his study, Schools and the Transformation of Work, Gustafsson (1987) notes that … [educational programmes] [in Zimbabwe and Botswana] share a common characteristic of student involvement in productive work and the strong belief among their founders that student involvement in productive work is a way of establishing a closer relationship between education and the world of work.15 Ironically, despite the relative poverty of most African states, [the] capacity of post-colonial governments to put up schools has been phenomenal. The proportion of children attending primary school in developing countries has doubled in the past three decades, rising from 35 per cent [sic] in 1950, to 75 per cent in 1990. Today 120 million more children are enrolled in primary school than were attending just a decade ago (now totalling 500 million). In Africa, the number of children attending school continues to grow at 5 per cent a year, far surpassing population growth and despite only slight economic growth.

Towards a critical literacy approach to workplace skills

Workplace English skills and Curriculum 2005/C21 are, in the light of the preceding discussion, eminently compatible with each other. The principles of a critical literacy are in accordance with the Critical Cross-field Outcomes. However, it remains to be seen whether a critical workplace literacy accords with generally accepted communicative language teaching principles. For this reason, a critical literacy of workplace skills is not simply a matter of adopting a functional-notional or task-based syllabus that is based on workplace literacy in content

TABLE OF CONTENTS :

• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• ABSTRACT
• INTRODUCTION
• CHAPTER ONE
  • 1.1 Contextualising the research methodology of this thesis
  • 1.1.1 Research methodologies
    • 1.2 Literature survey
    • 1.2.1 Studies that focus on school management
    • 1.2.2 Studies that focus on the learner
    • 1.2.3 Studies that focus on teacher or vocational training
    • 1.2.4 Studies that focus on specific subjects or Learning Areas
    • 1.2.5 Globalization
    • 1.2.6 English as a global language
    • 1.2.7 Literacy
    • 1.2.8 The new literacy
    • 1.2.9 Curriculum, syllabus, approach and method
  • 1.3 Research hypotheses
    • 1.3.1 Contextualisation
    • 1.3.2 The hypotheses
    • 1.3.3 The English language in this study
    • 1.3.4 Guidelines for a critical literacy theory of (English) workplace skills
    • 1.3.5 A brief overview of the essential argument
      • 1.3.5.1 synopsis of the introduction
      • 1.3.5.2 synopsis of the first chapter
      • 1.3.5.3 synopsis of the second chapter
      • 1.3.5.4 synopsis of the third chapter
      • 1.3.5.5 summary of the argument in the fourth chapter and the conclusion

• CHAPTER TWO University of Pretoria etd – Nel C O (2006 2.1 Overview of the argument and introduction to Chapter Two
  • 2.2 School and work
  • 2.3 Redefining work
  • 2.4 Academic qualifications and work
  • 2.5 Discovering workplace English skills
  • 2.6 A brief overview of Curriculum 2005/C
• CHAPTER THREE
  • 3.1 Towards a critical literacy approach to workplace skills
  • 3.2 Communicative language teaching practices
    • 3.2.1 Reception and production in language teaching
    • 3.2.2 Competence
    • 3.2.3 Process and product in language teaching and production
    • 3.2.4 Grammar and pronunciation
    • 3.2.5 Receptive language skills
    • 3.2.6 Productive language skills
  • 3 Towards a theory of workplace literacy
• CHAPTER FOUR
  • 4.1 Towards a model for the design of workplace literacy tasks
  • 4.2 Workplace literacy tasks to test the model
    • 4.2.1 Background to the testing of the model
    • 4.2.2 Description of tasks
    • 4.2.3 Evaluation of the tasks
      • 4.2.3.1 criteria for evaluating the tasks themselves
    • 4.2.4 Instructions and procedure: maintenance questionnaire (9X)
    • 4.2.6 Further deductions from both sets of data
    • 4.2.7 Adjusting the model
  • CONCLUSION
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
  • APPENDIX A
  • APPENDIX B
  • APPENDIX C (TABLES)

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WORKPLACE ENGLISH SKILLS FOR GRADE 9 LANGUAGES IN C21