Constructing English Second Language Learners' Language Needs

ISBN-13: 9783838353234 / Angielski / Miękka / 2010 / 188 str.

Sandra Blunt

Opis

The Senior Certificate (SC) examination, a focus of the research described in this thesis, has an important function in terms of the quality of the education system overall and also in terms of the contribution of education to the achievement of national goals. The SC examination functions i) as a measure of achievement at school ii) as an indicator of work readiness and iii) as an indicator of the potential to succeed in higher education. This thesis offers a critique of the SC examination in respect of its functions. The way in which learners language related needs are constructed is crucial in discussing the SC examinations legitimacy since perceptions about the needs of learners are reflected in what is taught and assessed. Since the majority of candidates writing the SC examination do so using a language which is not their mother tongue, the research described in the thesis attempted to identify the way in which the English second language (ESL) SC examination papers construct learners needs.

O autorze

Sandra Blunt completed her PhD at Rhodes University in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. She is the holder of a Master's degree from the same university. Her research interest is how, with regard to criticality, market discourse dictates the way in which knowledge is conceived in Higher Education in South Africa.