ENG1515 Study Guide

ENG1515/501/0/2020
Tutorial Letter 501/0/2020
Applied English Language for Foundation

and Intermediate Phase: Home Language
ENG1515
Year module
Department of English Studies
This tutorial letter contains important information

about your module.
BARCODE
Compilers
Trudie Westbrook
Eileen Donaldson
Editing
University of South Africa

Pretoria
© 2019 University of South Africa
All rights reserved
Printed and published by the University of

South Africa Muckleneuk, Pretoria
ENG1515/0/501
All rights reserved. No part of this Introduction and Scheme of Work may be reproduced in any form except with
the permission of the University of South Africa. Students who have enrolled for tuition may quote excerpts for
academic purposes.
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ENG1515/501/0/2020
CONTENTS
Page
1 PREFACE .................................................................................................................................... 8
2 OUTCOMES ................................................................................................................................. 9
2.1 Outcomes ..................................................................................................................................... 9
3 OVERVIEW OF THE COURSE .................................................................................................... 9
3.1 ENG1515: APPLIED ENGLISH LANGUAGE FOR FOUNDATION AND INTERMEDIATE PHASE
– HOME LANGUAGE ................................................................................................................... 9
3.2 Prescribed book(s) ...................................................................................................................... 10
3.3 Recommended book(s) ............................................................................................................... 10
4 UNIT 1: CHARACTERISTICS OF LANGUAGE ......................................................................... 11
4.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 11
4.2 LANGUAGE: THE BIG PICTURE ............................................................................................... 12
4.3 LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT .................................................................................................... 12
4.3.1 Important concepts ..................................................................................................................... 15
4.4 A BRIEF LOOK AT ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION NAD LEARNING IN THE WORLD
AND SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXTS ......................................................................................... 15
4.4.1 World English – history, geography, technology and power................................................. 15
4.4.2 English and the South African Context ................................................................................... 16
4.4.3 Purposeful use of language – varieties and appropriate forms and formats ....................... 18
4.4.4 Making critical language choices: conventions of field, register, format, style, tone,
coherence and cohesion .......................................................................................................... 21
4.4.5 Critical language choices: audience and purpose ................................................................. 24
4.4.6 Analysing language to gain critical literacy ............................................................................ 25
4.5 CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................ 27
4.6 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... 27
4.7 GLOSSARY................................................................................................................................ 28
4.8 SELF-ASSESSMENT ................................................................................................................. 28
5 UNIT 2: LANGUAGE ANALYSIS ............................................................................................... 30
5.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 30
5.2 LANGUAGE STRUCTURES: SIGNS AND SYMBOLS – HOW SPEECH BECOMES WRITING30
5.3 TIME AND CULTURAL EFFECTS ON LANGUAGE .................................................................. 31
5.4 DEFINITIONS TO KNOW ........................................................................................................... 33
5.4.1 SPEECH AND SOUNDS: PHONOLOGY, PHONETICS AND PHONICS ................................... 35
5.4.2 Phonology ................................................................................................................................. 35
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5.4.3 Phonetics .................................................................................................................................. 35
5.4.4 Phonics...................................................................................................................................... 38
5.4.5 Sound patterns: rhyme, alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia and rhythm ....................... 39
5.4.6 Methods of teaching phonics................................................................................................... 39
5.5 STRUCTURAL NATURE OF WORDS – MORPHOLOGY AND MORPHEMES ......................... 40
5.5.1 Prefixes...................................................................................................................................... 40
5.5.2 Suffixes...................................................................................................................................... 41
5.6 PRAGMATICS ............................................................................................................................ 41
5.6.1 Syntax ........................................................................................................................................ 41
5.6.2 Lexical semantics – meaningful use of words in sentences ................................................. 43
5.6.3 Lexis for academic writing ....................................................................................................... 45
5.7 CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................ 46
5.8 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... 46
5.9 GLOSSARY................................................................................................................................ 46
5.10 SELF-ASSESSMENT ................................................................................................................. 46
6 UNIT 3: LISTENING SKILLS: PATTERNS AND LEVELS OF MEANING .................................. 48
6.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 48
6.2 THE PURPOSE OF LISTENING ................................................................................................ 49
6.3 INFLUENCES ON THE PROCESS OF LISTENING ................................................................... 49
6.3.1 Discriminating sounds ............................................................................................................. 49
6.3.2 Recognising sounds, words and meaning.............................................................................. 51
6.3.3 Effects of culture....................................................................................................................... 51
6.3.4 Grammatical structures ............................................................................................................ 51
6.3.5 Context ...................................................................................................................................... 52
6.4 STRATEGIES AND MODES USED IN THE PROCESS OF LISTENING ................................... 52
6.5 CONTEXTS THAT INFLUENCE LISTENING AND MEANING ................................................... 53
6.5.1 Active Listening ........................................................................................................................ 53
6.5.2 Passive listening ....................................................................................................................... 54
6.6 LISTENING AND THE INFLUENCE OF SOUND ....................................................................... 55
6.6.1 Diction ....................................................................................................................................... 55
6.6.2 Pronunciation............................................................................................................................ 55
6.6.3 Syllabic stress, parts of speech and meaning ........................................................................ 56
6.6.4 Emphasis on words to indicate meaning ................................................................................ 56
6.6.5 Accents ...................................................................................................................................... 57
6.6.6 Sound that obscures meaning ................................................................................................. 57
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6.6.7 Intention and the influence of listening habits ....................................................................... 57

6.6.8 Context, audience, appropriateness and modality of expressions ....................................... 58
6.6.9 Listening skills and cultural differences: sounds .................................................................. 60
6.6.10 Listening skills and cultural differences: meaning ................................................................ 61
6.6.11 Perception and influence of sounds........................................................................................ 61
6.7 THE IMPACT OF GRAMMAR ON LISTENING COMPREHENSION.......................................... 61
6.7.1 Listener and reader awareness of the context of time ........................................................... 61
6.7.2 Listener and reader awareness of the context of quantity .................................................... 62
6.7.3 Listener and reader awareness of quantity and the possessive case: What belongs to
whom? ....................................................................................................................................... 63
6.7.4 Listeners and readers and the support of appropriate conjunctions ................................... 63
6.7.5 The purpose of punctuation and pauses for speaker, listener, reader and writer ............... 64
6.7.6 Listener understanding of gender, parts of speech as listening clues ................................. 65
6.7.7 Listener understanding of comparisons ................................................................................. 65
6.8 CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................ 66
6.9 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... 66
6.10 GLOSSARY................................................................................................................................ 66
6.11 SELF-ASSESSMENT ................................................................................................................. 67
7 UNIT4: READING FOR MEANING ............................................................................................. 68
7.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 68
7.2 THE NATURE, PURPOSE AND PROCESS OF READING ........................................................ 69
7.2.1 The Nature of Reading ................................................................................................................ 69
7.2.2 The purpose of reading ............................................................................................................... 69
7.2.3 The process of reading ............................................................................................................... 70
7.3 INFLUENCES ON READING ...................................................................................................... 72
7.3.1 Influences on the nature of reading ............................................................................................. 73
7.3.2 Influences of the process on reading .......................................................................................... 74
7.3.3 Influences of purpose on reading ................................................................................................ 75
7.4 READING DIFFICULTIES AND REPATE STRATEGIES ............................................................ 76
7.4.1 Decoding, reading rate and fluency strategies ............................................................................ 76
7.4.2 Reading comprehension strategies ............................................................................................. 76
7.4.3 Strategies that support reading practice ...................................................................................... 78
7.5 TWO EXAMPLES FOR READING AND TEXTUAL ANALYSIS .................................................. 79
7.5.1 Collector of Treasure by Bessie Head ......................................................................................... 82
7.5.2 An Abandoned Bundle by Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali .................................................................. 83
7.6 GUIDANCE ANSWERS TO LANGUAGE AND CONTENT ANALYSIS ....................................... 83
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7.6.1 Collector of Treasure by Bessie Head ......................................................................................... 83
7.6.2 An Abandoned Bundle by Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali .................................................................. 86
7.6.3 Answers to questions and activities ............................................................................................ 88
7.7 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 94
7.8 REFRENCES.............................................................................................................................. 94
7.9 GLOSSARY ................................................................................................................................ 95
7.10 SELF-ASSESSMENT ................................................................................................................. 95
8 UNIT 5: WRITING SKILLS: AUDIENCE, PURPOSE AND GENRE ........................................... 96
8.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 96
8.2 AUDIENCE ................................................................................................................................. 97
8.3 PURPOSE OF WRITING ............................................................................................................ 98
8.4 GENRES .................................................................................................................................... 98
8.4.1 Language writing conventions: five texts analysed .................................................................... 101
8.4.2 Stories for children .................................................................................................................... 103
8.4.3 Nonfiction: news reports............................................................................................................ 104
8.4.4 Nonfiction: business reports ...................................................................................................... 104
8.4.5 Nonfiction: academic writing ..................................................................................................... 104
8.4.6 Fiction: novels (narratives / stories) ........................................................................................... 105
8.4.7 Fiction: poetry ........................................................................................................................... 105
8.5 NEW INFLUENCES ON WRITING ........................................................................................... 106
8.5.1 Social media, multimedia, blogs, plagiarism and summaries ..................................................... 106
8.5.2 Blogs......................................................................................................................................... 107
8.6 BORDER CROSSINGS ............................................................................................................ 108
8.7 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................... 109
8.8 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................... 109
8.9 GLOSSARY .............................................................................................................................. 110
8.10 SELF-ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................................... 110
9 UNIT 6: LANGUAGE COMPETENCIES ................................................................................... 111
9.1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 111
9.2 PURPOSE OF LANGUAGE COMPTENECE ............................................................................ 111
9.3 CRITICAL THINKING ............................................................................................................... 111
9.3.1 Context ..................................................................................................................................... 112
9.3.2 Vocabulary ................................................................................................................................ 112
9.3.3 Essays ...................................................................................................................................... 112
9.3.4 Critique ..................................................................................................................................... 116
9.3.5 Wordsmith strategies ................................................................................................................ 117
9.3.6 Common errors: listening, speaking, reading and writing .......................................................... 119
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9.3.7 Academic writing at tertiary level ............................................................................................... 126

9.4 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................... 127
9.5 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................... 127
9.6 GLOSSARY .............................................................................................................................. 127
9.7 SELF-ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................................... 128
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1 PREFACE
Dear ENG1515 Student,
As the module title, ENG1515: Applied English Language for Foundation and Intermediate
Phase – Home Language, indicates, this course aims to introduce you to various English
language skills appropriate to the foundation and intermediate phases. You will then be asked
to consider how these skills may be applied in order to develop listening, speaking, reading and
writing skills further. As you will see, part of developing these skills is understanding how
various things (noise, social context, historical context, resources, natural habits and so on)
affect our use and understanding of language, and how language itself then affects each one of
us.
We need to remember that humans generate language and language cultures. This means that
we shape language and that language shapes how we see and understand ourselves and our
world. Most importantly: we shape ourselves through the language that we choose to use. We
can affect this process by choosing to use language wisely. In order to do this, we need to
acquire better language skills, because these will enable us to communicate clearly and
understand each other clearly. Having good language skills enables us to pursue our interest in
rendering service at social, public academic, scientific, business or professional level to our
communities, our country and the world.
Each of us has individual skills and preferences when it comes to how we communicate. Some
people prefer to listen. They learn a lot through listening, and then teach that knowledge to
others. Some people prefer to talk, and while there are many "speakers", really accomplished
speakers are few. Some people are good readers. This is a highly useful skill, because it
enables them to access not only books and articles, but also the information that can be found
on the internet. Lastly, but very importantly, there are people who enjoy writing. These days,
writers can influence the world even more than before because of the internet, which allows
people around the world to access the documents a writer generates. A good writer can,
therefore, change the world in a meaningful way. As you work through the material in this
course, our hope is that you will discover not only where your strengths and weaknesses lie, but
that you will also develop these skills. At the end of the course, therefore, you should
understand what it takes to be a good listener, a good speaker, a good reader and a good
writer, and you should be able to impart these skills to others.
Please note that each of the six units follows the same structure. At the beginning of each unit
we list the outcomes that you will need to achieve, and the assessment criteria that will be used
to test the skills listed in the outcomes. There follows a brief introduction to the content of the
unit, and a list of important key terms. Each unit contains activities that will enable you to reflect
on what you are learning. At the end of each unit you will find a self-assessment section that will
enable you to determine whether you have reached the outcomes and comply with the
assessment criteria for the unit. References and a glossary complete each unit.
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2 OUTCOMES
2.1 Outcomes
Outcome 1
Students shall demonstrate through their intermediate level language writing skills that they
understand what the foundations of language study comprise across the four modes of
listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Assessment criteria for outcome 1: Students shall identify and define key terms and concepts
and demonstrate an understanding of purpose, function, audience, structure and language
choices, and of how these influence language learning across the language modes.
Outcome 2
Students shall demonstrate through their writing skills that they understand the rules of
language.
Assessment criteria for outcome 2: Students shall identify and understand key definitions,
correct structures, rules, strategies and competencies that apply to the four language modes.
Outcome 3
Students shall demonstrate academic writing skills at tertiary level NQF 5.
Assessment criteria for outcome 3: Students shall use academic writing conventions such as
headings. They will demonstrate meaningful (SPSE) structural organisation of content
(paragraphs and numbering) as well as logical organisation of content. They will produce
argument statements supported by proof statements. They will be able to reference sources in
the Harvard style. They will use register, style and tone successfully in order to produce
intelligible communications.
3 OVERVIEW OF THE COURSE

3.1 ENG1515: APPLIED ENGLISH LANGUAGE FOR FOUNDATION AND
INTERMEDIATE PHASE – HOME LANGUAGE
Please refer to the contents page above for a quick overview of the module lay-out. As you can
see, unit 1 briefly introduces the historical context and development of the English language. It
then focuses on how to use language to achieve a purpose: this includes making critical
language choices that take your audience into account as well as gauging the quality, or
correctness, of language. In unit 2 we introduce you to critical language analysis to help you
understand the basic structures of language. You will also be introduced to the effects language
can create and, through these, to how language can affect and manipulate us. Unit 3 is
concerned with how listening can advance or block our language learning. Unit 4 deals with the
all-important skill of reading. In this unit, you will learn how to analyse texts in a strategic way.
This will help you understand how good reading strategies can encourage comprehension and
teach us how to express ourselves better. Unit 5 focuses on how to recognise various
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conventional writing formats and the texts that these conventions produce. However, without
fundamental language competencies, anything we write, read or say may be incorrect, therefore
in unit 6 we pay attention to language competencies and the common errors that need to be
avoided. Every unit includes activities that will guide your learning and help you to become
familiar with new terms and language principles. At the end of each unit there are self-
assessment tasks that will give you an idea of what to expect from the assignment and exam
questions. We provide feedback for each of these, but for more guidance and in-depth
feedback, you will need to engage with your e-tutor on myUnisa.
3.2 Prescribed book(s)
There are two prescribed textbooks that you are required to buy:
Wyse, D, Jones, R, Bradford, H & Wolpert, A. (2013) Teaching English language and literacy.
3rd edition. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN: 9780367001773
(https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-English-Language-Literacy-3/dp/0415669987)
Bailey, S. (2015) Academic Writing. A Handbook for International Students. 4 th Edition. London
and New York: Routledge. ISBN: 9780367001780
These textbooks are available at all official Unisa booksellers.
3.3 Recommended book(s)
There are no recommended books for this module. In addition to the prescribed books, Tutorial
Letter 101 will provide you with guidelines about electronic resources and ancillary study
materials.
Recommended Reading
Horne, F. & Heinemann, G. (2003). English in Perspective. Cape Town: Oxford University
Press. (What do you think? ENG1514 has listed this book as recommended reading.)
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4 UNIT 1: CHARACTERISTICS OF LANGUAGE

Unit 1 offers a brief and broad perspective on language in general and language in South Africa,
as explained in the introduction:
Outcome 1
understand the foundations of language in terms of cultural context and the purposeful use of
language.
Assessment criteria for outcome 1: Students shall be able to explain the context of English
language learning in South Africa in at least one paragraph.
Outcome 2
Students shall demonstrate through their language writing skills that they understand the
academic concepts contained in this unit.
Assessment criteria for outcome 2: Students shall identify and/or explain the definitions and
the main ideas dealt with throughout the unit.
This study unit is based on the following sections of the prescribed textbooks. Carefully
read through the relevant sections in your textbooks.
Wyse, et al. (2013). Teaching English Language and Literacy. Part 1, Chapter 2 and Part 2,
Chapter 4 – 5.
Bailey, S. (2015). Academic Writing. A Handbook for International Students. Part 2, Units
2.1 - 2.12
4.1 INTRODUCTION
Unit 1 offers a broad overall view of the various language learning issues that are dealt with in
this study guide. First, we look at how being a South African means we come from a particular
cultural position that influences important aspects underlying language learning. Then we focus
briefly on the historical context of the English language. We subsequently consider the
purposeful use of language (i.e. using language to achieve a purpose), such as informing an
audience and creating a language identity, and making critical language choices that encourage
audience acceptance. We also explore how to gauge the quality of our language in order to
learn how to inform and create in the most meaningful way possible.
Key terms that you must understand for this unit are: intelligibility; holistic approach; critical
language awareness; English history; geographical and technological language varieties; critical
literacy; power of literacy; audience and purpose; conventions of listening, speaking and writing;
appropriate use of language; coherence and cohesion of meaning; and language analysis.
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4.2 LANGUAGE: THE BIG PICTURE
The main aim of learning a language is to master intelligibility for an audience. Because
audiences may range from street gangs to highly educated people, intelligibility has to be
adjusted according to the audience being addressed, so that the audience will understand you.
Most of the time using standard English facilitates intelligibility in writing and speech, because
standard English requires a neutral accent and the use of commonly accepted language
conventions. However, it often doesn't not matter to an audience whether someone has a strong
accent, as long as they can understand the meaning of the words – as we can tell from the
varieties of English and English accents that there are in the world. The most crucial factor,
then, is that language conventions and expressions must support clarity of meaning across a
wide range of fields, as we shall see in the following pages.
4.3 LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Research indicates that the development and learning of a language is dependent on many
variables. Firstly, we know that processes and practices that support language development or
acquisition must be appropriate to the age and experience of individuals or groups in order to
meet their needs. These processes must also take into account the culture of the people
involved, what other languages they may already have acquired, and a variety of other factors.
In other words, language development, teaching and learning require a holistic approach.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach: As educators and learners, we must remain alert to the
needs of our learners and the resources available to them, and review both regularly in order to
meet the needs of these learners.
To gain insight into pioneering developments in language teaching and learning, we need to be
conversant with certain concepts in the field. Feel free to use Google if you wish to read more
on any of the concepts referred to below. For brief, clear definitions at this level of learning,
Wikipedia is also a very helpful resource. Table 1 contains a summary of the most important
concepts in linguistics.
Table 1.1 Language development concepts

Language theories: – Cognitive, constraint-based, generative, structuralist, quantitative.
Functional theories of grammar: – Phonology, morphology, morphophonology, syntax, lexis, semantics, pragmatics,
graphemics, orthography, semiotics and so forth.
See below for further guidance.

Language acquisition theories: – Social interactionism, relational frame theory, emergentism, syntax and
morphology, generativism, empiricism, statistical learning, chunking, representation in the brain, sensitive period,
vocabulary acquisition, meaning, neuro-cognitive research, and so on.
Circa Approaches, hypotheses, assumptions, plans, processes, methods, techniques, theories, and ways
1970 A Accommodation theory – Howard Giles (1970s)
1970 A Affective filter theory – Stephen Krashen (1970s)
1970 A Audio-lingual method (behaviourist) – B F Skinner and others (1970s+)
1974 A Automaticity – LaBerge and Samuels (1974); and task-based learning theory – NS Prabhu (1987),
Catherine Doughty and Teresa Pica (1986)
1980 A Acculturation model – John Schumann (1990s+); see "SLA theories"
1986 A Art,-craft-and personal skills theories JA Zahorik (1986)
1997 A Activity-based theory – Rose M Senior (2006)
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1930 B Behaviourist theory – BF Skinner (1930s): external-environmental-connectionist-associative-

parallel processing. The term "behaviourism" was coined by John Watson (1878–1959).
1957 C Critical period hypothesis – (related to a person's age – child, teen, adult) – Wilder Penfield and Lamar
Roberts (late 1950s+) and Eric H Lenneberg (late 1960s+)
1955 C Competence versus performance model – Noam Chomsky (1950s). Two components of language
production.
1940 C Connectionism – Donald Hebb (1940s). A learning rule (algorithm) for modifying connections based on
experience.
1945 C Combinatory play – Albert Einstein (1879–1955). – A collection of cross-disciplinary building blocks –
knowledge, memories, inspiration, ideas that we then combine and recombine – led to the formulation of
the schemata theory.
1960 C Contrastive analysis – Robert Lado (1957)
1970 C Cognitive and metacognitive – J Rubin (1970s). Guessing, mentalist, metacognitive, mnemonic, self-
management, compensatory, affective and social strategies.
1978 C Communicative competence – Caleb Gattegno (late 1970s+). Addresses communicative theory,
philosophy and principles. The Silent Way is a communicative method of acquiring and learning
language.
1981 C Competition model – emergentist theory – Elizabeth Bates and Brian MacWhinney (1981)
1981 C Comprehensible output hypothesis – SD Krashen (1981) and Merrill Swain (late 1990s+) (the
hypothesis-testing function, metalinguistic function and noticing function)
2000 C Collaborative – David Nunan (2003). – All stakeholders must have input.
1900 D The direct method – CA Krause (1916); the natural method, target language or Berlitz method
(1970). Focuses on only the target language, daily speaking and listening. Used in the language
departments of the Foreign Service Institute of the US State Department since 2012. Grammar is learned
inductively versus the grammar-translation method and other traditional approaches, including
CJDodson's bilingual method.
1966 D Discourse theory – Michel Foucault
1970 D Dialogic process versus dialectic process (relating to Einstein's combinatory play, interactive dialogue
and logic, holistic development, demonstration, modelling, questioning, clarifying and feedback) – Mikhail
Mikhailovich Bakhtin, Dialogic imagination (1981); Jürgen Habermas, Communicative rational action
(1984); Gordon Wells, Dialogic inquiry (1999); Paulo Freirem, Human nature is dialogic (1970). Dialogic
(implicit) processes versus dialectic (explicit) processes.
2000 D Declarative-procedural model versus imperative process-modelling – Michael T Ullman (2001), Memory
processing
1960 E Error analysis – Stephen Pit Corder (1960s)
1980 E Enrichment theory – M Canale and M Swain (1980)
1992 E Experience-based theory – DL Medin and BH Ross (1992) – (schema, expectation)
1960 F Functionalism – – Dell Hymes (1961) (also see communicative competence)
1962 F Field dependence and independence – first proposed by Herman Witkin in 1962; Michael Kirton (1978);
J Hasen and C Stansfield (1981)
2000 F Functional-notional theory – MAK Halliday (2004)
1800 G Grammar or grammar-translation method – Plato, Descartes. – The deductive process compared with
the direct method of inductive grammar learning process – classical – notional and prescriptive.
1496 H Humanist theory –education legislation, Scotland (1496); Carl Rogers (1969); Abraham Maslow (1954),
Rudolf Steiner (1891), Maria Montessori (1906): – Waldorf, Montessori, Reggio Emilia, and neo-humanist
schools.
1950 I Individual differences or trait theory – Gordon Willard Allport (1897–1967)
1953 I Interlanguage, language transfer and fossilisation theory – Larry Selinker (1972) and Uriel Weinreich
(1953): languages in contact
1957 I Innate or transformational-generative theory – Noam Chomsky (1957). See communicative
competence.
1957 I Input theory – Chomsky (circa 1957); Krashen (1970s): – the direct, innate-acquisition theory vs the
natural order hypothesis. Monitor – nativist-affective filter based – Krashen's five second language
hypotheses
1977 I Interactionist theory – Michael Long (1997); Klein – –second-language analysis, synthesis and
embedding-matching
1960 L Language acquisition devices (LAD) – Noam Chomsky (1960s)
1943 M Motivation and multiple-link theory – Abraham Maslow and others
1970 M Modification theory – see "Behaviourist theory".
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1970 M Mother- tongue or native- tongue theory – J Cummins (1999), E Williams (1998) and K Williamson
(1976). The Rivers Readers Project in Nigeria:
http-//unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001466/146632e.pdf
http-//www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2331186X.2016.1210997
http-//www.academia.edu/3853832/The_Advantages_and_Disadvantages_of_Mother_Tongue_
1999 M Memory and second-language acquisition theory – J Williams (1999)
N Neuro-functional theory
1970 N Native-language magnet model – Patricia Katherine Kuhl (1970s): – Developmental change and
discriminating speech sounds as they become increasingly specific to native language over time
1970 N Noticing hypothesis – Richard Schmidt (1941-2017)
1993 O Optimality-linguistic model – Alan Prince and Paul Smolensky (1993): – Observed forms of language
arise from the optimal satisfaction of conflicting constraints.
1995 O Output hypothesis – Merrill Swain (1995) – see "comprehensible output hypothesis.
1980 P Processability theory – Van Patten (2007), Pienemann (1998) and the ZISA team, – Clahsen, Meisel
and Pienemann (1983)
1953 R Rote and meaningful learning – Ernest R Hilgard, Irvine; Whipple (1953): – Rote learning is a
memorisation technique based on repetition. Some of the alternatives to rote learning include meaningful
learning, associative learning, and active learning.
1990 S SLA theories – seven second language acquisition theories: – (1) The acculturation model; (2)
accommodation theory, (3) discourse theory, (4) the monitor model, (5) the variable competence model,
(6) the universal hypothesis, and (7) the neuro-functional theory
1900 S Semantic theory – Michel Jules Alfred Bréal (1832–1915) ] and Charles Egerton Osgood (1916–1991)
1920 S Social interactionist theories – Lev Vygotsky (1962). Vygotsky's 1934 theories stress the fundamental
role of social interaction in the development of cognition (1978).
1970 S Scaffolding theory – Bruner, Wood and Ross (1970s). The term "scaffolding" was coined to add to
sociocultural theory. Scaffolding describes the interaction between a child and an adult who helps them
finish a task that they would not have been able to do alone.
1940 S Structuralism, post-structuralism and deconstructionism, as well as existentialism – Jean-Paul
Sartre, Catherine Belsey (1983), Philip Pettit (1975), Claude Lévi-Strauss (1990s)
2000 S Skills-based theory – John Robert Anderson, Jack C Richards, Richard Schmidt, Bill van Patten,
Alessandro G Benati (2000s)
1984 S Science-research theory – JA Zahorik (1986); audiolingualism – MH Long (1985), David Nunan
(2007); task-based theory – N Prahbu (1986), Dacid Kolb (1984); experiential theory – MH Long
(1984); scaffolding/sequential/recycling/active/integrative/reproduction/reflection learner training
1999 S Strategic competence – LF Bachmann and A Palmer (1999): SLA and language testing theories
1998 T Task-based theory – David Nunan (2007) (see "Science-research theory".)
1967 U Universal grammar theory – Noam Chomsky (1967): translation, structural-oral-situational approach
theory
1980 U Usage-based theory – Michael Tomasello (1980s)
1900 V Value-based theory (functions) – Max Weber (1900s), Émile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, and Jürgen
Habermas: Literature, curriculum-education-based, team-based, humanist, learnercentred, self-directed,
needs, interests, reflective-collecting research in practice versus institutionalism, historical materialism
(including Marxism), behaviourism, pragmatic-oriented theories, postmodern philosophy and various
objectivist-oriented theories
1980 V Variable competence model – Rod Ellis (1984): the process of language and the product of language
The purpose of this table is to alert you to the number of theories and practices that deal with
language learning. In .docx you can switch from alpha to numerical mode using "Sort Text" AZ
on the Home Page. The information provided in the table has been gleaned from a great
number of sources, some of which can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories
of_second-language_acquisition
While it is interesting to know about all these methods of teaching and the research on which
they have been based, one of the most important things we need to remember is, in the words
of John Dewey (see Wyse et al. 2013: 28): "Teach what learners can relate to from their
experiences and thoughts." This is an important directive in our multilingual and diverse South
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African cultural context. And yet, perhaps we should also remember that all people are capable
of using their imagination to think beyond their experiences and culture. It may therefore be best
to respond to a person's needs, knowledge and culture while enabling them to look at the bigger
world beyond themselves.
4.3.1 Important concepts

Important concepts (Wyse et al. 2013:27–31) that will contribute to your understanding of
holistic learning and teaching include:
 multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary methodology: integration and blending of

concepts that facilitate language learning
 practical intelligence, pragmatism and learning by objectives
 interaction between learner and teacher and transmission of facts
 investigation of language using other disciplines, e.g. psychology
 assimilation of concepts and appropriate timing of learning
 mediated activity: assist and desist as learning requires
 ZPD: zone of proximal development
 scaffolding: coherent and cohesive learning
 contingent instruction and reflections
 spiral curriculum and intuitive grasp of ideas
Activity 1.1
Google the concepts in section 1.2.1 above that you do not understand. While you will not be
able to cite Google as an academic reference, consulting Google is a very helpful first step
when you need information. Learning to google concepts will lead you to wonderful and
valuable learning resources on the internet.
Now that you understand all these theories and strategies, you need to focus on how to
facilitate language learning for the bilingual and multilingual learners that most South Africans
are. You will also need to be sensitive to the historical and social contexts that exist in South
Africa, as they may have a negative impact on English teaching and learning. There are also a
number of positive aspects to learning English, however, as we shall see!
4.4 A BRIEF LOOK AT ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION NAD LEARNING IN THE

WORLD AND SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXTS
Let us turn our attention to macro matters concerning English and language learning in general.
4.4.1 World English – history, geography, technology and power
1.4.1.1 History and power – global and local influences

The English language spread globally through rapid colonialism, and became a language
used in many countries colonised by Britain. In South Africa, government services and
commerce were administrated through Afrikaans and English with the result that the
15
majority of South Africans became bilingual (or multilingual). In 1996, English was
declared equal to the 10 national languages, but it was more widely used than the others
because of its global usage. Although it would be too costly (in terms of time and funding)
to translate everything into all 11 official South African languages, it is important to
remember that the mother tongues are of crucial importance, not only to cultural identity
but to language learning. In fact, research has shown that the inclusion of mother-tongue
teaching is essential for the efficient learning of a new language as well as for the
preservation of culture (Horne & Heineman 2003:19). Awareness of a student's native
language should therefore form part of the teaching and learning of a new language.
1.4.1.2 Geography and power – global and local influences

English is now spoken in most places in the world due to the influence of politics,
technology, tourism and trade. It has become a powerful medium of communication for
middle and upper-class urbanites. The problem, however, is that members of rural and
poorer communities, who do not have access to global resources, may display less
fluency in English and be disadvantaged because of this.
1.4.1.3 Technology and power – global and local influences

Were it not for the dominance of technology in the modern world, English may have lost
much of its global power after colonial rule ended in many countries. However, due to the
fact that global powers such as the USA, the UK, Europe, Japan and India dominated
modern-day industry, technology and the internet, English became the language of
global markets because of historically leading products such as Microsoft and Apple.
Obviously, there was a need for a single global language that would facilitate
communication between markets and developers of technology, and English became
that language in the West. Because of this, English is still often favoured as an
established and practical language by many people in South Africa and around the world.
4.4.2 English and the South African Context
Yet, despite its favourable global status, English and English teaching and learning are
plagued by the following problems in South Africa:
 The language is associated with an imperialistic history steeped in colonial culture
which for many is a painful reminder of oppression.
 Its global use is perceived as hegemonic.
 All 11 languages are not equal in practical terms, and this creates conflict.
 English is resisted by some as elitist, due to its being a language of higher education
and government.
 There is a lack of general exposure to English in rural areas.
 The lack of English language teaching and learning resources in rural and poorer
areas inhibits learning and the social progress related to learning.
 A lack of access to resources for learning English and learning in English in general
(due to excessive data costs), leads to severe educational constraints, especially in
rural and poorer areas.
 One could argue that English itself has become a "multilingual language" due to its
many varieties, which include various sets of slang and jargon.
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It is also important to note that resistance to learning English has been diminishing, for various
reasons:
 While there may be an imperialistic history steeped in colonial culture, the younger
generation tend to perceive English as a language that can be used to their advantage
and may believe that access to English forms part of a hard-won freedom.
 Although the global use of English is perceived as hegemonic, every other mega-
language may be viewed in the same way. The advantage of English is that most South
Africans can already speak English to some degree.
 While the 11 languages are not equal in practical terms, the truth is that not all 11
languages can be accommodated in the national and global arena. Mother tongues must
be maintained, however, to promote learning and well-being, as mentioned in section
1.2.1 above. It is essential to protect indigenous languages, cultures and knowledge
systems.
 Despite English being resisted by some as elitist, its prevalence across the globe and the
fact that it is accessible to all tends to render it a classless language.
 Although there is a lack of English language teaching and learning resources in rural and
poorer areas, English is not perceived as a language of oppression to the same extent as
before. Due to changing attitudes, English is now understood as a useful medium for
understanding local and world affairs. Access to facilities that encourage learning and
access to English must therefore be addressed as crucial to the national interest.
 While it is true that a lack of access to the internet and its resources cause severe
educational constraints, the issue is not English and oppression as such, but that access
to free and open education via global technology is not available to all people, which
requires attention.
 English itself has become an almost "multilingual" language due to its many varieties,
including, for example, the "language" of internet jargon. This could be seen as an
advantage, however, in terms of ease of use, the way in which the languages of these
subcultures mesh with group identity, and other supportive psychological functions that
are fulfilled.
Activity 1.2
Horne mentions that being multilingual defines being South African, and that cultural diversity is
a wealth that requires nurturing (Horne & Heineman 2003:11). Consider this and answer the
following:
Are multilingualism and cultural diversity important to you and your social group? Why?
Example of an answer: I gravitate towards cultural diversity because (1) it provides me with
various choices and broadens my understanding of life; and (2) because culture is not meant to
trap and enslave people, as history has shown, but to enrich people who are able to share
different points of view and learn from one another. However, some people do not share this
point of view and prefer to live single-culture lives.
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4.4.3 Purposeful use of language – varieties and appropriate forms and formats
As background to this section, study tables 1.1 and 1.2. From these it is clear that the
business of life is embedded in language and that language serves specific purposes.
(Janks et al 2014:1) mentions some aspects that we elaborate on below. As you will see,
language is vital in order to be purposeful in the following areas:
 People use language to empower and position themselves in order to act on individual,
social, career, national and international levels. For example, a politician needs to have a
strong command of language to be able to persuade as many citizens as possible to his
or her point of view.
 The quality of language used can create a strong identity. For example, some writers
write so well that strangers acknowledge them as good academics or educators. When
communicators use language correctly, their individual, social, national, and international
exchanges and endeavours are simplified and facilitated, because messages are
received and understood more quickly.
 The more adept one is at using language effectively to reach one's goals, the more one
obtains access to opportunities for development at individual, social, national, and
international levels. It is a given that access to good career opportunities improves as
one's language skills improve.
When we think about the purpose of language, it is important to remember that language
is seldom neutral in meaning. Even in the objective world of science, a point of view,
either positive or negative, is established by means of language. We also know, as Janks
et al (2014:2) point out, that we are constantly negotiating the meaning of our reality (i.e.
we have to decide for ourselves what something means – we continuously interpret our
world and the people in it). Sometimes we have to stand back and look at the bigger
picture to understand how generalising can lead to prejudice and a damaging bias. For
example, take the statement "foreigners behave badly". This is a generalisation that
leads to prejudice. We therefore sometimes have to deconstruct and reconstruct
meaning in language to establish truth. For example, we could critically examine
literature to reveal genderism (prejudice against one of the genders) and racism
(prejudice against one or more races) in texts.
Our purpose in this unit is to learn about English as a language by looking at the big
picture. In order to do this, we consider how meaning is constructed in English. We will
therefore deconstruct how words and phrases are used in texts to produce meaning. The
ideal is that language should be inclusive rather than exclusive – that no section of
society should be discriminated against in a language. In other words, if all words cannot
be applied universally to humankind, in principle, then such words shall not be used.
In this study guide we learn to understand the meaning of critical literacy (being able to
view a text critically and understand the layers of meaning) and we emphasise the power
of literacy (the power that comes with clearer perception and understanding of the world)
(Janks et al 2014:5). We also recognise that the meaning of language is created by
means of conventions (neutral structures that indicate purpose) and expressions
(meaning used objectively and subjectively). Effectively, we step back and look at how,
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when we put words together with punctuation in a certain pattern, it creates meaning –
meaning that we can understand and subsequently create consciously. We are also able
to see that language changes over time.
Table 1.2 shows us how language has evolved. Because of this, speakers and writers
need to consider that the meaning of words change and be aware of the power of
purpose and context when using any form of language. In other words, the power lies in
what you say, because everything said or written is appropriate in form for a specific
audience that recognises the same meaning as the author. Furthermore, how you say it
often enables an audience to identify who you are: for example, a doctor might use
certain terms and expressions, whereas a lawyer would use legal terminology. Using the
forms and expressions that are recognisable in regard to one's identity reveals that
certain kinds of language have become identified with certain areas of human society.
Table 1.2 Critical literacy: conventions and expressions that indicate how identity can be
created
Conventions are always neutral, objective Expression
structures communicated in generally Style of words: Tone of words:
accepted formats. vocabulary ranges from positive, negative and
informal and semi- neutral vocabulary –
formal to formal. prefixes (cognates)
become important.
Choice of words sets the
tone.
Business E-mails, letters, reports, etc Content tends to be semi- Tone tends to be objective
formal in style. and neutral.
Professional Subject-related texts such Content tends to be semi- Tone tends to be objective
as medical and legal formal to formal, and in and neutral, but under
documents. Speech also some instances, such as certain circumstances
follows generally accepted advertisements, legal and emotional and subjective.
modes and formats of political content is usually
communication. very persuasive.
Public Government and political Semi-formal and formal Tone tends to be objective
forums content and neutral, but under
certain circumstances
emotional and subjective.
Literature: Novels: drama, comedy Style ranges from informal Tone ranges across all the
drama Plays: drama, comedy, etc to formal. It tends to be emotions.
comedy Poetry: haiku, sonnets, etc subjective in creative style
adventure (in the way in which it is
sci-fi communicated and the
horror words used) and point of
biographical view, but objectivity is
autobiographical usually maintained.
Critical language awareness activity
19
Put on your critical thinking caps and write your own ideas about the following mediums of
communication. Add the type of visual content you would expect in an example of each.
Film
Television
Blogs
Social media
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Newspapers
News on the i
nternet
Although the forms that language uses (as depicted in the table) are neutral structures such as
grammar and neutral mediums such as letters, books and so forth, meaning expressed is rarely
neutral and objective. In his body of work (oeuvre) depth psychologist, Carl Jung, explains the
workings of consciousness and unconsciousness, and how our individual psychological make-
up influences what we experience, express and are moved by. He argues that no human being
is purely neutral and objective, but if we strive to become so, we may understand what
humanity needs to do to create a balanced, less prejudiced, and less subjective world in which
everyone is able to enjoy more freedom.
Using words in a neutral way means that words are free of bias. Objective expression and
wording tends to be factual, deductive in reasoning and provable, whereas subjective wording
tends to be personal, opinionated, inductive in reasoning, probable and possible.
Therefore, there is a need to be neutral and to use appropriate objectivity, even when subjective
expression is involved – particularly in academic writing – so that we can persuade our
audience in a reasonable, rational way. In table 1.2 we see that the neutral conventions of
forms, formats and structures have come about to avoid the conflict that can be caused by
different cultural norms or ways of understanding; for example, polite language is used in a
business-like way in the marketplace. If language is used inappropriately and offensively,
recourse can be taken to the judicial system. We may say, therefore, that language conventions
are diplomatic structures (as depicted in tables 1.2 and 1.3) that serve to create neutral spaces
for what needs to be said, whereas the content of expressions (meaning created through
creative wording) serve, for example, to inform or to persuade or manipulate. The aim of critical
literacy is to recognise and understand who is saying what to whom and why, and the use and
misuse of language that can occur in various contexts.
Barriers to developing critical literacy and the ability to recognise and understand the power of
language are well known. Writers and speakers require the following to produce clear and
reliable language that will convey their intended meaning:
 a holistic, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary perspective of language
 an understanding of concepts and ideas that facilitate language learning
 an overview of the use of English in a global context
 an understanding of English in the South African context
 insight into language and its purposes
 a grasp of the advantages of using appropriate conventions and vocabulary
 an understanding of the power of coherence and cohesion (We will explore this
further in unit 2.)
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Because strong reactions can be evoked in people who feel they are being forced to speak and
write a certain way, there are various approaches that address this emotive aspect; some
theorists prefer a prescriptive approach and others a descriptive approach (Horne & Heineman
2003:37). The prescriptive approach relies on rules that are expected to be followed (purism)
and "language exclusivity", whereas the descriptive approach seeks to discover what language
is actually being used and found to be useful to people. The prescriptive approach therefore
suggests the strict use of standard English, whereas the descriptive approach recognises that
standard English is useful to ensure intelligibility, but that deviation happens in natural speech
and in informal writing.
There is, however, a difference between "natural" deviations from standard English and
language mistakes. At this level of language competence, there are usually only a few habitual
grammatical errors that require correction, but sometimes even the smallest error can create
serious communication difficulties. Therefore, we must always strive to use accurate grammar
and vocabulary, or readers and listeners might reject the meaning we are trying to convey.
Activity 1.3
Adopt one of the fields to show the critical language choices you have made from table 1.2: Critical
literacy: conventions and expressions.
Example of an answer:
In order to expand the content of the table, an answer has been written using the following fields:
Video clips, podcasts, written Content tends to be semi-formal Tone tends to be objective and neutral,
reports, etc in style. although the "rags" tend to be
sensationalist.
Register – Syllable(s) Format: Style Tone Cohesion Coherence
type of in general examples
Vocabulary
Register will As few Mass Semi-formal to Ranges from Verbal Acceptable
be adjusted syllables as media: informal, objective and neutral and non- flow of
to the topic, possible speaker(s) depending on to aggressive and verbal expression
such as and words and mass context. Press sensationalist, signs and resulting
political. that are audience(s) releases tend depending on the symbols from
easily to be more scenario. cohesion
understood formal than
by the friendly
masses political
debates.
4.4.4 Making critical language choices: conventions of field, register, format, style, tone,
coherence and cohesion
An audience (made up of readers, listeners or learners) always requires that conventions

of field, register, format, style, tone, coherence and cohesion be followed. When
conventions aren't followed, meaning can be lost and the purpose of a communication
may not be recognised.
Knowing the fields of communication in which language takes place and what
characteristics of language are expected in those fields generally results in a higher rate
of audience understanding and acceptance of the message. Note the conventions in
table 1.3 that will promote learning to speak, listen, read and write.
21
Note that conventions are generally accepted formats that are used in fields of human
activities. Each language convention foreshadows meaning or content. For example,
business reports are written in generally accepted formats (subject heading, terms of
reference, introduction, procedures, findings, conclusions and recommendations) to
facilitate organisation of meaning, ease of reading and clarity of understanding. As a
reader skims a document, the format immediately indicates what can be expected: in the
above case the subheadings indicate that it will be an investigative report of some kind,
as the subheadings for a progress report would differ somewhat (heading, subject
heading, terms of reference, introduction, background, description of project objectives
and target dates, resources, budget, work completed to date, difficulties encountered,
next phase, conclusions and recommendations). A reader would expect the language
style to be semi-formal and the tone to be neutral. The conventions for literature differ
considerably. For example, if we consider the various conventions of literature, a
narrative can be identified because the language may contain informal dialogue and
semi-formal narrative text, the tone could be either serious or humorous, and vocabulary
may contain slang terms that formal writing would not.
Table 1.3 shows some broad conventions that can be used to identify appropriate
language for various fields and contexts.
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Table 1.3 Characteristic language conventions of field

Field Register – Syllable( Format: Style Tone Cohesion Coherence
type of s) in examples
general
vocabulary
In the home: Personal 1-3 Oral Informal Subjective: Verbal and Acceptable
family and and cultural face-to- nonverbal flow of
friends orientation face, positive signs and expression
telephoni and symbols resulting from
c and negative cohesion
written
Business Social, 1-3 Conferen Semi- Objective: Verbal and Acceptable

and professional ce calls formal and usually nonverbal flow of
and formal, positive signs and expression
professional, business depending symbols resulting from
on context cohesion
political,
religious,
legal,
arts
etc
Each field has its own 1–4 E-mails Semi- Objective: Nonverbal Acceptable
unique register, for example: formal usually signs and flow of
positive symbols: expression
grammar resulting from
cohesion
Advertising vocabulary is
very different from "legalese" 1-5+ Letters Semi- Objective: Nonverbal Acceptable
and is more informal. and formal usually signs and flow of
reports positive symbols: expression
and formal, grammar resulting from
depending cohesion
on context
Social Culture and 1-4 Oral and Semi- Subjective Verbal and Acceptable
field-related written formal and nonverbal flow of
register objective; signs and expression
symbols resulting from
usually cohesion
positive
On the street Register 1-3 Oral Informal More Verbal and Acceptable
relates to subjective nonverbal flow of
unique street signs and expression
cultures symbols resulting from
cohesion
23
4.4.5 Critical language choices: audience and purpose
Using the table 1.4, let us look broadly at the purpose of communication and the grammar and
vocabulary that would be appropriate for various audiences.
Table 1.4 Factors influencing critical language choice with a view to audience and
purpose
Field Purpose Register – type Syllables and Format Style Tone
of vocabulary type of
audiences: vocabulary
Home: Instructional: Personal and 1-3 Oral: face-to- Informal: Subjective:

"Lay the cultural face,
table." orientation Everyday and telephonic Members positive
simple are and
family Informational: Instructive: vocabulary – referred to negative
members and "I will be home "Table time!" often as pals,
guests by 18:00." monosyllabic; Written: SMSs, mates, ma,
Informational: very dependent e-mails, cards mom, pa,
Persuasive: "Expect me at on relationship and letters dad, More
six!" dynamics. More gramps, emotionally
"Please lay the prone to sis, bro, labile than
table, so that Persuasive: emotional and cuz, etc in public
we can eat expletive Wording is forums.
early enough "Set the table expression. casual and
to watch the or no movie!" grammar less
movie." accurate.
Grammar may
be less
accurate and
more
colloquial.
Business and Instructional: Social, 1-3 Conference Semi- Neutral:

"Place an professional calls formal usually
professional: order." and business Words are more less
cultural carefully chosen subjective
political, Informational: orientation and used in and more
white-collar Organisational Members positive
religious, "The deadline Instructional: workplaces, image is are
for placing "Place an compared to protected and referred to
legal and other orders is 12:00 order." blue-collar grammar and as friends,
officers daily." places of work, vocabulary are mother, Wording
Informational: e.g. on the seldom as father, and
Persuasive: factory floor. informal as in sister, expression
"We get "Place orders the home. brother, more
incentives for by 12:00 every Instructional: cousin, etc. controlled
meeting day." "Order it." Language
deadlines." is simple
Persuasive: Informational: and tends
"We'll get to be
deadline "Do the order by standard.
rewards!" 12:00 every
day."
Persuasive:
"You wanna get
the dollar?"
Provide Each field has its own unique 1–4 E-mails Semi- Neutral:
examples of register, for example: formal Usually
appropriate less
words that subjective
would be and more
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used in the Advertising vocabulary (register) positive

fields is very different from "legalese"
indicated by and is more informal. 1-5+ Letters and Semi- Neutral:
means of two Reports formal usually
asterisks (**). less
and formal, subjective
depending and more
on context positive
Social Instructional: Culture and 1-4 Oral and Semi- Neutral:

field-related written formal usually
"Deposit the register, e.g. Vocabulary more
fees today!" sport and club tends to be subjective
activities more casual and more
Informational: than in positive
"The duty professional
roster is on the forums but less
information Wording casual than in
board." similar to that the home.
in previous
Persuasive: column.
"Volunteers
get club
membership
discounts."
On the street Instructional: Register 1-3 Oral Informal More

relates to subjective
"Drop the unique street and
coins like cultures. emotionally
yesterday!" labile
speech.
Informational:
"The do-its are
on the wall."
Persuasive:
"No-paids gets
freebies."
Table 1.4 shows how language use provides room for choice that can vary from use on the
street to use in any other field of endeavour.
4.4.6 Analysing language to gain critical literacy
To become good critics of appropriate language use, we need to learn how to analyse
language. These are the various aspects we need to take into account:
4.4.6.1 Poor grammar and incorrect vocabulary
Poor grammar and incorrect vocabulary can confuse meaning, causing the audience to
struggle with understanding what is meant. We therefore need to make sure that the
language we are using is correct, while also being patient with ourselves when learning a
new language, or improving our skills in a language.
A good starting point is to ensure that we know the language conventions of grammar.
This is the structural part of language, and using it correctly ensures that what we say or
25
write makes sense. Grammar is therefore an objective framework that enables us to
express our sometimes objective and/or sometimes subjective expressions.
Making sense of something occurs when grammar and vocabulary are used accurately
and creatively, in other words, meaning becomes coherent through cohesive use of
grammar and expression.
4.4.6.2 Cohesion
Cohesion refers to the correct and creative linking of words and various language
devices, which serve to provide unity of structure and meaning. Effectively, this is the
linking of meaning across phrases, paragraphs and even chapters, using various means
of expression, so that the ideas flow logically. For example, conjunctions (such as "and",
"therefore" and "also") are used to link meaning across clauses. Poor use of conjunctions
can have a negative effect on cohesion and coherence, because the audience cannot
follow the logic of what is being said. Strong cohesion can result from using poetic
devices such as rhyme in poetry. As we read on, the importance of cohesion will become
more evident.
Similarly, punctuation is essential for good cohesion, because words strung together
without indications of beginnings and endings of sentences and their meaning would
hardly make sense. Failing to indicate meaning via grammar happens when a writer
neglects to use capital letters to indicate the beginning of sentences or full stops to end
sentences. This usually leads to reader frustration, misunderstanding and the rejection of
the message.
4.4.6.3 Coherence
Coherence refers to the "big picture": making sense of a whole unit of meaning by using
language in an accurate, cohesive way. Sometimes when people are in a state of shock,
they become incoherent in speech, so that what they say, does not make sense. Loss of
coherence means that language does not make sense in context (purpose), because use
of conventions (structure) and/or vocabulary (meaning) have/has been compromised.
When language is not reliable, coherence is lost. Bad logic and structure will lead to
confused meaning that is rejected by critical readers. When we listen or read, it might be
useful to start noticing when something does not make sense, and ask yourself why you
do not understand someone's meaning as a whole. Investigate their logic, structure and
wording to identify what has caused the lack of sense. Do not automatically assume that
you are the one who is not reading or listening properly: analyse a message in terms of
set conventions and the relevant standard of language to establish where the fault lies.
Such investigation is referred to as critical thinking, and requires language analysis and
critical literacy.
Possessing critical literacy thus means that we are alert to all aspects of language that
could delay the purpose of an expression or communication.
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4.5 CONCLUSION
Unit 1 provides you with a foundation for critical language analysis, on which we will build
further in unit 2. In this unit you were introduced to language development, the worldwide
spread of English and its global power, the effect of the South African context on language
learning, purpose of language, critical language choices, critical language choices for audience
and purpose, the analysis of language and critical literacy, and the need for cohesion to create
coherence. Micro aspects of coherence and cohesion will be investigated in unit 3, "Levels of
language analysis: grammar and punctuation". For now, let us continue to unit 2, "Language
analysis".
4.6 REFERENCES
REFERENCES
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2018).
Einstein, A., 1995. Ideas and Opinions. Crown Publishing Group.
Horne, F & Heineman, G. 2003. English in perspective. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.
Janks, H, Dixon, K, Ferreira A, Granville S & Newfield, D. 2014. Doing critical literacy. New
York. Routledge.
Jung, CG & Jaffé, A. 1989. Memories, dreams, reflections. New York: Vintage.
Van Wyk, J & Mostert, ML. The influence of mother tongue and gender on the acquisition of
English (L2). The case of Afrikaans in Windhoek schools, Namibia.
http-//www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2331186X.2016.1210997 (accessed on 31
January 2018).
Van Wyk, J & Mostert, ML. 2016. The Influence of mother tongue and gender on the
acquisition of English (L2): The case of Afrikaans in Windhoek schools, Namibia. Cogent
Education 3(1).
http//www.academia.edu/3853832/The_advantages_and_disadvantages_of_mother_tongue_
(accessed on 31 January 2018 and 04 July 2018).
Wyse, D, Jones, R, Bradford, H & Wolpert, MA. 2013 Teaching English language and
literacy. London: Routledge.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories of second-language acquisition (accessed on 31
January 2018 and 4 July 2018).
http://einsteinpapers.press.princeton.edu/ (accessed on 31 January 2018).
27
4.7 GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
intelligible - easily understood
critical language awareness - a holistic alertness to how language works
critical literacy – language understood through the active application of knowledge
language conventions – set structures in language that facilitate understanding
language expressions – thoughts and feelings conveyed in unique language
cohesion –in language the quality of being linked by means of particular devices
coherence – the quality of being logical and consistent; of forming a unified whole
Note: Where applicable, provide at least one reference from reliable research to
demonstrate that your thinking has been critical and to substantiate your point of view using
specialist sources. You could refer to those quoted in this study guide and/or those taken
from other reliable sources of interest to you. Use the Harvard Reference Generator on
Google and click on References in the menu at the top of your Word document to ensure
that you are recording the correct referencing format according to Unisa's standard of
referencing.
4.8 SELF-ASSESSMENT
SELF-ASSESSMENT
Identify the number of answers required in each question to ensure all the answers are
given. You may use section 9.3.7 of unit 6, "Academic writing at tertiary level", as
guidance regarding writing structure.
1(a) The goal we strive for is fluency in standard English. However, one could argue that
the varieties of English and its dialects serve those who have created them, well
enough. Would you prefer to strive for standard English, or do you prefer putting
your personal, cultural stamp on English? To what purpose? Consider "time",
"resources" and "exclusivity" and so on when motivating your point of view.
There are three questions to be answered:
The answer to the first question is that I prefer to strive for standard English in my
academic and professional work. The answer to the second question is that I do,
however, naturally put my personal, cultural stamp on English in social situations.
The answer to the third question is that, in all instances, I strive for intelligible
communication.
I think one must distinguish between professional and social language use. Social
language use encourages cultural and personal use of language, whereas the
language used in business, professional and academic life tends to be standard
English entailing formalised language practices. For professional reasons it would
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be time-consuming to learn a "new" English every time I visit a new place. I find it
frustrating to have to learn a "new", socially styled English every time I am in a new
neighbourhood. Cultural diversity is important, but not to the extent that people
cannot understand each other.
In terms of personal language usage, of course I put my own stamp on English, but I
do not expect anyone else to adopt my idiosyncrasies. It is also important that
others should understand what I am communicating. In academic and professional
areas, I aspire to communicate in standard English and expect others to do the
same, so that we can quickly get down to the academic meaning of things rather
than wondering what is meant due to language variance.
1(b) What is the fundamental difference between language conventions and language
expression (see section 1.3.2: "Purposeful use of language"). Give an example of
each.
Language conventions refer to form and formats such as register, style and tone,
which make language intelligible to everyone. They provide communication
shortcuts such as in business communications: semi-formal to formal, polite, neutral
and objective standardised wording that seldom changes.
Language expression allows for personalised wording that can be manipulated,

even when embedded in highly formalised language conventions such as those
used in sonnet and haiku poetry.
1(c) Do you prefer the prescriptive or the descriptive approach? Why? What effect could
each approach have on you as a learner?
I prefer the descriptive approach, but I realise that the prescriptive approach is
essential for learning how best to use language rules to ensure understanding. A
balance is needed. I would rebel against the prescriptive approach as too rigid when
I need to speak and write in a more free and fluent way in, for example, social
communications, but on the other hand in academic writing I prefer purity of
language.
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5 UNIT 2: LANGUAGE ANALYSIS
Unit 2 focuses on the micro aspects of language that require attention because, if one uses
them correctly, they prevent confusion of meaning.
Outcome 1
Students shall demonstrate through their intermediate level language writing skills
that they understand the fundamentals of language structure.
Assessment criteria for outcome 1: Students shall explain how to ensure
cohesion and coherence through focusing on sound patterns, word structure and
the correct structuring of sentences.
Outcome 2
that they understand key terms and concepts of language structure.
Assessment criteria for outcome 2: Students shall give definitions of and
explain designated key terms as they relate to the structure of language.
Carefully read through the following sections in this prescribed textbook.

Wyse, et al. (2013). Teaching English Language and Literacy. Part 3, Chapter 12 and
Part 4, Chapter 21.
5.1 INTRODUCTION
All communication should aim for intelligibility. As we have said earlier, this is facilitated by using
the correct language for purpose and context. Writing tends to be more firmly governed by rules
of standardisation, whereas speech is not as rigid. The aim of any academic education (as in
this course of study) is to improve individuals' ability to better their lives, and good language
skills that promote intelligibility are essential to achieving this goal. To improve intelligibility, one
needs to learn the rules of standardised language. However, it is also important – especially in
the beginning stages of learning a language – to facilitate learning rather than generating
obstructions for the sake of purity of language.
Key terms that relate to language analysis are: language structure, signs and symbols,
alphabets; phonics, phonetics, phonology, phonemes, morphology, morphemes, syntax;
semantics and pragmatics.
We will now look at some of the main micro elements of language and, step by step, build our
knowledge until we reach a useful, holistic knowledge of what constitutes intelligible language.
5.2 LANGUAGE STRUCTURES: SIGNS AND SYMBOLS – HOW SPEECH BECOMES

WRITING
In this module, we focus on how meaning is represented through signs and symbols that
manifest as speech and writing. (Other forms of meaningful expression include dance, music
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and art.) The main difference between signs and symbols is that a sign (e.g. a phoneme or a
grapheme) has meaning on its own that communicates something to people in a denotative
(objective/dictionary) manner; whereas a symbol (e.g. a word and a morpheme) provides
denotative and connotative meaning that requires careful interpretation, especially in
multicultural South Africa. (Remember to look up the words you do not know in a dictionary.)
To record language, humans have created signs that indicate the smallest units of about 44
sounds (phonemes) that we make in English speech. Corresponding letters – about 26
graphemes – represent sounds that we use to spell words.
For example, letters of the alphabet are language signs (graphemes) used for spelling written
words. When they are spoken, they are referred to as phonemes – language signs that depict
speech. That is, they become words that function as symbols of meaning. Alphabet signs (a, b,
c – graphemes) and phonetic signs (a, b, s – phonemes depicted in a written way) do not
change their form or meaning within a specific spelling and pronunciation system, whereas
symbols can change because written and spoken words are expressions of meaning. An
example of combined graphic signs and new meaning can be seen in the flag of the new South
Africa. When we see the flag, words surface in our minds, so that visual literacy and connotative
and denotative meaning are combined to form a powerful expression of meaning.
5.3 TIME AND CULTURAL EFFECTS ON LANGUAGE

Language speaking and writing change over time, which can result in unintelligibility.
For example, in human culture, language first developed in the form of speech, and later as
writing. Speech has tended to change dynamically over time. In English we have clear
examples of changes in speech from Old English or Anglo-Saxon English (circa 450–1066 AD)
to Middle English (circa 1066–1450 AD) and then to Modern English, which first appeared
around the time of Shakespeare. Usually spoken English changes more quickly than written
English does. For example, today we can understand written Shakespearean English if we
practise but, if we went back in time, we would probably not understand Elizabethan
pronunciation.
For a number of reasons written English does not always represent spoken English (e.g.
"though" is the written representation of the spoken "tho"), and this has caused some language
learning difficulties. Learners often become confused by the difference between sounds they
hear and words they see. It is helpful to understand this incongruence and to realise that sound
can be used differently when spelling and pronouncing. Table 2.1 illustrates some differences
between spelling letters and pronouncing words.
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Table 2.1 Spelling and speaking can confuse
Pronunciation
Alphabet: Alphabetical Examples of phonemic pronunciation for
Sign/letter pronunciation for writing speaking
To record spoken language sounds accurately, a phonetic alphabet (table 2.3) is
required, but in its absence well-known words serve as examples of pronunciation.
A ay as in "may" a as in "a-nt" and "a-ngel" – "ay-n-jhil"
B bee b as in "b-at"
C see k as in "c-at" and s as in "cephalopod"
D dee d as in "d-og"
E ee e as in "e-gg"
F ef f as in "f-an"
G jee as in "Jeep" g as in "g-o" and "gi-raffe" – "jee-raaf"
H ay-ch h as in "h-ot" – "h-oht"
I as in "eye" i as in "I" and as in "i-n"
J jay j as in "j-am" – "j-am" (same "j" as in "J-
eep")
K kay k as in "k-ettle"– "ke-til"
L el l as in "l-eg"
M em Mmm as in "m-an"
N en Nnn as in "n-o" – "n-oh"
O oh! o as in "oh-nly"- "ohn-lee" and "oh-kay"
(vowel sounds) and "o-nce" ("wun-s",
consonant sound) and "o-nion" ("uh-n-
ee-yin", but often said as "oh-n-ee-yon"
– vowel sound).
P pee p as in "p-u-m-kin"
Q kew q as in "qui-xo-tic" – "kee-oh-tik"
R aar r as in "rrr-o-bot"
S es s as in "sss-i-sss-ter"
T tee t as in "t-oh-p"
u yoo u as in "university" – "y-oo-ni-ver-si-tee"
(consonant sound) and as in "umbrella"
- "uh-m-bre-lla" (vowel sound) See the
NOTE below.
V vee v as in "v-ery" – "ve-r-ee"
W double y-oo w as in "w-ater" – "waw-ter"
X ex x as in x-ylophone – "z-eye-la-f-oh-n"
Y why y as in "y-ellow"
Z zed or zee z as in "z-ebra"
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NOTE: The vowels in the alphabet are a, e, i, o, u for the purpose of spelling, but for the
purpose of pronunciation both o and u are either a vowel or a consonant sound in certain
words. The choice of indefinite articles (a and an) is subject to the word pronunciation and
not the alphabetical/spelling pronunciation: It is correct to say and write "a university",
because the u is pronounced as a consonant sound ("yoo-niversity) but when "umbrella" –
"uh" – is used, then it is a vowel sound and "an umbrella" is appropriate.
Phonetic alphabets (that represent sounds) were created for the purpose of recording
pronunciation. It should therefore become clear to you that one needs to think about language
on various levels when one wants to learn English.
5.4 DEFINITIONS TO KNOW
Before we learn more about how to analyse language, here are some definitions you need to
know:
Table 2.2 Definitions for language analysis
Concept Part of speech Meaning Example
(morphemic
indication "-")
Phono-logy Noun The study of sounds All concepts below are subjects for learning about
sound.
Phone-tic-s Noun – A system/systems of Phonetic alphabets,

signs representing
singular and e.g. ITP and NATO phonetical alphabets
sounds
plural concept
Phone-tic Adjective Detailing information Phonetic alphabet – a kind of alphabet

about sound
Phon-ic Adjective Sound Describes the nature of sounds, such as standard

pronunciation and accents
Phon-ic-s Noun Method of teaching Such as synthetic, analytic and Jolly Phonics
sounds
Phone-me/ Noun – Signs indicating the "cat"= /k/ae/t

smallest unit of sound
phone-me-s singular and There are about 44 phonemes.
that can result in
plural meaning
Morph-ology Noun The study of word Grammar: prefixes, roots, suffixes

forms
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Morph-eme/ Noun – A unit of language Grammar: prefix-root-suffix each indicates the
(part of a word) that meaning of a word.
morph-eme-s singular and
cannot be further
Prefixes and suffixes, including their plural
divided
plural
indicators, are "bound" morphemes, whereas in
root words plurals are "free" morphemes.
Graph-eme-s Noun The smallest Twenty-six graphemes are used as the letters of
meaningful contrastive
the alphabet.
unit in a writing system
Grammar Noun Structural rules that Understandable, socially acceptable speech

govern forms of
depends on the use of at least rudimentary
speech, writing and
meaning grammar in informal to semi-formal
communications, but on-the-street-in-the-hood
language is more often used with almost no
recognisable grammar structures. Grammar rules
for writing are more rigid, as the author is not
available to clarify meaning.
Lexis Noun The complete word Vocabulary and meaning without grammar or
content of a language syntax, as in a dictionary (lexicon).
Pragmatic-s Noun The study of syntax English language form and use compared to that
and semantics within of French, etc
languages and
Also language genres including drama, comedy,
subcategories of
adventure, etc, and oral forms – gossip, talk-
language: oral and
shows, plays, orations, news, etc
written
Written – novellas, scripts, speeches, news, etc
Syntax/ Noun – singular/ Sentence structures: Grammar: rules that govern simple, compound
the arrangement of and complex sentences and questions, etc. in any
syntactic-al adjective
words, phrases and form of language that informs its conventions and
clauses that constitute inventions. The language of Yoda in the film Star
sentence forms Wars is not conventional; it was invented and is
now accepted as the manner of speech of a wise
extra-terrestrial, for example: "Peace you be with!"
Semantic-s/ Noun/ Study of the Vocabulary: denotative and connotative.

meaningful use of
semantic adjective Note that a sentence may be syntactically correct
words in sentences
(grammatical success) but amount to nonsense
(semantic failure), e.g. "The horse wore the man".
(The construction of subject, verb and object is
correct, but the meaning is obscure.)
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5.4.1 SPEECH AND SOUNDS: PHONOLOGY, PHONETICS AND PHONICS

5.4.2 Phonology
This module includes an overview of some of the basic aspects of the study of sound. The first
of these is syllabic stress: here syllables are in/di/ca/ted gra/phi/ca/lly with a "/" (forward slash).
5.4.3 Phonetics
There are a number of phonetic "al/pha/bets", two of which are –set out in the tables below:
(1) the IPA or international phonetic alphabet (in/ter/na/tio/nal pho/ne/tic al/pha/bet)
(2) the NATO phonetic alphabet (commonly used in the military and in movies: Alpha for
a, Bravo for b, Charlie for c, etc)
You may recognise a number of morphemes in the tables on the next page.
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Table 2.3 The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet)
(Source: IPA Chart, http://www.internationalphoneticassociation.org/content/ipa-chart, available under a Creative Commons

Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Unported License. Copyright © 2015 International Phonetic Association.)
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Table 2.4 The NATO phonetic alphabet
(Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NATO_Phonetic_Alphabet_reading.ogg (accessed on 4 July

2018)
Note: how letters can vary to represent phonemes. Compare the alphabet letters /depicting
phonemes in table 2.1 (which were made up by the author) and tables 2.3 and 2.4 (universally
accepted rules) to get an idea of how language can be depicted.
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5.4.4 Phonics
There are many helpful applications on the Internet for listening-to-practise standard English
pronunciation.
Note the following characteristics of phonics:
 Phonemes can have sounds corresponding to letters (graphemes), for example,
note how the letter i makes the same sound as the i in the word "it".
o Note also that two phonemes combined can have the same sound as one
phoneme, for example i: lied, my, eye, shine.
 Certain graphemes remain silent in cases such as "flight" when the two
letters/graphemes gh are silent.
Variations in pronunciation are the result of changes in speech over time,

sometimes as a result of the introduction of foreign words and/or through power
play and class differentiation.
 During speech development one-syllable words are divided into onsets and rimes:
o The term "onset" refers to the initial consonant, for example c in "cat", or a
consonant cluster, for example ch in "church".
o The term "rime" refers to the vowel and consonants that follow it, for example:
at in "cat".
As children we become aware of syllables, onset and rime prior to literacy, whereas
phonemic awareness develops during the process of learning language literacy.
 Recognition of analogies in language features such as noticing the same sounds in

different words relates to phonic awareness and learning literacy.
o Learning through analogy is an important cognitive mechanism that helps us

understand structures such as phonics, for example: cough –> trough; f is
recognised as the probable pronunciation for gh in the second word, because
"cough" is known to be pronounced as "cof".
o Learning by association refers to learning via stimuli, such as linking the
positive or negative meaning of past experience to words and word formations,
for example: The word "discriminate" is neutral in meaning, but has acquired a
more negative meaning (connotation) worldwide due to the rise in
consciousness of human rights.
 Much learning through recognition of analogies takes place when homonyms
are used. Homonyms are homophones and homographs that require phonemic
awareness to recognise sound patterns and to differentiate sounds, for
example: Sound stress in a word can indicate what part of speech it is, for
example "present" (noun) and "present" (verb).
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 Learning word sounds and meaning through association can be a useful way
of acquiring lexis or vocabulary. For example, if you know the word "gold", it is
easier to remember the word formation "gold-digger"!
Phonemic awareness is also necessary to differentiate parts of speech and semantics in order
to clarify meaning, as in the examples below and in unit 3.
Table 2.5 Phonemes

You can avoid confusion in meaning by making sure to use the correct sounds.
Homonyms Same Different Same Different Same Differentiate meaning

sound sound spelling spelling meaning through sound
Homophones    
Roe - noun r-oh Caviar is roe. fish eggs
Row - verb r-oh They row for the Oxford team vs Cambridge. use oars
Desert - noun Dee-zirt He got his just desert! something deserved
Desert - verb Dee-zirt He is too afraid and will desert his post abandon
Homographs   
Present - noun preh-zint It is a birthday present. a gift
Present - verb pree-zent She will present the guest introduce
speaker.
Row - noun r-ow The couple had a row. an argument
Row - verb r-oh He will row for Oxford. use oars
Heteronyms   
Desert - noun Deh-zit The Sahara is a desert. arid place
Desert - verb Dee-zirt He will desert his post! abandon
5.4.5 Sound patterns: rhyme, alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia and rhythm
Recognition of sounds and how they can be used seems to delight children, especially
when they listen to nursery rhymes and storytelling, which usually contain some of the
following sounds effects:
o Rhyme: repetition of sounds at the end of sentences

o Alliteration: repetition of the same consonant sounds
o Assonance: repetition of the same vowel sounds
o Onomatopoeia: words that imitate natural sounds
o Rhythm: repetition of emphasis placed on words
We learn how to pronounce words in various ways. Learning to pronounce is a huge job, and to
begin with, we can look at methodologies.
5.4.6 Methods of teaching phonics
The following are methods currently used to teach phonics:
 Synthetic phonics focusses on learning to relate graphemes to phonemes and then

blending the sounds to form words (learning from parts to the whole).
39
 Analytic phonics uses whole words as a context, then breaks them down to learn
component sounds such as onset, rimes and phonemes (learning from the whole to the
particular).
 Systematic synthetic (blending) phonics (SSP) refers to identifying phonemes,
recognising common spellings of each phoneme, then blending phonemes into words for
reading and segmenting words into phonemes for spelling.
 Phonic programs, which include Jolly Phonics.
i. It is important to remember that the same size does not fit all, and therefore care should
be taken to provide learners with the opportunity to learn phonics in more than one way.
Always keep in mind that certain age groups respond better to certain methods of
learning.
Activity 1.4
Would you find phonetics useful when learning and teaching? When and why? Consider, for
example, age and level of language development, and remember that pronunciation is best
learned at a young age and/or during the early stages of language learning when best practices
are established.
I think phonetics is useful for promoting intelligible speech and ensuring others understand what
I am saying. I believe it is important to show clearly the similarities and differences in sounds as
that could help me remember how to pronounce and understand words.
5.5 STRUCTURAL NATURE OF WORDS – MORPHOLOGY AND MORPHEMES
We now look at examples of how the study of morphology can facilitate vocabulary building and
enable us to decipher the meaning of words at a glance. You will find definitions of morphology
and morphemes in table 2.2.
Vocabulary building is a constant concern, especially when learners lack access to reading
materials and/or tend to be poor readers. Root words (free morphemes) are usually well
remembered, however, so let us focus on how knowledge of prefixes and suffixes can expand
vocabulary.
5.5.1 Prefixes
It is helpful to remember that prefixes are adjectival in function in that they affix information to a
root word. Prefixes relate to quality, quantity and positioning and can be categorised as follows:
o Prefixes commonly found include a, an, ante, anti, auto, self, bi, co, contra, counter, de,
di, dis, down, dys, extra, fore, hemi, hexa, hyper, ig, il, im, in, infra, inter, intra, ir, macro,
mal, maxi, micro, mid, mini, mis, mono, multi, non, octo, over, para, post, per, pre, pro,
proto, pseudo, re, self, semi, semi-, sub, super, trans, tri, ultra, un, under, up and xeno.
Prefixes necessary for science and other academic work include acro, agora, allo, alter, epi,
hexa, hypo, infra, meso, meta, pan, penta, peri, poly, proto, quadri, quasi, supra and tetra.
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5.5.2 Suffixes
Familiarise yourself with suffixes, as they are handy for expanding vocabulary. As you will see in
table 2.6, there are not many to remember for each part of speech. You can also guess which
one to use from those given in the table and those that you know. Because words tend to
"sameness" in suffixing, you will probably choose the correct one.
Expand your vocabulary by completing this table as in example "1 - submit". Not all words can
be changed into all parts of speech, as mentioned in "3 - skill". Use a dictionary when
necessary.
Table 2.6 Suffixes
Root Noun – Noun – Adjective or Verb Adverb – Synonym for Existing

word person thing(s) adnoun -ed (past usually ends any of the prefix(es), or
-er -ion -ing tense) in ‘ly’ parts of one that can
(Plural(s) -or -ment -ed -ing speech forms be added to
usually end in -ian -al -ival (contin- form a new
s, except for a -ic -ism -ary uous word
few, such as -ist -ity -al tense)
children, etc.) -ess -ant
1 submit submitter submission submissive submit submissively meek sub

2 nationalist
3 The is no skill
noun-
person.
4 advertising
(campaign)
5 improve
6 critically
7 version sub-
version
Activity 2.1
Compare prefixes and suffixes and explain how they convey meaning.
Example of an answer: After thinking about this, I have come to the conclusion that prefixes
relate more to quality of meaning (positive/negative: bene-/mal-), whereas suffixes reveal parts
of speech, such as electric/electrician, singular-plural (electrician/electricians) and past-present-
future tense (electrify/electrified).
5.6 PRAGMATICS
Pragmatics refers to the study of syntax and semantics within language and subcategories of
language – both oral and written.
For example, in the study of pragmatics, English language form and use – oral and written – are
compared to that of other languages, including earlier forms such as Old English.
5.6.1 Syntax
Syntax refers to sentence structures, that is, word choice and arrangement of words in phrases
and clauses (see units 3 and 6) that constitute different types of sentences: simple, compound,
41
complex and compound-complex. Phrases do not contain verbs, whereas clauses do contain
verbs, as we shall later see.
5.6.1.1 Conjunctions
What is most necessary to know about sentences is that they may have a number of different
communication purposes, as can be seen in table 1.2, and the conjunctions they contain, help
us to see the reason and purpose in the meaning contained in the sentence.
Table 2.7 Conjunctions serve cohesion and coherence, therefore meaning
Forms of Clause(s) Finite Conjunctional functions: to inform and to reason

sentence verb(s)
structure
Simple One clause One No conjunctional function is present. Simple sentences

sentence serve to inform.
Compound Two or One per Compound sentences serve to inform: the conjunctions
sentence more clause for, and, nor, but, or yet, so (represented by the handle
independent "fanboys") connect the independent clauses.
clauses
Complex At least one One in each Complex sentences serve to inform and to reason: all the
sentence independent independent other conjunctions are used, such as because, since,
clause and clause once, so that, in order that, why, if, only if, even if,
one unless, till, until, provided that, assuming that, in case,
dependent lest, as soon as, as long as, before, now that,
clause accordingly, consequently, hence, therefore, thus, etc.
When more than one independent clause and more than one dependent clause occur in a sentence,
the sentence is referred to as a compound-complex sentence.
Note: Table 2.7 relates to meaning and coherence, whereas units 5–6 contain guidance about
what constitutes the grammar (structure) of simple, compound and complex sentences.
By differentiating clearly what we wish to inform and to reason about, we ensure cohesion and
coherence.
5.6.1.2 Punctuation
Critical analysis of language entails recognising the appropriate punctuation. However, when
English is an "additional" language, basic punctuation should suffice. There is not really a need
to be able to use sophisticated punctuation techniques when you are still struggling to use
capital letters and full stops.
Note that punctuation such as exclamation marks (!) and question marks (?)should not be
repeated repeated repeated!!!???
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5.6.2 Lexical semantics – meaningful use of words in sentences

Without taking grammar care there would be much more conflict than there is. Without taking
semantic care when using words there would also be many more conflicts. Language used in
the social media reveals how language can be used, abused and misused.
When we learn about semantics, we need to distinguish between two broad types of meaning,
namely denotative and connotative.
Every word contains phonemes, graphemes and morphemes, in other words, every word
contains signs that, used together, signify meaning: words are denotative, or have a literal
meaning, and also have a connotative, or symbolic, meaning. Often connotative meaning is
created because of cultural associations.
5.6.2.1 Denotation
The word "explicit" is an adjective. Its denotative meaning suggests something is "detailed" or
"exact", for example, the explicit meaning of words can be found in dictionaries. If we are
puzzled about the meaning of the word "explicit", we need to think of the dictionary meaning of
"white": it is a hue that reflects all the colours. Factual information contained in science and
academic work relies heavily on denotative wording.
5.6.2.2 Connotation
The word "implicit" is an adjective describing something that hints at further meaning.
Connotation is therefore implicit, associated meaning that must be derived from the way a word
is used as well as from personal and/or socio-cultural and/or national and/or international
experiences and knowledge – which may not be found in dictionaries.
It is important to identify connotation(s) (implicit meanings), as they tend to indicate either

positive or negative meaning. Excessive use of negative – or positive – words relating to a
socio-cultural ideal can influence a person in harmful ways.
For example, if you think of the word "white" used above, the denotative meaning is "a colour
that reflects all light", but personal experience, cultural, national and international norms may
add connotational meaning to the word "white". The word "white" has different connotations for
those who live closer to the North Pole, due to their pressing need to survive the rigours of a
snow-bound (white) existence, compared to those who seldom see snow. By contrast, the
people of Indonesia probably experience no snow in their tropical oceanic paradises, and their
colour reference relating to survival would be as strong for "blue" as "white" is for the Inuit of the
North. Personal experiences and cultural norms would then arise around "white" and "blue" in
different ways: on flags, in clothes and in language. The point is to look for implicit
meanings/connotations when reading to ensure correct interpretation. When creating texts or
speeches, we should remember who our audiences are, what would be meaningful to them,
and how words can be interpreted/misinterpreted as a result of poorly used connotations.
Accuracy in and clarity of vocabulary and the correct use of words (explicit and implicit meaning)
are therefore essential aspects of critical thinking and critical literacy.
It is evident from the following example that knowledge beyond the "dictionary" meaning of
words is required.
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RED
Denotation
A colour on the colour spectrum. The colour of blood, rubies and cherries. (It is only one of the
colours of fire.)
Connotation – life, danger, heated emotion, life-blood, hot, heat, love, and so on.
The word "red" might then be used connotatively in the following contexts:
 personal – anger ("She saw red!")

 culture – love ("Give her a red rose.")
 national – pride ("Japan's red sun flies high.")
 universal – assistance (he Red Cross)
Connotation refers, therefore, to extended meaning that is derived from physical, mental,
emotional and spiritual, personal, social, national and universal knowledge and experience.
5.6.2.3 Collocation, idioms and compound words
 Collocation is another important semantic feature. It refers to the habitual grouping

of words that facilitate understanding, for example commit murder, commit
adultery, commit to a relationship; table and chair; fast cars (not quick cars), fast
food (not quick food); a quick glance (not a fast glance), a quick meal (not a fast
meal); heavy rain (not strong rain) and so on.
As with connotation, collocation can be used positively or negatively, for example "to commit to
a relationship" or "to commit murder".
Collocations can have great connotative power, as in "ebony and ivory".
The denotative meaning of ebony is "dark wood", whereas the connotative meaning of ebony is
"the beautiful, glistening, rich, dark brown hue of African wood".
The denotative meaning of ivory is the "hard material of the tusks of elephants", whereas the
connotative meaning of ivory has changed from "the beautiful, creamy dentine used in
sculptures and jewellery" to forbidden use and sad loss of heritage taken by the cruellest means
from magnificent African giants by poachers and mercenaries".
The collocation, however, has powerful emotive meaning for non-racists, because it means the
unity between black (ebony) and white (ivory) people, as explored in the song Ebony and Ivory
by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebony_and_Ivory).
 Idioms. Collocations (such as "broken leg" and not "cracked leg") are not the same as
idioms. In idioms meanings are not clear (for example "Break a leg!" means "Good
Luck!"), and we would not understand the meaning until it has been explained to us.
 Compound words (such as "bookstore") relate to words that are deliberately joined to
create new meanings: "backspace" on your computer is a good example. When driving a
car, one would "reverse-drive", which has morphed into "reverse" over time. One does
not, however, "reverse" on a computer. The word "backspace" therefore carries meaning
related to computers and not cars. Knowing vocabulary in this way allows "shortcuts to
meaning.
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Table 2.8 Further lexical types and semantic features
Lexical types Examples
1 concrete or abstract Human (physical being) and being (existence

as a concept)
2 true or false Female drivers have accidents (true);

therefore all women are bad drivers (false).
3 Synonyms murder and homicide
4 Antonyms tie and untie ("untie" is not the same as "did

not tie" – see number 13 below.
5 hyponyms animates
6 Hypernyms human, animal, plant
7 Prototypical birds: fly, feathers, beaks, eggs
8 semantic properties human + adult + male = man
9 Complementary single – married (also opposites)
10 Opposites above and below
11 gradable hot, hotter, hottest
12 non-gradable/absolutes dead
13 Reverse did not tie – see "4" above
14 Metonymy crown, head = leader
15 Redundancy advance warning, reverse back, mutual

consensus, repeat again, first priority,
unexpected surprise
16 lexical relations deep - profound ("Profound" is not usually

used in informal language, as it currently
relates to more formal style.)
17 meta-meaning assumptions and expectations
18 Collocations fast foods (not quick foods)
19 other semantic features themes, roles, goals, genres, etc
5.6.3 Lexis for academic writing

Each field of endeavour has its own commonly used vocabulary that makes it readily
identifiable. Academic writing is similarly identifiable in the way language is used. For example,
if you look up "Bloom's taxonomy" you find all the various kinds of assessment questions one
might use to test skills acquired in the classroom or lecture hall – the words used in this study
guide are specific to academic study.
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5.7 CONCLUSION
We have come to the end of unit 2, in which we addressed language structures such as signs
and symbols, the effect of time and culture on language, various definitions for language
analysis, phonics sound patterns and teaching methods, the structural nature of words, as well
as pragmatics and lexical semantics. Having a grounding in these helps us to understand the
process of language acquisition and learning. In unit 3 we address the language skill of listening
for the purpose of developing critical literacy.
5.8 REFERENCES
REFERENCES
Routledge.
Horne, F & Heineman, G. English in perspective. 2003. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.
Janks, H, Dixon, K, Ferreira A, Granville S & Newfield, D. 2014. Doing critical literacy. New York.
Routledge.
Wyse, D, Jones, R, Bradford, H & Wolpert, MA. 2013 Teaching English language and literacy.
London: Routledge.
http://www.internationalphoneticassociation.org/content/ipa-chart (accessed on 31 January 2018).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebony_and_Ivory (accessed on 30 January 2018).
5.9 GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
Words defined in table 2.2: signs and symbols, alphabets; phonics, phonetics, phonology,
phonemes; morphology, morphemes; syntax; semantics and pragmatics
5.10 SELF-ASSESSMENT
SELF-ASSESSMENT
Identify the number of answers required in each question to ensure all the answers are given. You may
use section 9.3.7 of unit 6, "Academic writing at tertiary level", as guidance for writing structure.
2(a) Spelling alphabets and phonetic alphabets are simply signs, whereas words
are made up of signs and thereby become symbols that signify meaning. Using
examples, explain your understanding of this statement.
Example of an answer: The word "sign" is made up of the alphabet signs
(letter) s-i-g-n, and the phonetic alphabet signs (letters) would be saɪn. The
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signs have no meaning in themselves, but they can become meaningful when
used as symbols known as words.
2(b) Think of words that confuse you and explore why that should be the case. The
problem may be linked to sounds that are used incorrectly.
Example of an answer: I know that spoken emphasis should be placed on the

first syllable of a noun and on the second syllable of a verb. I emphasise the
first syllable of the word "Diplodicus" (the name of a very large herbivorous
dinosaur – a proper noun), but I heard a palaeontologist emphasise the second
syllable, which left me confused. Then I heard Sir David Attenborough, the
eminent naturalist, emphasise the first syllable! My confusion dissipated. In
English there are many exceptions to the rule, and this can make one feel
insecure, so it is best to determine what is rule and what is exception, it seems.
2(c) Write one example each of rhyme, alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia and
rhythm. Which of these concepts are easy or difficult to understand? Why?
Unit 2,
Section
Invictus: The Unconquerable
5.5.4
By William Ernest Henley
Last stanza:
"It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul."
Rhyme "gate/fate", alliteration "master/my", assonance "scroll/soul",

onomatopoeia "I am/I am" (this may be the most onomatopoeic word for
humankind), and rhythm "It matters not how strait the gate".
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6 UNIT 3: LISTENING SKILLS: PATTERNS AND LEVELS OF MEANING
In unit 3 you will be made aware of the functional importance of listening in language learning.
Outcome 1
that they understand the important influence of listening on language acquisition
and learning.
Assessment criteria for outcome 1: Students shall briefly explain any one of the
key terms and concepts in the section, using main ideas in paragraph format.
Carefully read through these sections in your prescribed textbooks.

Wyse, et al. (2013). Teaching English Language and Literacy. Part 2, Chapter 6.
6.1 INTRODUCTION
As listeners and readers our role is that of "audience" and our job is to gather information that
helps us understand our world. Our listening relationships may be one-on-one (including
listening to ourselves talking), one-on-group (teacher-students, presenter-audience, and so
forth), and one-on-media (as when we listen to the radio watch movies or attend theatre
productions). The success of listening depends on many factors, as we shall see in the
following paragraphs.
Key terms are influences on listening; listening strategies; modes of listening for meaning,
context and appropriateness; influence of sound and speech; influence of grammar, perception
and intention; impact on comprehension
From the very beginning of our lives, listening plays a role in our development. Mothers are told
that even their foetuses respond to music and voices in various ways, depending context and
familiarity: very early we react to sound, and different sounds elicit different reactions – some we
like, and some we do not like.
On a physical level, the human ear prefers intelligible and normal sounds at about 60 decibels.
We do not like sounds that are too soft (40 decibels and less) or those that are too loud (80
decibels and more). For most of us, 120 decibels and more cause actual pain.
Because humans are natural listeners and speakers, our bodies are affected by the mechanical
quality and loudness of sounds. We are also affected by aspects of sound that have to do with
nurture. What we mean by that is that people react psychologically to sounds for a number of
reasons. For example, the way in which we listen and what we pay attention to is influenced, at
least initially, by our personal psychological make-up, our family culture and our school culture.
Later we are influenced even more by our social culture, work culture and national culture. As
discerning listeners, we need to pay attention to WHAT we are listening to, and what messages
we are receiving.
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To start off with, however, a good question to ask is "What is the Purpose of Listening?" The
purpose of listening is to "get meaning" from sounds, and to understand that, we need to know
that there are a number of aspects to consider in regard to producing intelligible language that
an audience will listen to and understand.
6.2 THE PURPOSE OF LISTENING
A first step in sound identification is to recognise what we like to hear and what we do not like to
hear, both physically and psychologically. Simply put, this is the basic purpose of listening: we
need to listen in order to learn about ourselves and others. Physically, we may be irritated by
our teacher's voice, but psychologically we may be interested in what the lesson is about.
Alternatively, we may, on a physical level, like the teacher's diction and cadence, but
psychologically we may not like the meaning being expressed.
We are influenced, therefore, by intellectual, emotional and spiritual meaning that has become
attached to sounds, which resulted from how we experienced those sounds in childhood and
later in life. Our purpose, then, is to be aware of how sound and meaning influence us –
positively or negatively, at physical and psychological level. This is an important aspect to
consider when you are guiding children, teenagers and adults to listen for meaning.
In the context of this course of study, the definition of listening is to pay attention to audio signs
and symbols in order to understand spoken meaning: it is the combined physiological hearing
and psychological interpretation of sound as a meaningful message. Correct interpretation of
sound is usually not problematic in our native tongues, but learning another language requires
assistance – therefore some listening skills must be actively learnt.
Listening demands all the etiquette (such as respect and reliability) of the other modes of
communication, but differs from written communication in more ways than just the obvious
phonemes and graphemes mentioned in unit 2.
6.3 INFLUENCES ON THE PROCESS OF LISTENING

During language development we listen to mechanical sounds in order to understand how they
make up words, and infuse these words with meaning. Learning a language and the various
factors that influence language development can be broken up into the steps of identifying,
analysing, copying and practising, relating the sounds and meanings to other sounds/words;
and then using them creatively in speech and writing production. The following processes clarify
the various characteristics of how we listen.
6.3.1 Discriminating sounds

We begin by discriminating sounds. Table 3.1 shows various aspects that affect sounds. Each
of these must be analysed so that we can decode the meaning of something that has been said.
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Table 3.1 Sounds that play a role in speech and listening analysis
Cadence Cadence refers to modulation and inflection (tempo, rise and fall, lilt). Some
languages have significant cadence, such as English.
Lack of This refers to pauses that may be short, medium or long in duration, and
sound that indicate meaning of some kind, such as disinterest, or the fact that
someone is waiting for a response. In writing, longer pauses are usually
indicated by three stops (…), which we call an ellipsis.
Nuance Nuance is a subtle change in sound that signals meaning of some kind
(sarcasm, respect, lack of respect, mood).
Phonemes See tables 2.3 and 2.4. in unit 2.
Pitch and These refer to high or low sounds that usually indicate emotion and mood,
intensity For example, a high pitch may indicate strong emotion, such as excitement
or anger, and a low pitch may indicate sadness or a threatening tone.
Repetition For more on repetition of sound (rhyme, alliteration, assonance, etc) see
Unit 2, section 5.5.4.
Rhythm This refers to the beat (metre) in words (Coca-Cola, La La Land), phrases
and sentences (nursery rhymes and poetry are obvious examples).
Style Style refers to ways of speaking, that can be informal, semi-formal or formal.
Sometimes style of speech can indicate social class: the less educated a
person is, the more informal his or her language usually is. Style of speech
is also influenced by context or occasion such as parties, meetings,
funerals, etc. See unit 2 for more.
Syllables These refer to the emphasis placed on parts of words that assist in
pronunciation and thus help construct meaning. In less formal contexts,
words tend to have fewer syllables. In English, the higher the standard of
education, the more syllables will occur in words – especially in highly
formalised disciplines such as in the sciences.
Timbre Timbre refers to the quality of sound. Radio announcers tend to have good
voice timbre, for example, whereas damaged vocal chords have poor
timbre.
Tone The tone of voice could be positive (happy), negative (sad) or neutral.
Volume and Volume refers to soft, medium and loud sounds, ranging from a whisper
intensity (soft) to a shout (loud). Intensity refers to the emotional content of the
sound.
Keep these definitions and examples in mind when listening for meaning and as we proceed to
learn more.
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6.3.2 Recognising sounds, words and meaning
The ease with which sounds and words are recognised depends on the intelligibility of sound.
The clearer the speech and the fewer the hindrances to hearing, the better we are able to
recognise words and understand meaning. Once a word is recognised, each listening event
becomes easier – provided the sounds and meaning are sufficiently clear. When sounds
become distorted and meaning unintelligible, we may look to table 3.1 in this unit 3 to identify
which distortion has occurred. The ability to recognise sound is the first and most important
foundation for language learning. Producing accurate sound is therefore a special focus for
children when they are learning another language. This is a good moment to remind ourselves
that, when we are in doubt or want to practise sounds, we can always find out what the
standard pronunciation of a word is by referring to YouTube or Google.
Note that listening problems caused by physical circumstances such as hearing difficulties and
noise pollution must also be looked into.
Only once sounds have been interpreted can meaning be interpreted. It's also important to
remember that learning new words and concepts may adversely affect listening until familiarity
with them sets in. For example, learning a new language involves learning collocations and
idioms (see unit 2, section 2.7.2.3).
Collocations and idioms do not always make sense because of cultural differences. No amount
of careful listening will clarify all collocations and idioms. One has to rely on explanations and
memory and, in time, they may become familiar enough to use.
6.3.3 Effects of culture
Briefly, in a country such as South Africa, listeners also have to identify and recall additional
sounds (e.g. Xhosa clicks) and word structures (e.g. jingles, idioms and collocations), as well as
the unique verbal expressions of various people and groups of people, including nonverbal
expressions (body language) and utterances ("huh", "um" and so on) that support meaning.
6.3.4 Grammatical structures

When listening, we can identify various grammatical structures of words and sentences:
o prefixes and suffixes (section 2.6.1 and table 2.6 in unit 2)
o collocations (section 2.7.2.3 in unit 2)
o parts of Speech (section 6.2.6) – subject, verb, object/predicate Do you think it is section
6.6.3 in this unit 3? Help!
o standard sentence structure: (definite article: adjective) noun - verb (adverb) - (indefinite
article: adjective) noun
Grammatical structures are meta-indicators that support meaning. The standard placement of
words, the forms of words and collocations all create surety of meaning even before the
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denotational and connotational meaning of words become clear. For example, we know that the
first word in a sentence is usually a subject (a noun of some kind, e.g. "boy"), and the word that
follows, is usually a verb (an action word of some kind, e.g. "runs"). Therefore, without even
knowing the denotational or connotational meaning of the words, we know at least something
about the contextual meaning of a sentence: we know that there is a who or a what and an
action of some kind that indicates time/tense. For example: "Thabo (who) runs (action in the
present tense)." This means that grammatical structures are crucial facilitators that help
listeners establish meaning, especially in another language. Children learn language without
having been taught grammar, but they do learn grammar indirectly from the grammatical
structures that they hear in the language of others. Grammatical errors are carried over in this
way, and they are best corrected early, but only with due explanation at appropriate times and
without undue pressure.
6.3.5 Context
Often, listeners need to link sounds and words to context in order to understand meaning fully,
because there is always a connection between self and others, place, time and so forth (see
unit 1, tables 1.1 and 1.2). If the context is informal, then the language used will indicate this. If
the context is formal, then the language will tell the listener this too. Listeners pick up clues and
cues to understand meaning from language details that occur in the context of a conversation.
Any listener could become confused if someone in an informal setting spoke in a formal way –
especially very young language learners and those not familiar with the language being spoken.
6.4 STRATEGIES AND MODES USED IN THE PROCESS OF LISTENING

The terms strategies, modes (ways of doing) and processes (steps taken) are explained in the
glossaries, as are all terms central to the study of this module. Remember that the sequence of
the listening process underlies all listening events:
 hearing and remembering: identifying, analysing, copying and practising sound(s) and
words
 understanding and remembering: relating sounds and meanings to other sounds and
meanings
 remembering, evaluating and responding: listening and understanding creative speech
production in order to improve listening, learning English and ensuring intelligible
responses
The human mind uses various strategies and modes to manage listening – note the following:
 Top-down strategies (a macro point of view): This process includes listening for main
ideas, overall positive and negative meaning, prediction and inference (guessing).
 Bottom-up strategies (a micro point of view): This process includes listening for details,
recognising root words and their derivations (prefixes and suffixes that indicate further
meaning), and recognising word order patterns (collocations and grammatical structures)
that support prediction and guessing.
 Active mode listening: Ensures understanding (see section 3.5 for more).
 Passive mode listening: This means that assumptions are not clarified (see section 3.5).
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6.5 CONTEXTS THAT INFLUENCE LISTENING AND MEANING

The correct interpretation of meaning is often dependent on understanding the context. An
audience (listeners and readers) needs to take into account the role-players, the action (what is
happening), the time (when it is happening) and the place (where it is happening) to interpret
the meaning of what is heard and read correctly.
Let us think about the immediacy of spoken language. This is a significant factor in
communication that children, especially, rely on. Clarification of meaning is usually possible and
can be instant during informal and semi-formal face-to-face and one-on-one (e.g. telephonic)
conversations. When, for example, the context is speaker to seminar audience, there may be no
opportunity to ask questions and clarification of meaning becomes difficult. This is also the case
in written language, when the author is not immediately accessible. In parliamentary
discussions/debates language is not always formal, although procedure is highly formalised;
therefore, any unclear matters can be clarified.
The point of understanding context and type of listening is that, when we listen for meaning,
flexibility is required to adapt to sounds as phonemes and to the sounds of words in specific
contexts, some of which may need clarification, especially for entry and elementary level
learners. Even adult listeners can struggle to understand. For example, you may be listening to
an academic discussion that interests you, but the speaker uses new words unfamiliar to you,
such as "The poet's oeuvre must be understood in context of his milieu". In such a case you can
usually infer from the discussion and the context what the words mean, even if you do not know
the words. You may therefore guess that "oeuvre" probably means body of work and "milieu"
social and political circumstances. You may also guess, from details concerning the poet's adult
life in Paris and the way in which the words are pronounced, that the words are of French origin.
This is how context can be useful when trying to understand new words. If a context is not
available, however, then one has to resort to memory, notes and a dictionary to find meaning.
It may now have become clearer to you how reliant language learners are on clarity of
pronunciation and age-appropriate vocabulary, particularly young learners. It is thus essential to
be able to give learners tips on how their listening can be improved.
6.5.1 Active Listening

The main aims here are to listen to sound in order to pick up positive and negative meaning,
intention and reliability by actively listening for indicators embedded in sounds (table 3.1), as
well as the meaning embedded in grammar and main ideas.
It is important to recognise that different contexts require different psychological types of

listening. For example, academic debates and philosophical discourse require listening and
critical thinking. Teachers, psychologists and doctors, however, should also listen with empathy;
they need to be both evaluative and attentive listeners because they need to respond to the
emotions of their audience. It is evident, therefore, that keeping a person's fields of activity in
mind is essential, as some demand more active listening than others.
Briefly, active listening would include the following three phrases:

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 The first phase: listening for recognition of phonemes and pronunciation (mechanical
hearing and short-term memory phase), for example, r-e-d (learning phonemes and
pronunciation)
 The second phase: listening for understanding sound(s) and word(s) (medium-term
memory phase), for example, r-e-d + colour + the colour of blood + denotational meaning
(recalling phonemes, pronunciation and learning literal meaning)
 The third phase: listening to serve long-term memory, recall, and metalinguistic and
creative interpretation, for example, r-e-d, colour, blood + connotation of "medical
assistance" and "safety" – the Red Cross is most active in war zones. In this example
recall concerning connotation must now be added to the phonemes, pronunciation and
denotation that have been remembered.
Obviously, not all words are learned as phonemes, graphemes, pronunciation and
meaning at the same time. The learning process is not linear and sequential, which
means that learners will find themselves at different levels of listening ability. Therefore,
sensitivity to age-appropriate learning and cultural differences is the best practice for
encouraging language learning and development.
Activity 3.1
Do children listen differently from teenagers? Why? Why not?
Example of an answer: My ideas are that in general, teenagers, due to their changing
physiological and psychological changes, find themselves in flux … no longer immature and not
yet mature. They no longer listen mostly for instructions and guidance, because they are in
transition and believe that they are supposed to have the knowledge to begin making choices
with more consideration for themselves and others. Teenagers become opinion-seekers about
worldly matters compared to children, who have not gained sufficient independence and
maturity to do so. Consequently, speakers must take teenagers' changing frames of reference
into account for listening purposes. Teenagers no longer listen with the same trust as children
do.
6.5.2 Passive listening

In this case, the listener is only engaged in minimal listening. Passive listening occurs in
situations that do not require active listening, as when one is watching a TV program that does
not require deep thinking. It can also happen during a lecture when listening is suspended for
the purpose of thinking.
This brings us to the next point, which is that understanding depends on language intelligibility.
Even during passive listening, one should be able to understand what is being said, and this
depends on the type and quality of sound expressed; appropriateness of meaning expressed;
intention and perception; and context.
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6.6 LISTENING AND THE INFLUENCE OF SOUND

6.6.1 Diction
Google explains that diction refers to the choice and use of words. Enunciation, articulation,
locution, pronunciation, speech, speech patterns, manner of speaking, intonation and inflection
all combine to make speaking intelligible to an audience.
An example of poor diction might be: "Mebbe she wanna go meet the prez tamarra." This kind
of informal speech would be inappropriate in a meeting but, while poor diction, these words may
be understood well enough by the speaker's friends. Poor diction is a major cause of listening
difficulties. A common reaction is "I just switched off!" or "I just stopped listening!" (See unit 1,
tables 1.3 and 1.4.)
6.6.2 Pronunciation
Pronunciation, accent and style may vary depending on who the audience is. Students usually
use informal, colloquial and unique pronunciation amongst themselves, whereas they tend to
upgrade to a pronunciation closer to standard language and to a semi-formal style when
speaking to their teachers. In each case the change is appropriate. It would be inappropriate to
use street jargon when speaking to someone who would not easily be able to interpret it.
6.6.2.1 Pronunciation rules

Like grammar rules, pronunciation rules support intelligibility and facilitate successful
listening. For example, certain sounds facilitate correct pronunciation:
Words ending in "-s" are easier to pronounce as –
o z when the word ends in a voiced sound, as in "rags", "rods" and "kids"
o s when the word ends in a voiceless sound, as in "attempts" and "cliffs"
o iz when the word ends in a hissing or buzzing sound, as in "races", "buses" and
"prizes"
Words ending in ed are easier to pronounce as –
o id when the word ends in t or d, as in "wanted" = want-id

o d when the word ends in a voiced sound, as in "ruled" = rool-d
o t when the word ends in a voiceless sound, as in "hoped" = h-oh-pt
Learning phonetic alphabets can therefore help us differentiate sounds (unit 2, tables 2.7 and
2.8)
6.6.2.2 Syllables
Syllables are important indicators of how a word should be pronounced to support
correct pronunciation and the interpretation of meaning, and thus also successful
listening. A syllable is a segment of pronunciation in a word that includes a vowel.
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6.6.3 Syllabic stress, parts of speech and meaning
When syllables are correctly used, they provide clues about whether a homonym is a noun or a
verb in order to support listening for understanding. See for example table 3.2.
Table 3.2 Syllabic stress indicates noun and verb function
Noun Verb
envelope envelop
content content
present present
project project
Rebel rebel
record record
For nouns, the emphasis usually falls on the first syllable, and for verbs on the second syllable.
Homographs require particular attention, as they are not pronounced in the same way but look
the same. When listening to words, context will usually dictate which meaning is appropriate.
For example:
o A famous boat race takes place between the Oxford and Cambridge universities
every year, and the oarsmen must row very hard. In this case the homograph is
pronounced as "r-oh".
o The lovers had a very upsetting row. This homograph must be pronounced as "r-
ow" (as in "cow").
Homographs are best learned quickly to facilitate listening and prevent misunderstandings.
6.6.4 Emphasis on words to indicate meaning

When listening, one is usually alert to changes in sound. Certain words are emphasised to
direct attention to meaning. For example, "Do not go there! It is dangerous!" The emphasis
must be placed on "… not … there … dangerous", because if the emphasis were to be placed
on "Do … go …", the listener would probably misunderstand and land in danger. Sometimes
words are emphasised to create nuance; the listener is directed to the connotative meaning of
something through the tone the speaker uses – tone which can indicate sadness, sarcasm,
irony and so on.
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6.6.5 Accents
Accents can be stumbling blocks to listening for meaning, especially in a multi-cultural society,
which is why intelligibility should be a focal point in encouraging academic progress. If an oral
tradition, as those found in Africa, is a strong indicator of good listening skills and thus language
learning, then accents should be carefully monitored for intelligibility, as awareness of them
could accelerate language learning.
6.6.6 Sound that obscures meaning
Meaning can be enhanced or obstructed by factors such as the following:
6.6.6.1 Unfamiliar sounds

Understanding and acceptance of meaning is negatively affected by unfamiliar sounds
such as accents, strange topics, colloquialisms, poor use of cohesive devices such as
conjunctions, and poor grammar. Exposure to a variety of sounds is helpful to encourage
language learning.
6.6.6.2 Unpleasant sounds
Sound and words can become counterproductive when unpleasant sounds are used or
the speaker's diction is inappropriate, for example should a poem be recited in loud
sounds and exaggerated style when the subject concerns something gentle such as the
beauty and wonder of nature. This may lead to rejection of the reading, no matter how
correct the pronunciation.
6.6.7 Intention and the influence of listening habits
A speaker's intention is always to have his or her words and their meaning accepted. The
listener's intention is to understand the meaning.
Language barriers may create unintentional obstacles such as the following:

 A lack of training and practice in listening skills can contribute to poor listening,
even though the listener's intention might be good. Poor listening skills can be
unlearned, however, by focussing on helpful listening skills.
 Fake listening or not clarifying meaning can also lead to a lack of understanding
and, eventually, to serious listening problems and misunderstandings.
 Bad listening habits may also stem from psychological factors such as fear, anger
and depression.
Africa has a strong oral tradition, therefore listening has always played an important part in
learning and understanding. Using learning tools such as listening comprehension could
therefore provide a strong indication of whether or not English has been learned successfully
in our multicultural milieu.
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6.6.8 Context, audience, appropriateness and modality of expressions
6.6.8.1 Context and audience appropriateness

As we saw in tables 1.2–1.4 in unit 1, context and audience are very important determinants in
selecting pronunciation, style and vocabulary in order to express meaning clearly. A number of
considerations apply when we decide on the appropriateness of language, such as the field, the
context and the age of the audience. Listening may be unsuccessful if it is obstructed by even
one of the following aspects in the process.
6.6.8.2 Modality of expressions

For listeners, modal verbs serve to indicate the purpose of an action. Each modal verb provides
key meaning about the kind of action to be expected. In addition to information about
time/tense, quantity and possession, the modality of verbs adds meaning relating to whether a
command or instruction is being given, advice is being sought, a request is being made, or
permission is being asked. It also informs us regarding affect, possibility and probability.
Table 3.3 The purpose of modal verbs
Command Must You must catch the thief!
Should You should report for duty by 10:00!
Instruction Should You should use your left foot first.
Advice Should You should try it. You may like it.
Would You would like it. Try it.
Request and May May I bring a friend?

request
Could Could you do that for me?
permission
Would Would you do that for me?
Affect, e.g. Must Must you do that! (rhetorical question)

irritation
Must I come? Must I come now?
(Tone plays a
role when
emotion is
stronger than
usual.)
Probability May I may want to go, as it is a good show.

(50% or more
chance of He may go to the dance with you if you ask him.
something
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happening)
Would I think he would go to the dance if you asked him.
He would have gone to the dance if you had

asked him.
Could He could go. Ask him! (probability + advice)
He could have gone to the dance if you had given

him enough notice.
Possibility Might I might not want to go if it rains.
(Less than 50% "Might" is not used for asking permission.

chance of
something "Might I go with you?" is used to ask "Is it possible
happening)
that I can go with you?" whereas "May I go with
you?" is used to ask permission.
Add other examples that come to mind.
Activity 3.2
What do you think parents mean when they say, "Why are you not listening to me?"
Example of an answer: They mean "You must obey."

Do parents want an answer? No, they want children to obey.
How would you change this "question" when expecting your child or any child to "listen"?
6.6.8.3 Politeness
A listener checks whether or not a speaker is being appropriately polite. One would request
permission in a polite way in the presence of authority: "May I …", whereas "Can I …" is used in
informal situations. Strictly speaking "Can I …" is incorrect, as "can" refers to ability/inability,
which is inappropriate when one clearly can but possibly may not. In speech, though, almost
everything is possible if one is not too concerned about others' perceptions. See table 3.3 for
some examples of differences in cultural politeness.
A good listener identifies meaning in the cues and clues embedded in language. Some linguists
can, through language analysis, even identify the place where one was born. This is the subject
of a famous movie called my My Fair Lady, which shows how pronunciation and accent can
contribute to oppression of "class in society".
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Modal verbs must correctly express meaning to enable listener comprehension. Modal verbs
and conjunctions are useful to listeners as they contribute to cohesion across units of meaning,
supporting coherence and thus intelligible language.
Activity 3.3
Do some research: Complete the table below by asking friends and acquaintances to fill
in an example from their culture and to mention connotations (if any), as was done for
point (1).
Table 3.3 Cultural effects – expressions of politeness in the 11 South African

languages
Languages Politeness Connotations

alphabetically
1 Afrikaans It is still considered polite to The connotation related to respect.

address elders and superiors as
"u" rather than as "jy".
2 English
3 Ndebele
4 Northern Sotho
5 Sotho
6 Swazi
7 Tsonga
8 Tswana
9 Venda
10 Xhosa
11 Zulu
6.6.9 Listening skills and cultural differences: sounds

Cultural differences embedded in the 11 official South African languages point to the need for
paying close attention to learning and teaching pronunciation and listening skills. On the plus
side, cultural differences tend to compel speakers to pay attention to their own diction for the
sake of listeners. Training to listen for key words, for example, is essential in a multilingual
society.
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We must remember that listening to standard English audio-recordings for oral drills, for
example, and recording learner progress, are also important in this context. As adult learners,
brushing up our listening skills by practising pronunciation also supports our tertiary education
and promotes our career progression.
6.6.10 Listening skills and cultural differences: meaning

Denotative and connotative meaning is addressed in section 2.7.2 of unit 2. For our purposes in
addressing listening skills, however, we need to be aware that there are variations in language
structure and meaning, so that we will listen and speak with an understanding of cultural
differences and of how different people might understand the same word.
6.6.11 Perception and influence of sounds

The study of the human perception of sound is called psychoacoustics. Not only do we hear
mechanically, but our perceptions are determined by many additional factors when listening.
Being aware of all these possibilities in interpretation of meaning is not an easy task in our
"rainbow nation"; we therefore need to be sensitive and patient, especially as teachers and
learners.
6.7 THE IMPACT OF GRAMMAR ON LISTENING COMPREHENSION

We shall now look in greater detail at how words can provide powerful support and clues that
support listening when the rules of grammar are applied correctly.
6.7.1 Listener and reader awareness of the context of time
When the time relationship among words is not clear, grammatical tense structure fails, logic is
absent and meaning is lost. The audience can become confused and the message may be
rejected: it is never the responsibility of the listener to guess what the communicator means.
The grammar rule for time in sentence structures has only one exception: In a sentence, when
the first verb refers to the past tense, all subsequent verbs must refer to the past tense except
when it is not logical to do so. This requires some critical thinking.
Read the following example of a sentence, its clauses and intended meaning:
First (clause): The building was erected in 1920.

Second (clause): It took five years to complete.
Third (clause): It was a worthwhile project.
Final (clause): It is of great historical value.
Rule: The first clause is in the past tense (1920), therefore every clause thereafter should
be in the past tense.
However, the exception appears in the final clause: The logical ending is that the building
is still of great value – therefore logically the sentence cannot be in the past tense, but
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must be changed to the present tense to make sense. (If the building were no longer of
great value, the verb was would have been appropriate.)
The intended sentence should therefore read:
"The building was erected in 1920 [past] and took five years to complete [past], but it
was a worthwhile project [past] because it is of great historical value [now]."
Ensure that listeners and readers are given the correct time context.
In all other cases, the present tense may be followed by any tense and the future tense
may be followed by any tense, provided it is logical. Check any sentence in this study
guide as an example of establishing time accurately.
6.7.2 Listener and reader awareness of the context of quantity

When the quantitative relationship among words is unclear, sentence structure fails, logic is
absent and meaning is lost. The audience will become confused and the message could be
rejected.
Here are some helpful explanations for clarifying quantity.
The examples in table 3.4 indicate the following:
o The noun and its related verb must be established first. In table 3.4 the nouns and
verbs are "bowl(s)" and "contain(s)".
o For finite verbs, add an s for singular, but do not add an s for a plural noun.
o For infinite verbs (to + verb), no s is ever necessary.
o For modal verbs (must, should, would, could etc), no s is necessary.
Table 3.4 When must a verb end in an s?

Article/ Noun singular Noun Noun Noun Verb for the related Verb for the Noun
adjective plural singular plural singular noun ends related plural
in s noun does not end
in s
Subject Predicate
Verb + object
The bowl of the dog contains water
The bowl of the dogs contains water
The bowl of the dog of the dogs is to contain water
The bowl of the dog of the dogs must contain water
The bowls of the dog contain water
The bowls of the dogs contain water
The bowls of the dogs are to contain water
The bowls of the dog of the dogs must contain water
The dog's bowl contains water
The dogs' bowl contains water
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The dogs' dogs' bowl is to contain water

The dog's dogs' bowl must contain water
The dog's bowls contain water
The dogs' bowls contain
The dog's/dogs' bowls are to contain water
The dog's/dogs' bowls must contain
6.7.3 Listener and reader awareness of quantity and the possessive case: What belongs
to whom?
The main rules are that
 when a noun is singular, the possessive is formed by adding an apostrophe and an s:

dog's bowl
 when the noun is plural, the possessive is formed by adding an apostrophe only:
dogs' bowl and businesses'
 when the singular or plural noun ends on an s, the same applies: bus's engine and
buses' engines.
 when the noun ends on more than one s, add only an apostrophe: singular business'
image and plural businesses' image
Table 3.4 illustrates how the possessive case must be used, and how it must not interfere with
singular/plural noun/verb relationships. The focus must fall on which word relates specifically to
which word in order to use its correct form.
6.7.4 Listeners and readers and the support of appropriate conjunctions

The purpose of conjunctions is to join phrases and clauses to indicate that certain kinds of
information or reasoning will follow. When sentences contain appropriate conjunctions, the
language is cohesive, thus supporting coherence of meaning. A listener should be alert to
conjunctions, as they are indicators of the meaning to come; if conjunctions are used
incorrectly, then the listener or reader might be misled.
To choose appropriate wording one should first establish whether one's speech or text will be
predominantly informational or to do with reasoning. Advertisements seek to persuade, but
advertising copy is mostly informational and seldom contains explicit reasoning. For example,
"because" is almost never used as a form of persuasion in advertising. Influence usually occurs
through hype-words, images and graphics rather than by means of persuasive academic
argument. By contrast, academic writing relies heavily on reasoning to support specific points of
view.
Table 3.5 will help you choose appropriate conjunctions. These have been divided into two
categories.
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Table 3.5 Providing information or reasoning
Informational Reasoning
and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet: accordingly, consequently, hence,
conjunctions for independent clauses then, therefore, thus
also, besides, furthermore, likewise, however, nevertheless, nonetheless,

moreover, meanwhile still, conversely, instead, otherwise,
rather
as . . . as, just as . . . so, both . . . and, because, since, so that, in order (that),
why
hardly . . . when, scarcely . . . when
either . . . or, neither . . . nor, since, till, until, when, whenever, while
if . . . then, not . . . but, what with . . . and
whether . . . or,
not only . . . but also, no sooner . . . than, than, as much as, whereas
rather . . . than
though, although, even though, while
if, only if, unless, until, provided that
after, as long as, as soon as, before, by

the time, now that, once
that, what, whatever, which, whichever,
who, whoever, whom, whomever, whose
how, as though, as if, where, wherever
6.7.5 The purpose of punctuation and pauses for speaker, listener, reader and writer
The function of punctuation that creates pauses is to make language easier to understand, as
they signal:
 units of meaning
 a list of words
 a question that requires answering.
 high emotion, need for attention and in speech "insinuation"
 elaboration of meaning
 someone else's words (quotation marks)
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Writing hint
Until you know how to use commas correctly, be kind to your reader and use them minimally,
perhaps only for separating words (listing). Students tend to use the Oxford comma incorrectly,
which becomes a hindrance to flow of reading and understanding. It is also visually unpleasant
to see excessive commas all over a text.
6.7.6 Listener understanding of gender, parts of speech as listening clues
Information regarding gender is imparted through proper nouns and pronouns, which function
as cohesive devices because they link meaning across words. For example, in the previous
sentence the subject "proper nouns and pronouns" is linked in meaning to the second part of
the sentence by means of the pronoun "they". Pronouns serve to avoid repetition, which could
become boring, and refer back and forward to link sentences (thus playing a cohesive role).
Pronouns
Personal he, she, it, they
Possessive his, hers, its, theirs
Objective him, her, them
Demonstrative this, that, these, those
Relative who, which, whose, when, where, whom
Reflexive himself, herself, itself, themselves
Contrary to some languages, in English a name or common noun is not followed by a pronoun:
"Mrs Shangu is tall" is correct English grammar, whereas "Mrs Shangu she is tall" would be
incorrect in English.
6.7.7 Listener understanding of comparisons
Comparisons are one of the most powerful devices for expressing meaning and argument in
discourse. They clarify meaning for listeners and readers, and they persuade. There are three
ways to enlighten listeners and readers when making comparisons:
Ordinary adjectival function: good

Direct comparative function: better, more … etcetera
Indirect and superlative function: best, most … etcetera
For example:
"Airplanes are faster than cars." (fact)
"Airplanes are not the fastest vehicles made on earth. Rockets are." (fact)
"Mercedes Benz cars are faster than BMWs." Is this fact or belief/opinion/fiction? Only scientific
proof can determine whether or not this comparison is fact or fiction. Superlatives must be
provable to be accepted as fact.
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One can compare two famous people in terms of their physical and other attributes by using
direct and indirect comparisons. For example:
"Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela fought for freedom. They were small and thin, tall and
muscular, but head and shoulders above all. Prison freed them. They wrote and read until it was
time to die for freedom. One did and the other did not."
Clearly, listeners and readers would need to have sufficient knowledge about the two men to
enable them to understand the intended meaning. This is especially true for new language
learners and children.
6.8 CONCLUSION
In unit 3 we added to our knowledge of language by exploring the importance of listening, the
fact that listening is influenced by purpose, the various influences on the listening process,
listening strategies and modes, contexts that influence listening, sounds that influence listening,
and the impact of grammar on listening comprehension. One can only imagine the chaos that
would ensue should listening not be performed attentively, especially in view of the fact that not
everyone speaks correctly or says what they mean directly. So when one listens well and still
cannot understand, it would be fair to ask for clarification or assistance of some kind.
6.9 REFERENCES
REFERENCES
Bailey, S. 2015. Academic writing: a handbook for international students. 4th edition.
London: Routledge.
Horne, F & Heineman, G. English in perspective. 2003. Cape Town: Oxford University
Press.
Janks, H, Dixon, K, Ferreira A, Granville S & Newfield, D. 2014. Doing critical literacy.
New York. Routledge.
Wyse, D, Jones, R, Bradford, H & Wolpert, MA. 2013. Teaching English language and
literacy. London: Routledge.
6.10 GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
strategies – proven ways of dealing more easily with language matters

context –the circumstances forming the background to a situation, an event etc
appropriate – suitable for use in a language context
influence – effect on a language matter
intention – an active purpose involving language
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comprehension –understanding of language
Note: Where applicable provide at least one reference from reliable research to
demonstrate that your thinking has been critical and to substantiate your point of view.
You could refer to the sources quoted in this study guide and/or other reliable sources
of interest to you. Use the Harvard Generator on Google and click on References in
the menu at the top of your Word document to ensure that you are recording the correct
referencing format according to Unisa's standard of referencing.
SELF-ASSESSMENT
Identify the number of answers required in each question to ensure all the answers are
given. You may use section 9.3.7 of unit 6, "Academic writing at tertiary level", as
guidance regarding writing structure.
3(a) Now that you are an adult, which language strategies and modes do you use
more, and why?
Example of an answer: Now that I am an adult, when speaking I ask more
questions than I used to as a young adult. Maybe I now at last understand the
value of questions that children, wisely, use so often. I am also enjoying the mode
of writing to a much greater extent than before, because I find it helps me to
clarify my thoughts and meaning. It is no use just writing though; I make a point of
writing as economically and comprehensively as possible to save time and
provide accurate and easy reading.
3(b) Do you pay attention to your diction? Why?

Example of an answer: Yes. Firstly, good diction was aspired to at the schools
that I attended, and secondly, because I see no point in speaking just to be
misunderstood because of poor diction.
3(c) Critical language awareness exercise: First look at the rule for using the past
tense in section 6.7.1 and then answer the question:
secti
on Complete the sentence by adding the logical verbs and tenses: Mirriam Makeba
6.7.1 … born in Johannesburg in 1932 and … a foremost jazz and AfroPop singer. She
… much beloved worldwide.
We shall now proceed to unit 4 to extend our knowledge about reading for meaning.
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7 UNIT4: READING FOR MEANING
Unit 4 focuses on strategies for improving comprehension when reading and analysing texts.
This is helpful not only for academic purposes but also for reading and understanding most
texts.
Outcome 1
understand how to improve comprehension when reading.
Assessment criteria for Outcome 1: Students shall explain and apply the strategies that
facilitate reading and textual analysis.
Carefully read through the following sections in this prescribed textbook.

Wyse, et al. (2013). Teaching English Language and Literacy. Part 3, Chapters 9-14.
7.1 INTRODUCTION
To gain perspective and establish a macro overview, in this unit we link the concept of reading
for meaning to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. We do this because reading usually focuses on
interests that align with our needs. Of course, the progression of psychological needs is not
always completely linear – often there will be some overlapping of needs and desires, especially
in affluent societies, where progress from one level to the next happens more quickly because
of abundant resources. It is a sad truth that poorer societies are forced to focus on the basic
need to survive, rather than needs to do with self-fulfilment. Maslow's hierarchy of needs
suggests that certain needs correspond with the following stages of self-development:
Stage 1 physiological needs: food, water, shelter
Stage 2 safety: security and stability
Stage 3 relationships: family, friends, social and authority
Stage 4 self-esteem: ambition, achievement and recognition
Stage 5 self-actualisation: creative and spiritual fulfilment
Because human beings never stop developing and evolving, and because our needs are
constantly changing, we should always be reading to improve our chances of achieving the
ultimate goal of self-actualisation.
Key terms in this chapter are: nature of reading, purpose of reading, reading as a process,
reading as a lifeskill, reading and comprehension strategies, and reading and textual analysis.
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7.2 THE NATURE, PURPOSE AND PROCESS OF READING

7.2.1 The Nature of Reading
The nature of reading is influenced by both internal and external factors:
 internal factors: physiological (cognitive, linguistic), and psychological (mental and

emotional associations and connections)
 external factors: authors and readers, environment (sociocultural), and materials
The nature of reading is influenced by language research development (improved ways of

learning) and technological development (improved materials such as the Kindle" [mini library]
that facilitate mobility).
The Pocket Oxford dictionary suggests that reading is a stimulating mental process of reception,
comprehension and interpretation. Reading is the physical and psychological interaction
between an author's words and an audience's interpretation of the author's words. Cognitive
theorist, Kenneth Goodman, refers to reading as a psycholinguistic guessing game, and Jean
Piaget characterises it as a process of assimilation (during which existing knowledge and new
experiences are incorporated into the reader’s memory) and accommodation (as existing
knowledge is adapted as a result of new experiences).
This can be done mechanically (e.g. by practising pronunciation) and sometimes relatively
passively (reading a story for the "millionth" time, as children do, for enjoyment without much
thought), actively (with excitement, interest and critical thinking to discover new ideas), and with
or without sound (aloud or silently). However, the more consciously we read, the more our
critical thinking is engaged and the more we expand our minds, our consciousness and our
appreciation of our place in the world.
From a micro point of view, reading is a cognitive process involving the pattern recognition of
sounds and words (including similarities and differences) and sentences (such as collocations);
phases of memory-making from recognition to creative thinking; schemata formation (word and
meaning development based on knowledge and experience gained in life); visualisation;
attitudes; ambitions; perceptions; experience; and external influences. These characteristics
and elements indicate that reading is an active process that makes sense of various stimuli.
7.2.2 The purpose of reading

The purpose of reading entails both internal and external aspirations:
 internal aspirations: physiological and psychological self-development

 external aspirations: education, role model, career, social responsibilities
The reading process is influenced by internal and external facilitators and stressors.
Reading facilitates listening, speaking and writing, and thereby supports the intake of
knowledge and language learning, which culminates in an expression of self and of one's
understanding of the world. We can seldom fully know our world or the nature of our existence
without reading and being open to the new information reading offers us. The Inuit in Alaska
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may only know and understand about the South African springbok by reading books,
magazines, and newspapers and yes, perhaps also by watching movies and television. We
read words and pictures as signs and symbols that we have learned to understand in
denotational and connotational form.
Reading also has psychological value, because it pushes us to experience new mental and
emotional situations through which we discover things about ourselves and others that we may
never meet. Reading must therefore be done using critical thinking skills and with discretion,
because sometimes we will be exposed to ideas we may not agree with. Reading is therefore
an important lifeskill that should not be underestimated. For example, note the directive in the
following extract:
If developing countries aim to produce independent learners, then serious attention will need to
be given to improving the reading skills of students and to creating a culture of reading. Reading
is not simply an additional tool that students need at tertiary level – it constitutes the very
process whereby learning occurs" (Pretorius 2000:169–196)
It is therefore clear that reading fosters learning – about our world and ourselves, and about
others with whom we share the planet. It is also important to remember that different people
come from various sociocultural backgrounds, and that reading and interpretation can help to
"close the gap", as it can reveal to us how others see and experience things. Because of this,
reading encourages psychological bonding. One sees this familiarity and ease of interaction
among students who attend the same school and who have shared similar reading experiences,
not only on a subject level but also through expressing their interpretations of texts.
7.2.3 The process of reading
The process of reading entails the following internal and external factors:
 internal factors: physiological (cognitive, linguistic) and psychological, including

experience
 External factors: role-players such as parents, siblings, friends, peers, teachers,
and authors; materials, including experience in using texts and visuals; and
linguistic aspects such as research and environment
The reading process is influenced by internal and external facilitators and stressors.
Reading is learned and comprehended from the bottom up, in other words by beginning with the
smallest units (signs and symbols – sounds, alphabets and words), and from top down
(meaning-making based on context, experience and words in relation to self, author and world).
Some theorists see the process as the strictly sequential learning of visual lexical stages
(logographic, alphabetic and orthographic stages), whereas others believe that a number of
processes and stages contribute to reading. Some theorists have provided insight into the
interactive reading processes between text, previous knowledge, experience, and the reader's
own set of memories – all of which play a part in interpreting meaning. In short, many levels of
intake, analysis and interpretation constantly come into play during the different phases of
reading (decoding, reasoning, accepting, rejecting, confirmation and full incorporation), until the
next new reading-learning cycle comes about. Frequency of usage (familiarity) can be
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productive if intake occurs correctly, but counterproductive (habit-formation) if intake occurs

incorrectly. By intake we mean the interpretation of the reading material.
Little is known about the intuitive nature of reading, even though the sociocultural, cognitive,
and linguistic systems readers use to make sense of print are largely intuitive. For example, few
people are aware that they use their life experiences to interpret texts, and that, even as life
experiences differ from reader to reader and from community to community, so too do
interpretations of a given text. Similarly, few are aware that when they are reading about
statistics, they understand the phrase "all the figures on the right-hand side of the table" to
mean numerals in rows and columns, but that when they are reading about crafts, they
understand the same phrase to mean figurines on a piece of furniture (Commission 2004).
Connectionists point out that frequency in usage of words is a significant factor in reading
proficiency. Higher-level reading theories suggest that, as reading proficiency develops through
usage frequency and familiarity, literature should be read that delves into deeper areas of
thought, such as the meaning of life. This higher-level reading expands the reader's self-
knowledge and understanding.
From a holistic point of view, it makes sense that the processes involved in reading occur at
various levels of brain and psychological functioning. This relates well to the schemata theory of
process (Anderson et al 1977) in that fuller meaning comes over time after all sources have
been chosen, adapted, incorporated and accepted into the mind like puzzle pieces that create a
bigger picture. Such a point of view shows how reading, learning and understanding form part of
a never-ending process.
As students we read a lot, because reading and studying offers us the opportunity to practise
language and discover new knowledge. To enjoy reading, however, we must follow the dictates
of our mental processes. Children may end up disliking reading because they have not been
given the opportunity to read, as required by the brain and mind. There are various reasons for
this, poverty being only one.
One of the factors that inhibit reading is the false notion that a first reading must result in
immediate understanding. Unless a reader is gifted, or very experienced, most readers do not
immediately and comprehensively understand a text on the first reading. Students sometimes
try to short-circuit the physical reading process by cramming for exams. If you do this on a
regular basis, you may lose the ability to understand what you are reading and become a
frustrated and unhappy reader. In order to help an unhappy reader become a happy reader,
keep in mind that processing improves with combinatory play. You should therefore connect the
reading processes to other sensory processes such as visuals, sounds, music, and play
contexts such as narrator reading for miming, free play and other kinds of children's acting
practices. Generate play that stimulates your imagination. Provide solo-volunteer, pair and
group contexts. For example, reading a play is good processing practise for listening, speaking
and writing. In so doing, assimilation and accommodation will be enhanced because you will
make more mental, emotional and spiritual associations in a context-rich environment.
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As we said above, various levels of processing occur during reading through the following
memory phases of processing:
 Skim-reading. The first important memory phase is skim-reading, during which you
should allow your eyes and brain to recognise letters and words (this uses short-term
memory).
 Scanning. The next step in the process requires more concentrated reading, such as
scanning for main ideas and fillings in gaps in meaning (this uses medium-term memory).
 In-depth reading. The third phase involves deeper reading, focusing on coherence for
fuller comprehension of the meaning of the text, and relating that meaning to your own
life and world-view (this uses long-term memory). New signs and symbols constantly
enter our memory, and so each new intake needs time for sequential processing.
Because of the quantity of signs and symbols that need to be processed as well as the
quality of various memory processes – which may be affected by various internal and
external pressures (physical, psychological or circumstantial) – it stands to reason that
vocabulary development can be put under too much stress. Consideration must be given
to the process to avoid negative effects. It is noteworthy that the more critical thinking is
involved in the later phases that use long-term memory processing, the more creative
one's understanding of the text may become, because more ideas come to mind. If,
however, the earlier recognition phase is dealt with impatiently or too quickly, the text will
not be understood and the next phases of reading will not produce good comprehension.
This could result in readers falling behind in comprehension. It is a given that some
children will recognise symbols less quickly than others, but if the initial recognition phase
is supported, the later comprehension of the text is almost ensured. Then again, some
children may recognise symbols quickly but be slower in comprehending the meaning of
a text, perhaps due to lack of experience in the topic. Each phase may have its own
difficulties, but the recognition phase of reading remains critical in that, if a child does not
learn how to navigate it, poor recognition skills can create life-long frustration.
Statistics on the literacy rate in South Africa can be researched on the internet.
To summarise:
 Reading is a complex linguistic process involving our physical and psychological nature.
 It has purpose.
 It is more than a two-way process.
 It is mainly active.
 It is governed by sequential memory-processing phases in respect of each new sign and
symbol.
It is subject to a number of influences that encourage or block understanding.
7.3 INFLUENCES ON READING
Reading entails a number of different influences:

 internal: physiological and psychological
 external: authors and readers, environment, and materials
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The process of reading is influenced by various phenomena, for example language research
development (improved ways of learning) and technological development (improved materials
such as the "Kindle" [mini library] that facilitate mobility), which affect how we read without our
even knowing it.
When we think about reading and teaching reading, we need to be aware that some readers
may want to read but may not have learned how to read well, and others may be capable of
reading but be unenthusiastic about it. Because of this we need to think about the various
factors that influence people's experiences concerning reading.
7.3.1 Influences on the nature of reading
The nature of reading may be influenced in various ways by physiological factors such as
quality of eye-sight and hearing, and poor learning of phonics and the alphabet (decoding
deficits), which can prevent full use of reading strategies.
The following excerpt explains the relationship between phonological skills and reading:
(Wilsenach 2013:17–32):
The relationship between phonological skills and reading has not been
studied extensively in the African languages spoken in South Africa.
This study focuses on phonological skills and reading in emergent
bilingual Northern Sotho/English learners. Fifty Grade 3 learners (all
native speakers of Northern Sotho) were tested on non-word repetition
skills, syllable awareness, phonological working memory and reading.
The learners fell into two groups: group 1 attended a school where
English was the medium of instruction from the first grade, while group
2 attended a school where literacy instruction took place in Northern
Sotho for the first three years of schooling. The results indicate that
there is a significant correlation between phonological skills and
reading in Northern Sotho. Furthermore, group 2 performed
significantly better on all of the phonological measures (with the
exception of phonological working memory) and reading measures.
The findings suggest that a complete lack of mother tongue instruction
can influence phonological and literacy development negatively. The
study also suggests that the absence of mother tongue literacy
instruction causes stagnation in the development of phonological
processing skills in the mother tongue.
Moreover, from a psychological perspective, reading may be influenced by age, gender,

experience, IQ, EQ, SQ, relationship dynamics, attitudes to reading, expectations of role-
players, personal circumstances, and socio-cultural influences. External influences may relate to
the quantity and quality of texts that are available, the existence of role models who read,
access to materials including multi-media and positive environments (quiet libraries), and
negative environments (under-stimulation and over-stimulation in places from people and noise
pollution).
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7.3.2 Influences of the process on reading
The process of reading does not occur in a vacuum. The following factors come into play:
 internal: physiological and psychological factors
 external: Role-players such as parents, siblings, friends, peers, teachers, and
authors; materials; and research and environment
Influences on the process are internal and external facilitators and stressors.
Internal aspects of the reading process may be influenced in different ways through
developments in language research (new ways of learning) and technological development
(materials such as "Kindle" or mini-libraries that facilitate exposure to reading materials and
involve lighter, easier mobility).
External influences are many. Reading materials must be age and learning-level appropriate for
children, teenagers and adults. It is normal for readers to progress at different rates at different
times at different stages. These differences must be sensitively accounted for, so that learners
do not develop antipathy to reading, which could affect their learning in all subjects.
Writers also contribute to how well readers are able to read a text. The writer's
language and knowledge of the topic as well as skill in using written language influence
the reader's ability to construct meaning. The degree to which readers and writers
share the same understanding of the language and the topic of the text influences how
well they communicate with each other (Commission 2004).
Note also that environmental factors not conducive to learning and therefore to reading include
poor classroom conditions such as overcrowding and insufficient and inappropriate materials.
Role-players may not have sufficient knowledge on a number of levels, such as how to manage
classrooms, courses of study, learners and their learning. Lack of knowledge about nature,
process, methods, techniques and strategies can cause reading and learning failure. Poor time
management of learning designated for assessments can also result in stress and performance
failure.
We can learn from the following insights (Lessing 2008):
This article reflects on an investigation into the barriers that hinder Zulu-speaking
English second language (L2) learners in the Foundation Phase from acquiring
reading and writing skills. These barriers are categorised as contextual, language,
school and intrinsic learner factors. A questionnaire based on these categories was
completed by teachers in the Foundation Phase in schools in and around Durban to
determine to what extent teachers' experiences concur with the barriers identified in
the literature on the subject. Several significant relationships were found between the
various variables which contribute to the problems L2 learners experience in
acquiring English reading and writing skills: poor socioeconomic environments, lack of
parental involvement, low educational level of parents, cognitive factors and various
language, school and intrinsic factors.
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7.3.3 Influences of purpose on reading

The following purposes influence reading:
 internal purposes: physiological and psychological self-development

 external aspirations: education, role model, career, social responsibilities
The process is influenced by internal and external facilitators and stressors. Note the
following purposes:
 Physiological purposes may include the desire to improve mental function and the
capacity for intake (knowledge) and output (performance). Remember, the more
vocabulary one internalises, the more one can understand the world.
 Psychological purposes of reading could include ambition and interest, such as
gaining knowledge for outwitting business competitors and learning chess-move
strategies (think of the movie Queen of Katwe). Apart from a desire to sharpen
their wits, humans need entertainment, and the quality and quantity of available
texts are thus astounding. We know that the diversity of people in the world
demands a diversity of texts, and luckily there are enough different books to
appeal to everyone. Knowledge expansion and reading are on the rise in South
Africa and worldwide because of accessibility to the huge internet repository of
texts. Of course, Africa also has a strong oral tradition, and finding a balance
between the written tradition of the West and the oral tradition of Africa comes with
its challenges.
 Academically, the purpose of reading for students, partners, parents, siblings,
friends, peers, teachers, and friends is to become well-rounded and actualised
(Maslow and Jung's final phases of human development) individuals. This is
encouraged through exposure to increasingly advanced reading that provides
knowledge enabling readers to develop competencies to help them perform in the
workplace and the world.
We also need to be aware of the fact that readers develop reader identities. We tell one
another what books we have read and want to read, what we found interesting and why.
A reader identity is in itself an implicit and explicit awareness of one's language learning
and knowledge-gathering strategy. Improved reading can enable one to develop a more
positive self-concept and self-confidence which, in turn, boost one's motivation to read
more and learn more actively. Poor reading skills can be very discouraging and create
feelings of being "stupid" when, in fact, poor reading is usually the result of unhelpful
strategies, not a lack of "cleverness". In fact, one of the most successful strategies,
guessing, encourages risk-taking and making mistakes, through which we learn. Most
learning comes from recognising, identifying and correcting errors and making peace with
making mistakes.
Activity 4.1
Do you prefer active or passive reading? Why?
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7.4 READING DIFFICULTIES AND REPATE STRATEGIES
Reading and comprehension may fail on a number of levels for various reasons. For example,
poor readers do not look at the big picture, suggested by details such as title, context and
language features, which are accessible at a glance. They do not attempt to predict what is
contained in the text, which would stimulate comparative learning. They may not connect the
subject with their own experiences or make associations with knowledge they already have.
They may concentrate too much on micro elements such as pronunciation and what each word
means (bottom-up focus), because they may be afraid they are going to make a mistake if they
do not "perfect the bottom stuff". They do not understand that they are not reading fluently,
using all their memory phases in order to understand the text. Remember, more than one
memory phase is used simultaneously for each word. They do not understand that such a
narrow, fear-based focus causes a memory frozen by fear, which results in them forgetting what
they have read. They are stuck in the recognition phase, and the meaning and creative phases
are not being used. In order to reduce fear and to correct this, readers need to know how the
reading process works. The following strategies can provide relief for teachers and learners who
need to re-orientate faulty reading values and processes.
7.4.1 Decoding, reading rate and fluency strategies
Level of fluency and rate of reading is affected by levels of achievement in any of the stages of
learning and is a good predictor of reading success. The following strategies can be applied to
remedy poor reading:
 Decoding: Poor acquisition of phoneme-grapheme formulation can be repaired by

learning to distinguish between the sounds of the alphabet and the sound of spoken
words. Also, using syllabic breaks is helpful for pronouncing words and spelling correctly.
 Reading rate and fluency. This can be remedied by means of shared reading, guided
reading, silent reading and modelled reading that focuses on grasping main ideas and
accuracy of punctuation. Research on reading rate and fluency abound in libraries and
on the internet.
Parental involvement. In all cases, positive parental involvement will provide good guidance and
benefit the process.
7.4.2 Reading comprehension strategies
It is common knowledge that reading comprehension strategies follow these steps: establishing
the importance of a text, identifying the main ideas and summarising them, guessing or
predicting where the text is "going", questioning and challenging the text, and evaluating one's
understanding of the text's meaning in relation to oneself and others. Research on these
strategies is freely accessible in libraries and on the internet.
It becomes clear that questions are important strategies, as elaborated on in unit 6 using
Bloom's Taxonomy. The following strategies must be chosen for good reason and in
consideration of a reader's level of competence, so that they might guide the improvement of
reading comprehension:
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7.4.2.1 Pre-reading
Positive parental involvement. It is helpful for children when parents show an interest in their
learning and more so when parents read to their children. The benefit occurs on the physical
level (hearing sounds, activating memory, etc) as well as on the psychological level (making
qualitative associations such as happiness and sadness with words, and so on).
 Expand vocabulary by focussing on, for example, collocations, prefixes, suffixes, and
parts of speech as indicators of meaning of time and relationships. Explain the benefits of
reading, consciously using these vocabulary-building strategies.
 Establish some reading rules, such as an agreement about patience, and about zero
tolerance for "getting it over with", while agreeing that this does not mean reading must be
slow!
 Identify reading deficits and repair strategies that will be suitable for the learner. Because
we do not always recognise or understand our particular reading deficits, it is helpful to
create a group who have different deficits, so that they may assist each other.
 Motivation
o Identify interests, desires and personal points of view in relation to the
title of the text.
o Identify the purpose and benefits of reading any text for interest and for
fun.
o Introduce pre-reading challenges whenever possible. For example, after
having read the text, the reader could try to argue against his or her own
point of view, using quotations from a text.
 Ask learners what they think the meaning of the text will be.
 Explain how the learning and discovery of meaning occur from bottom-up and
top-down perspectives. Look at the big picture first: what are the meaning
clues to be found through linguistic analysis of the title, context, language
register and style?
 Remind readers to keep questions in mind at the first reading that they may
need to answer post-reading. They need not look for specific meaning on the
first reading, because a first reading is for linguistic recognition and to
establish the general meaning of words.
 Skim-read all the set comprehension questions before reading the text. It is
not necessary to try to remember the questions at this stage.
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7.4.2.2. During reading
The number of readings is not cast in stone as readers have different preferences, but at
least three readings of a text are required:
 On the first reading, skim-read for general recognition of words.
 On the second reading, skim-read to get a general idea of –

o positive and negative meaning
o main ideas
o Sentence construction and words that signal change in meaning
o comparisons: identifying similarities and differences
o tone
 On the third and further reading, scan for answers to the questions in section
7.4.2.1 and to questions that have been set. Not sure here.
7.4.2.3 Post-reading
 Ask readers whether the text contained what they thought it would.
 Engage and invest deeply in the reading process by including guessing and
risk-taking questions about meaning and personal responses. Ask questions
related to ego, emotions, empathy, age, gender, interests, desires and
motivations.
 Identify meaning through a "top-down" strategy in an explicit way:
o main ideas
o sentence construction and words that signal change in
meaning
 Do a comparison: identify similarities and differences when comparing texts.
7.4.3 Strategies that support reading practice
The following strategies can be used to support reading practice:

 Encourage creative responses to reading such as adding a different ending to a
story.
 Discuss what reading means to the readers intellectually and emotionally.
Encourage self-reflection. Identify why reading may not be enjoyable to certain
learners.
 After reading two or three texts, compare and contrast their language registers,
styles and tones.
 Identify social and cultural similarities and differences.
 Encourage self-management of the reading process, including self-monitoring.
Assist students in creating a reasonable, incremental plan for improving their
reading. A student may respond better to a plan aiming for a five-percent
improvement per term than to a plan aiming for a 15-percent improvement in a
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year. Help students to identify reading materials that will be of interest to them.
Students are often not fully aware of the world of books and what they can
provide.
 Use subject texts for language learning and comprehension purposes. This can be
a good practice when subject work has fallen behind.
 Involve as much of the reader's psychology as possible: their self-concept, their
preference for fact or fiction, their imagination, and soon.
 Determine stress factors that may negatively affect reading and, once identified,
encourage problem-solving. For example, if the noise level at home is slowing
down progress, reading in a library or elsewhere is advisable.
Reading strategies and comprehension skills have proved to be significant predictors of reading
success.
Activity 4.2
Explain the word "context" (dictionary work). What are the essential requirements for
establishing context as a textual analysis strategy?
Example of an answer: "Context" does not refer to "place". It refers to the essential meaning in
a text. The essential requirements for establishing context are to identify positive, negative or
neutral meaning and main ideas.
7.5 TWO EXAMPLES FOR READING AND TEXTUAL ANALYSIS
Examples of answers to every question set in this section can be found below.
Collector of Treasure, by Bessie Head

Skim-read the following instructions to get a general idea of how using reading strategies can
be helpful for comprehension. Remember, using strategies creates short-cuts to meaning at a
deeper level. The language standard of the exercise is at intermediate level. The text excerpts
are contained in 7.5.1 below.
Answer each question.
A Pre-reading strategy questions
Identify the big picture first. Do a linguistic analysis at a glance as follows:
a) What does the title tell you (topic)?
b) What is the tone of the title?
c) What is the genre (unit 5)?
d) What is the language register? (Who would speak/write in this way?)
e) What is the language style? (Where would such language be spoken – on the streets, in
schools, or at meetings?)
f) Who is the author’s audience? (Children? Teenagers? Adults? Someone like you? Who
would like the genre and sub-genre of writing?) (Go to unit 5 for information about
genres and sub-genres.)
g) Based only on the above, guess what the text is about.
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B During-reading strategy questions
Read (skim) each text once for general recognition of words, and to pick up clues and
hints that arise.
Now read the following set comprehension questions:
h) In one sentence mention two of the most important ideas in the text. (3)
i) In one sentence explain the context. (3)
j) In one sentence identify which words, apart from the proper nouns, indicate which
gender. (3)
k) In one sentence, explain whether this text read easily. Why? Why not? Underline the
conjunction. (4)
l) In no more than five sentences describe what you see in the extract in terms of language
and meaning. Quote from the text to support your analysis. (8)
m) What do you think of Paul’s response? (2)
n) In one sentence: Is Kenalepe’s offer unusual? Why? Why not? (2) [25]
.
Read (skim) the text a second time for general understanding of: positive and negative meaning
 main ideas
 sentence construction and words that signal meaning and change in meaning
 comparison to other types of texts
Make reminder notes about ideas that come to mind.
Now read the text a third time to scan for meaning and answers to the set comprehension
questions. Keep simple, compound, and complex sentences and conjunctions in mind.
C Post-reading strategy questions
Refer to the reading strategies in section 7.4 above and then answer as many of the post-
reading strategy questions as possible.
Answer the following only after you have completed the entire during-reading phase.
o) Discuss what the reading means to you intellectually and emotionally.

p) Compare the language registers and styles of the two texts. What have you learned
about social and cultural linguistic and meaning similarities and differences?
q) Explain why and how your opinions and feelings about the two texts changed now that
you have done the analyses.
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An Abandoned Bundle, by Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali

Read the following instructions to get a general idea of how using reading strategies can be
helpful for comprehension. Remember, using strategies creates short-cuts to meaning at a
deeper level. The language standard of the exercise is at intermediate level. The text excerpts
are contained in section 7.5.2 below.
Answer each question.
A Pre-reading strategy questions
Identify the big picture first. Do a linguistic analysis at a glance, as follows:
a)
What does the title tell you?
b)
What is the tone of the title?
c)
What is the genre? (unit 5)
d)
What is the language register? (Who would speak/write in this way?)
What is the language style? (Where would such language be spoken – on the streets, in
e)
schools, or at meetings?)
genres and sub-genres)
g) Based only on the above, guess what the text is about. One sentence.
B During-reading strategy comprehension questions
h) Read all the set comprehension questions:
i. In one sentence, identify the most severe comparison in the text. (2)
ii. In one sentence, explain what "oozing" means. (2)
iii. In one sentence, clarify who "I" is. (2)
iv. In one sentence, name the genre and sub-genre of the text. (2)
v. In one sentence, explain whether this text reads more easily after three readings.
Why? Why not? (2)
vi. In no more than two sentences, summarise the narrative. (3)
vii. In one sentence, explain your emotional response to the entire excerpt. (2)
viii. In no more than three sentences, discuss which three metaphors are most
disturbing to you, and why. (6)
ix. Write a paragraph of no more than four sentences explaining what you understand
about the last stanza and its effect on you as a reader. (4) [25]
i) What do you think the text is about on second reading? Have you changed your mind
about your first guess? Why? Why not?
j) What is your opinion of, and how do you feel about the text up to this point, before having
read and analysed its meaning?
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Now read (skim) the text once for general recognition of words and to pick up clues and
hints that arise.
Read (skim) the text a second time for general understanding of: positive and negative meaning
 main ideas
 sentence construction and words that have changed in meaning
 comparisons: identify similarities and differences
Make a note about what comes to mind.
Now, read the text a third time to scan for meaning and answers to the set questions.
Complete your answers to the questions. Keep simple, compound, and complex sentences
and conjunctions in mind.
C Post-reading strategy questions

Refer to the reading strategies in section 7.4 above and answer as many of the post-
reading strategy questions as possible.
After answering all the questions set on Collector of Treasure and An Abandoned Bundle,
answer the following:
 Discuss what the reading means to you intellectually and emotionally.

 Compare the language register and style of the two texts.
 What have you learned about social and cultural linguistic meaning and their
similarities and differences?
 Explain why and how your opinions and feelings changed about the two texts now
that you have done the analyses?
7.5.1 Collector of Treasure by Bessie Head

1. Kenalepe paused and smiled at her friend, slyly.
2. "I can loan Paul to you if you like," she said, then raised one hand to block the
protest on her friend's face. "I would do it because I have never had a friend like
you in my life before whom I trust so much. Paul had other girls you know, before
he married me, so it's not such an uncommon thing to him. Besides, we used to
make love long before we got married and I never got pregnant. He takes care of
that side too. I would not mind loaning him because I am expecting another child
and I do not feel so well these days …"
3. Dikeledi stared at the ground for a long moment, then she looked up at her friend
with tears in her eyes.
"I cannot accept such a gift from you," she said, deeply moved. "But if you are ill I
will wash for you and cook for you."
4. Not put off by her friend's refusal of her generous offer, Kenalepe mentioned the
discussion to her husband that very night. He was so taken off-guard by the
unexpectedness of the subject that at first he looked slightly astonished, and burst
out into loud laughter and for such a lengthy time that he seemed unable to stop.
5. "Why are you laughing like that?" Kenalepe asked, surprised.
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6. He laughed a bit more, then suddenly turned very serious and thoughtful and was
lost in his own thoughts for some time. When she asked him what he was thinking
he merely replied: "I do not want to tell you everything. I want to keep some of my
secrets to myself."
7.5.2 An Abandoned Bundle by Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali
1. The morning mist
2. and chimney smoke
3. of White City Jabavu
4. flowed thick yellow
5. as pus oozing
6. from a gigantic sore
7. It smothered our little houses
8. like fish caught in a net.
9. Scavenging dogs
10. draped in red bandanas of blood
11. fought fiercely
12. for a squirming bundle.
13. I threw a brick;

14. they bared fangs
15. flicked velvet tongues of scarlet
16. and scurried away,
17. leaving a mutilated corpse –
18. an infant dumped on a rubbish heap –
19. "Oh! Baby in the Manger
20. sleep well
21. on human dung."
22. Its mother

23. had melted into the rays of the rising sun,
24. her face glittering with innocence
25. her heart as pure as untrampled dew.
7.6 GUIDANCE ANSWERS TO LANGUAGE AND CONTENT ANALYSIS

7.6.1 Collector of Treasure by Bessie Head
A Answers to pre-reading strategy questions
a) What does the title tell you (topic)? Someone is gathering something precious.
b) What is the tone of the title? The tone of the title sounds positive.
c) What is the genre (unit 5)? The genre is relationship drama, and the sub-genre is
narrative text.
d) What is the language register? (Who would speak/write in this way?)
The characters sound like ordinary people; therefore, I would say their speech is written
in an everyday register.
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schools, or at meetings?) Because it is written in an everyday register involving dialogue,
I would say the style is informal.
genres and sub-genres).
Anyone reading the text is the audience, but it has adult content, and so I would say it
has been written for adults who like such stories.
g) Based only on the above, guess what the text is about. Write one sentence. The text is a
story involving people who are talking about something.
B Answers to during-reading strategy questions
Comprehension questions and answers
i) In one sentence mention two of the most important ideas in the text. (3)
The text involves mention of "trust" and "generosity of friendship".
ii) In one sentence explain the context. (3) The context is that of two women discussing
offers and promises of trust as friends, and features an offer by one character
involving her husband.
iii) In one sentence identify which words, apart from the proper nouns, indicate gender.
(3) The pronouns "he" and "him" refer to the male gender and "she" and "her" refer
to the female gender.
iv) In one sentence, explain whether this text reads easily. Why? Why not? Underline
the conjunction. (4) It reads easily because the sentences are mostly simple and
the vocabulary is mostly monosyllabic and disyllabic.
v) In no more than five sentences explain the effect of the language and meaning used
in the excerpt. Quote from the text to support your analysis. (8) (1) I am curious
about the outcome, because in the first sentence the author says Kenalepe will
"loan" her husband to Dikeledi, which seems overly generous, even for the greatest
friendship; but, even though I may detect some trouble, I do not know what went
before and so I cannot be certain of my evaluation. (2) The words "loan" and "like"
appear to support each other, but they contrast with "block" and "protest", despite
the seemingly positive "offer" of a husband for sex. (3) I am also puzzled by
Kenalepe’s husband’s response: he must know that his laughter will elicit curiosity,
yet he blocks openness by saying "I want to keep some ‘secrets to myself". (2)
vi) What do you think of Paul’s response? (2) I think Paul’s response is strange but
interesting. The words are simple, but the underlying meaning seems complicated.
vii) In one sentence: Is Kenalepe’s offer unusual? Why? Why not? (2) Yes, her offer
seems unusual to me in context of my culture, but in some cultures, such as that of
the people of the Pacific islands, such an offer would not be unusual. Because I do
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not know which cultural practice is relevant in this context, I cannot be sure about
the meaning. (2) [25]
Answers relating to questions on general understanding
 Positive and negative meaning: The text of Collector of Treasure seems positive.
 Main ideas: The main ideas refer to trust and promises of friendship.
 Sentence construction and words that signal meaning and change in meaning:
Simple features are mostly evident.
 Comparison to other types of texts. This text is similar to standard English writing in
novels.
C Answers to post-reading strategy questions
m) Discuss what the reading mean to you intellectually and emotionally.
I find the narrative poem of interest because of its linguistic and poetic features. The
personification of the chimney smoke smothering everything is a precursor to the loss of
life of the baby. The metaphor and alliteration of "draped in red bandanas of blood" is
dreadfully powerful. It seems as if the blood is everywhere. The simile "like a fish caught
in a net" evokes images and feelings of hopelessness, which is the story of this place,
Jabavu, and one of its adolescent mothers. The meaning is overwhelmingly tragic,
because circumstances are harsh, cruel and hopeless, which is cause for concern. The
poet contrasts the effects on the mother’s life by depicting her walking away unconcerned
about the murder of her child. The reader knows, however, that she cannot be innocent
any longer, and that circumstances have won, this time.
The narrative extract had less intellectual and emotional effect on me than the poem. I
am curious about "before and after" to the extract.
n) Compare the language registers and styles of the two texts. What have you learned
The language register of both extracts is simple and is expressed in everyday

vocabulary, as in most dialogue. Both extracts are conventional in structure in that one
can be recognised as a story and the other is clearly a poem. The formal structure of the
poem and formalised poetic devices, as explained above, allow for far more extraction of
depth of meaning than the story extract does.
Besides the author’s names, neither text has distinctive socio-cultural features, except
perhaps for the "lending out" of the husband for sex, which is not unusual in some
cultures. I do think that is unusual in this case, however, although I have no grounds for
saying this as there is no denotational evidence. In "An Abandoned Bundle" the name of
the poet is a clue that this poem probably refers to life in one of the many poverty-
stricken communities in South Africa.
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The similarities and differences in meaning are vast: the one reads as a tragedy while
the "offer" in the other has some comedic quality. The poem is very explicit in meaning,
whereas there lies hidden meaning in the husband’s "secret thoughts" in "Collector of
Treasures". Reading different genres provides much food for thought.
o) Explain how and why your opinions and feelings changed about the two texts now that
you have done the analyses? In both cases I was curious about what I would read. The
reading strategies quickly helped me to open my mind to linguistic and poetic aspects
and meaning perspectives in both cases. The strategies helped me stay on track and not
get lost in the complications that questions can present. Reading of the questions to help
me find clues more easily and then reading the poem itself evoked my admiration for the
skill of the poet, who used simple words in a complex way to create deep, intense
meaning.
Concerning the narrative extract, I did wonder with expectation what would be revealed, but
my curiosity will have to be satisfied by a full reading of the narrative. In both cases I found
that the linguistic – including the poetic – aspects and meaning of the extracts were
appropriate to my level of language development, age and gender.
7.6.2 An Abandoned Bundle by Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali
A Answers to pre-reading strategy questions

a) What does the title tell you (topic?)? The title seems to refer to something that has been
thrown away.
b) What is the tone of the title? The tone seems sad.
c) What is the genre? It is a poem.
d) What is the language register? (Who would speak/write in this way?) The language
register is simple, everyday vocabulary used in a poetic way.
schools, or at meetings?) The words are informal, e.g. "I threw a brick", but wording is
manipulated by way of the poetic structure, which is formalised.
genres and sub-genres.) The reader is the audience, and he or she should be at least a
young adult, and probably someone who is at least curious about poetry.
g) Based only on the above, guess what the text is about. Write one sentence only.
Something has been given up, and the tone seems sad.
B Answers to during-reading strategy comprehension questions

i. In one sentence, identify the most severe comparison in the text. (2)
The most disturbing comparison in the text, to me, is how the loving reception of the
birth of Mother Mary’s child is contrasted with this mother’s rejection of her baby in
the cruellest way.
ii. In one sentence explain what the word "oozing" means (2) To ooze means to flow or
move slowly, like the chimney smoke that is oozing over Jabavu.
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iii. In one sentence, clarify who ‘I’ is (2). The ‘I’ is the narrator, who could be the poet.
This is a poetic device that could also be used as a means for the poet to distance
himself, so that the meaning becomes universal rather than personal.
iv. In one sentence name the genre and sub-genre of the text (2) The genre is "poetry"
and the sub-genre is "narrative", because it tells the story of something that
happened in sequential time.
v. In one sentence, explain whether this text reads more easily after three readings. (2)
Yes, the poem does become easier to understand after three readings, and
especially after using the reading strategies, which guide and clarify the process
more quickly.
vi. Summarize the narrative in no more than two sentences. (3) The narrator, who has
come across dogs that are savaging something that is still alive, chases them away,
only to discover that the abandoned baby has died. In the poem the similar tragic and
hopeless circumstances of two young mothers are compared: one baby is faithlessly
rejected and the other is faithfully accepted.
vii. In one sentence, explain your emotional response to the entire text. (2) My
emotional response is overwhelmingly sad, not only because of the mother’s faithless
act as a result of her terrible circumstances, but also because of the skilful rendering
of the poet’s words.
viii. In no more than three sentences, indicate which three poetic devices are most
disturbing to you, and why? (6) The poverty of circumstances depicted as putrid
("chimney smoke of the White City Jabavu flowed thick yellow like puss from a
gigantic sore") is horrific. The metaphor and alliteration of "draped in red bandanas of
blood" is awfully powerful. As reader one imagines there must be blood everywhere:
on the dogs, on the swaddling cloth drained from the baby, who is the life-blood
drained from the mother. The simile "like a fish caught in a net" elicits an image of
panic and feelings of hopelessness, which is the story of this place, Jabavu, and one
of its adolescent mothers.
ix. Write a paragraph of no more than four sentences explaining what you understand
about the last stanza and its effect on you as a reader. (4) [25] The meaning in last
stanza is overwhelmingly tragic because circumstances in the township are harsh,
cruel and hopeless, yet the poet depicts the adolescent mother as walking away and
moving on with her life, unconcerned about the abandonment of her child; but,
because we are human, we know she cannot be innocent any longer and that
circumstances have won … this time. It seems that the adolescent mother has
hidden her heart to enable herself to move on with her life "melted into the rays of the
rising sun", which is contrasted shockingly by means of the poetic exposure of the
careless killing ("mutilated corpse – an infant dumped on a rubbish heap"). The
multi-syllabic word "mu/ti/la/ted" is the longest in the poem, and draws attention to the
magnitude of the horror.
h) What do you think the text is about on second reading? Have you changed your mind
about your first guess? Why? Why not? On second reading, I confirmed it was about loss
and that it was a sad poem. After reading the linguistic and content questions above, I
gained more knowledge of what I might find in the content of the text. I noticed at first
glance that the vocabulary of the poem was simple. I found an example of meaning in the
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content questions – "oozing" – that has negative connotations for me, and on second
reading it transpired that I had guessed correctly, and that something in the poem could
be most unpleasant.
i) What is your opinion of the text up to this point, before having read it in depth and
analysed its meaning? I understand that this poem is probably written by a black South
African – I would have to research this. The title means the content will probably be sad
and even unpleasant. I like poetry, and so I was keen to discover the poet’s skill with
words and what they would mean to me as a reader.
Answers relating to questions on general understanding
 Positive and negative meaning: The poem contains negative meaning.

 Main ideas: The main ideas concern poverty and the tragic effect it can have on
people’s lives.
 Sentence construction and words that signal meaning and change in meaning: It is
a poem that is written using simple vocabulary and poetic conventions. The most
significant word "mutilated" signals contrast between tragedy and mother’s urgent
need to move beyond what has happened to her.
 Comparisons to other texts: The poem is similar to the narrative text in vocabulary
and simplicity of expression but they differ in that there is more meaning contained
in less words in the poem.
C Answers to post-reading strategy questions are provided at the end of the answers
to Collector of Treasures above.
7.6.3 Answers to questions and activities

7.6.3.1 Collector of Treasure
a Pre-reading question answers are as follows
 What does the title tell you? (What is the topic?) Someone is gathering something
precious.
 What is the tone of the title? The tone of the title sounds positive.
 What is the genre (unit 5)? The genre is relationship drama, and the sub-genre is
narrative text.
 What is the language register? (Who would speak/write in this way?) The characters
sound like ordinary people; therefore I would say that their speech it is written in an
everyday register.
 What is the language style? (Where would such language be spoken – on the
streets, in schools, or at meetings?) Because it is written in everyday register
involving dialogue, I would say the style is informal.
 Who is the author's audience? (Children? Teenagers? Adults? Someone like you?
Who would like this genre and sub-genre of writing?) (Go to unit 5 for information
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about genres and sub-genres.) Anyone reading the text is the audience, but as it has
adult content, I would say it has been written for adults who like such stories.
 Based only on the above, guess what the text is about1. Sum it up in one sentence
only.
The text tells a story involving people who are talking about something.
During-reading answers to comprehension questions are:
 Review your answers to the following comprehension questions:

o In one sentence mention two of the most important ideas in the text. (3) The
text involves mention of "trust" and "generosity of friendship".
o In one sentence explain the context. (3) The context is that of two women
discussing offers and promises of trust as friends, and features an offer by
one character involving her husband.
o In one sentence identify which words, apart from the proper nouns, indicate
gender. (3) Pronouns "he" and "him" refer to the male gender, and "she" and
"her" refer to the female gender.
o In one sentence explain whether this text reads easily. Why? Why not?
Underline the conjunction. (4) It reads easily because the sentences are
mostly simple and the vocabulary is mostly monosyllabic and disyllabic.
o In no more than five sentences explain the language and meaning used in
the excerpt. Quote from the text to support your analysis. (8) (1) I am curious
about the outcome, because in the first sentence the author says Kenalepe
will "loan" her husband to Dikeledi for sex, which seems overly generous,
even for the greatest friendship. However, even though I may detect some
trouble, I do not know what went before, and so I cannot be certain of my
evaluation. (2) The words "loan" and "like" appear to support each other, but
they contrast with "block" and "protest", despite the seemingly positive "offer"
of a "husband for sex". (3) I am also puzzled by Kenalepe's husband's
response. He must know his laughter will elicit curiosity, yet he blocks
openness by saying "I want to keep some of my secrets to myself".
o What do you think of Paul's response? (2) I think Paul's response is strange
but interesting. The words are simple, but the underlying meaning seems
complicated. He must know his laughter will elicit curiosity, yet he blocks
openness by saying "I want to keep some of my secrets to myself".
o In one sentence: Is Kenalepe's offer unusual? Why? Why not? (2) Yes, her
offer seems unusual to me in context of my culture, but in some cultures,
such as that of the people of the Pacific islands, such an offer would not be
unusual. Because I do not know which cultural practice is relevant here, I
cannot be sure about the meaning.
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Answers to the post-reading phase are
b Strategies used during reading
 Now read (skim) the text once for general recognition of words and picking up clues in
the text as well as using your own intuition.
 Read (skim) the text a second time for general understanding of:
o Positive and negative meaning: The text of Collector of Treasure seems
positive.
o Main ideas: The main ideas refer to trust and promises of friendship.
o Sentence construction and words that signal meaning and change in
meaning: Simple features are mostly evident. Words that can signal meaning
(personal impression) are slyly, blocked, do not feel so well, long moment,
gift, astonished, laughter, secret. Change and shifts in meaning are evident
in line 6, which contains the first question.
o Comparisons – How does the text compare to the writing in novels in
general? The text is similar to standard English writing in novels.
 Make a note about what comes to mind.
 Now read the text a third time to scan for meaning and answers to the comprehension
questions.
 Finalise your answers to the comprehension questions, keeping simple, compound
and complex sentences and conjunctions in mind.
[25]
c Post-reading strategies
Refer to the reading strategies in section 7.4 above and answer as many of the post-reading
questions as possible.
Activity 4.3
How and how much (on a scale of 0–10) do the reading strategies contribute to your
understanding and analysis of texts?
7.6.3.2 An Abandoned Bundle

a Pre-reading strategies
Identify the big picture first. Do a linguistic analysis at a glance, as follows:
 What does the title tell you (topic)? The title seems to refer to something that has
been "thrown away".
 What is the tone of the title? The tone is sad.
What is the genre? It is a poem. Who wrote the poem? The poem was written by a
South African poet, Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali.
 What is the language context? The language is English and the vocabulary is
standard and simple.
 What is the language register? (Who would speak/write in this way?) The
language register is simple "everyday" vocabulary used in a poetic way.
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 What is the language style? (Where would such language be spoken – on the
streets, in schools, or at meetings?) The words are informal, e.g. "I threw a brick",
but wording is manipulated by way of the poetic structure, which is formalised.
 What is the tone of the title? The tone seems sad.
 Who is the author's audience? (Children? Teenagers? Adults? Someone like you?
Who would like the genre and sub-genre of writing?) (Go to unit 5 for information
about genres and sub-genres.) The reader is the author's audience, and he or she
should be at least a young adult or adult, and probably someone who is curious
about poetry.
 Based only on the above, guess what the text is about1? One sentence would be
sufficient. Something has been given up and the tone seems sad.
 Read the following comprehension questions:
o In one sentence, identify the most severe comparison in the text. (2)
o In one sentence, explain what "oozing" means. (2)
o In one sentence, clarify who "I" is. (2)
o In one sentence, name the genre and sub-genre of the text. (2)
o In one sentence, explain whether this text reads more easily after three
readings than Collector of Treasure did after one reading. Why? Why not?
(2)
o Summarise the narrative in no more than two sentences. (3)
o In one sentence, explain your emotional response to the entire excerpt. (2)
o In no more than three sentences, indicate which three metaphors are most
disturbing to you, and why? (6)
o Write a paragraph of no more than four sentences explaining how you
understand the last stanza and what its effect was on you as a reader. (4)
[25]
 What do you think the text is about on second reading2 of the above? Have you
changed your mind about your first guess1? Why? Why not? I thought it was about
loss at first, and that it was a sad poem. After reading the linguistic and content
questions above, I gained more knowledge about what I might find in the content of
the text. I noticed at first glance that the vocabulary of the poem was simple. I found
an example of meaning in the content questions – the word "oozing" – that has
negative connotations for me, and I guessed that something in the poem could be
most unpleasant.
 What is your opinion of the text up to this point, before having read and analysed its
meaning? I understand that this is a poem written by a black South African, and
anticipate that the meaning will be sad and even unpleasant due to the history evoked
by the poet. I like poetry, and so I was keen to discover the poet's skill with words and
what they would mean to me as a reader.
b Strategies used during reading
 Now read (skim) the text once for general recognition of words and picking up clues
and hints.
 Read (skim) the text a second time for general understanding of:
o main ideas
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o sentence construction and words that signal meaning and change in
meaning
o comparison: identify similarities and differences
 Make a note about what comes to mind. I noted that there is no positive meaning in
the narrative.
 Now, read the text a third time for meaning and answers to the comprehension
questions provided above. Complete your answers to the questions. Keep in mind
simple, compound, complex sentences and conjunctions. Now check your answers
against the following model answers:
o In one sentence, identify the most severe comparison in the text. (2) The
most disturbing comparison in the text, to me, is how the loving reception
of the birth of Mother Mary's child is contrasted with the mother's rejection
of her baby in cruellest way.
o In one sentence, explain what the word "oozing" means. (2) "Ooze" means
to flow or move slowly, like the chimney smoke in the poem.
o In one sentence, clarify who is "I" is. (2) The "I" is the narrator, who could
be the poet. This is a poetic device whereby the poet can distance himself,
so that the meaning becomes "universal" rather than only personal.
o In one sentence, name the genre and sub-genre of the text (2) The genre is
"poetry" and the sub-genre is "narrative-tragedy": it tells the story of
something that happened in sequential time.
o In one sentence, explain whether this text reads more easily after three
readings than that of Collector of Treasure after one reading. (2) Yes, the
poem does become easier to understand after three readings – especially
after using the reading strategies that guide and clarify the process more
quickly. (2)
o Summarise the narrative in no more than two sentences. (3) The narrator,
who has come across dogs that are savaging something that is still alive,
chases them away, only to discover that the abandoned baby has died. In
the poem the similar tragic and hopeless circumstances of two young
mothers and their babies are compared; the one baby is faithlessly
rejected and the other is faithfully accepted.
o In one sentence, explain your emotional response to the entire excerpt. (2)
My emotional response is overwhelmingly sad, not only because of the
mother's faithless act as a result of her terrible circumstances, but also
because of the skilful rendering of the poet's words.
o In no more than three sentences, indicate which three poetic devices are
most disturbing to you, and why? (6) The poverty of circumstances
depicted as putrid flesh ("… chimney smoke of the White City Jabavu
flowed thick yellow like puss from a gigantic sore") is horrific. The
metaphor and alliteration of "draped in red bandanas of blood" is awfully
powerful – it seems as if the blood is everywhere. The simile "like a fish
caught in a net" elicits an image of panic and feelings of hopelessness,
which is the story of this place, Jabavu, and one of its adolescent mothers.
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o Write a paragraph of no more than four sentences explaining how you

understand the last stanza and what its effect was on you as a reader. (4) [25].
The meaning of the last stanza is overwhelmingly tragic, because
circumstances in the township are harsh, cruel and hopeless, yet the poet
depicts the adolescent mother as walking away and moving on with her life,
unconcerned about the abandonment of her child. Because we are human,
however, we know she cannot be innocent any longer, and that circumstances
have won … this time. It seems that the adolescent mother has hidden her
heart to enable herself to move on with her life ("melted into the rays of the
rising sun"), which is contrasted shockingly by means of the poetic exposure
of the careless killing ("mutilated corpse – an infant dumped on a rubbish
heap"). The multi-syllabic word "mu/ti/la/ted" is the longest in the poem, and
draws attention to the magnitude of the horror.
c Post-reading strategies
Refer to the reading strategies in section 7.4 above, and answer as many of the post-reading
strategy questions as possible.
Now answer the following questions before comparing your answers to those provided:
 Discuss what the readings mean to you intellectually and emotionally.

I find the narrative poem of interest because of its vocabulary choices and poetic
features. The personification of the chimney smoke smothering everything is a precursor
to the death of the baby. The metaphor and alliteration of "draped in red bandanas of
blood" is extremely powerful because it makes the dogs predatory and gang-like. The
simile "like a fish caught in a net" evokes images and feelings of hopelessness, which is
the story of this place, Jabavu, and one of its adolescent mothers. The meaning of the
last stanza is overwhelmingly tragic, because circumstances are harsh, cruel and
hopeless, and yet the poet depicts the mother as walking away unconcerned about the
murder of her child. The reader knows, however, that she cannot be innocent any longer,
and that circumstances have won, this time.
The narrative extract had much less intellectual and emotional effect on me than the
poem, but it was intriguing in that the psychological meaning was more complex than the
simplicity of the linguistic features of plain dialogue and simple vocabulary and
expressions indicated. I am curious about "before and after". The poem makes me angry
about social conditions that make people lose hope and resort to actions like this one.
 Compare the language registers and styles of the two texts. What have you learned
The language register of both texts is simple and is expressed in everyday vocabulary,
which is as informal as that used in most dialogue. Poems are usually formal in structure
whereas this narrative extract, although of conventional structure, is not formal. The
formal structure of the poem and the use of formalised poetic devices allow for greater
extraction of depth of meaning than the story extract does.
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Besides the names, neither text has distinctive socio-cultural features, except perhaps for
the "lending out" of the husband for sex, which is not unusual in some cultures. I do think
that it is unusual in this case, however, although I have no grounds for saying this as
there is no denotational evidence. In "An Abandoned Bundle" the name of the poet, a
black South African, is a clue that this poem probably refers to life in one of the many
poverty-stricken communities in South Africa.
The similarities and differences in meaning are vast: the one reads as a tragedy while the
"offer" in the other has some comedic quality. The poem is very explicit in meaning,
whereas the narrative excerpt contains hidden meaning: for example, the husband's
"secret thoughts". Reading different genres provides much food for thought.
 Explain how and why your opinions and feelings changed about the two texts now that
you have done the analyses. In both cases I was curious about what I would read. The
reading strategies quickly helped me to open my mind to linguistic and poetic aspects
and meaning perspectives in both cases. The strategies helped me stay on track and not
get lost in the complications that questions can present. In the case of the poem, reading
the questions for clues and then the poem itself satisfied my curiosity and evoked
admiration for the skill of the poet, who used simple words in a complex way to create
deep, intense meaning.
Concerning the narrative extract, I wondered what would be revealed, but my curiosity
will only be satisfied by a full reading of the narrative. In both cases I found that the
linguistic and poetic aspects and meaning of the extracts were appropriate to my level of
language development, age and gender.
7.7 CONCLUSION
In unit 4 we focused on the nature of reading, the purpose of reading and reading as a process;
reading as a life skill; reading and comprehension; and reading and textual Analyses. In order to
learn how to facilitate reading, we now turn to writing. Key aspects of writing that we will explore
in unit 5 will clarify the process for us, and show us why it is a writer's responsibility to help an
audience read easily.
7.8 REFRENCES
REFERENCES
Lessing, AC. 2008. Barriers to acquiring English reading and writing skills by Zulu-speaking
foundation-phase learners.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269744352_Barriers_to_acquiring_English_reading_an
d_writing_skills_by_Zulu-speaking_foundation-phase_learners (accessed on 14 March 2018).
https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/.../ctrstreadtechrepv01977i00050_opt.pdf? (accessed on
9 July 2018).
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7.9 GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
nature – essential qualities inherent in listening, speaking, reading and writing
purpose – an active intention with a language goal in mind
process – a method of doing things to suit a language goal
skill – the qualitative ability to use language
text – a written piece
analysis – careful examination of a language text
Note: Where applicable, provide at least one reference from reliable research to demonstrate that your
thinking has been critical and to substantiate your point of view using specialist sources. You could refer
to those quoted in this study guide and/or those taken from other reliable sources of interest to you. Use
the Harvard Reference generator on Google and click on References in the menu at the top of your
Word document to ensure that you are recording the correct referencing format according to Unisa's
standard of referencing.
SELF-ASSESSMENT
use section 9.3.7 of unit 6, "Academic writing at tertiary level", as guidance regarding writing
structure.
4(a) For text analysis, identify one pre-reading strategy, one strategy used during reading,
and one post-reading strategy (section 4.4.2).
Example of an answer: One pre-reading strategy necessary for text analysis would be
to skim-read all set comprehension questions. The first step in the during-reading
process would be to get a general idea of positive and negative meaning in a text.
Post-reading requires confirmation of "guessing" done during the pre-reading phase.
4(b) Explain text analysis strategies by means of the following:
 positive and negative meaning:
 main ideas
 guessing
 Identifying positive and negative meaning will clarify general meaning.
 Identifying main ideas facilitates understanding an expressing meaning
 Taking risks helps to make corrections when answers to guessing cannot be
confirmed.
4(c) Explain register, style, and tone, and how they help to identify genre (units 4 and 5) and
meaning.
Example of an answer: Register refers to vocabulary and expressions used in a text
that indicate its genre. If the medium is a novel and the genre is science-fiction then the
vocabulary could contain references to aliens, super-powered beings using imaginary
inventions The style could be informal (action and dialogue) to semi-formal (description
and explanations concerning technology) and the tone could be exciting in expression
of positive and negative meaning (weird things happen in science-fiction).
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8 UNIT 5: WRITING SKILLS: AUDIENCE, PURPOSE AND GENRE
In unit 5 we look at writing in terms of perspective, audience, purpose, genre, subgenres,
language writing conventions, critical thinking and language analysis, register, style, tone, and
paragraphs.
Outcome 1
that they understand how to use writing skills for the benefit of readers.
Assessment criteria for outcome 1: Students shall define and explain aspects
of key terms regarding audience, purpose and genre.
Carefully read through the following sections in these prescribed textbooks.
Bailey, S. (2015) Academic Writing. Part 4, Unit 4.4
Wyse, et al. (2013). Teaching English Language and Literacy. Part 4, Chapters 16-17 and
19 - 20.
8.1 INTRODUCTION
In the preceding units, you were prepared for understanding why writing skills are important in
the context of this module. In unit 1, table 1.2 illustrated that the conventions and structures of
grammar are always neutral and objective, particularly when used in formats such as business
communications. In other genres of writing, such as the literary forms of novels and poetry, the
meaning might be less neutral, but the grammar itself remains the neutral foundation of all
expression. We learned that expression is influenced by register (e.g., business vocabulary),
style (e.g. semi-formal), and tone (e.g. neutral), and that the nature of texts relates to the
various fields of business, professional, public authority (government and law), and the arts and
literature. For further review, refer again to table 1.3 in unit 1, which expands on the nature of
the conventions in various fields, and table 1.4, which shows factors that influence critical
language choices for audience and purpose. Having refreshed your minds by skimming through
these tables, we can now delve deeper into the concepts of fields and audience, genre and
purpose, to understand what skills make writing intelligible and enjoyable to ourselves and to
the audiences for whom we write.
As before, we start with a quick look at history. In the beginning, humans wrote pictorially on
cave walls, and later on walls and papyrus, for example the people of the Egyptian, Mayan and
Inca cultures. In time, writing was developed in secret and under protection of royalty by church
scholars and men of science. It was also used, however, by tradesmen across the globe to
record their sales and their wares. Eventually the Industrial Age led to writing becoming more
generally available, as different classes gained access to education. As people became
educated, they could contribute to the building of machines that would improve society.
Currently, global society is increasingly open to varieties of expression introduced by other
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cultures – given that global expansion, brought about by improved transport and the internet,
encourages the meeting of various cultures. From this perspective, we can see how important
writing is in modern life. In order to make the most use of this tool, we need to understand its
usefulness and power.
To ensure that children learn the skills of reading and writing appropriate to their age and stages
of development, they must not be taught to read and write in a mechanical manner. Rather, it is
essential that children and other learners receive education that respects their age and level of
development, because this will enable them to learn more efficiently. We must understand the
physiological and psychological factors of children's development, as well as the influence of
external factors such as our South African and other cultural backgrounds, our social
circumstances, society's needs, and what the future probably holds for us as human beings in
order to teach to the best of our abilities. We must pursue increasingly holistic developmental
measures for sound language learning. These principles also apply to writing.
Key terms are: perspective, audience, purpose, genre, sub-genres, language writing
conventions, critical thinking and language analysis, register, style, tone and paragraphs, and
influences on writing.
Let us now turn our attention to an overview of writing skills, and discuss how they relate to
language acquisition and learning.
8.2 AUDIENCE
In tables 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4 we can see who our audiences are. This section, and others in this
study guide, must be understood in the context of speaking, listening, reading and writing. The
topic of "audience" is addressed in this unit, rather than in previous units, because the subject of
writing as a language skill allows a more comprehensive look at what audience can mean. For
purposes of this module and language learning in general, we should keep in mind that our
audiences might be:
 Family. Parents and siblings: adults, teenagers and children
 Friends. Best friends, close friends, social friends and "frenemies": adults, teenagers and
children
 Peers. People in similar age groups: adults, teenagers and children
 Colleagues. People in the workplace: adults and sometimes teenagers
 Subordinates. Anyone who plays a subordinate role, such as pupils to teachers: adults,
teenagers and children
 Authorities. Specialist practitioners in their fields, including government officials; medical,
legal, and educational professionals; performing artists; fine artists; and sports
practitioners: usually adults but also exceptionally talented youngsters
 Interest groups. Each of the above categories has preferred fields of interest, which we
elaborate on under "purpose" and "genre" (sections 5.3 and 5.4) below.
While reading the above list, you may have realised that each category has special language
features. We also know that language must account for contexts of age, physical and
psychological challenges, gender, education, social aspects, culture, politics and careers.
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The needs of an audience determine language development over time, and in turn, language
skills then inform that audience about what has been spoken, read, written and listened to.
Educators are responsible for bringing this knowledge to learners; in South Africa this means
being aware of the fact that language learning is complicated by diverse cultural and linguistic
demands. Our people have been following a learning curve, which means that we must be
patient in terms of language learning.
8.3 PURPOSE OF WRITING
The most obvious purpose of language is to communicate in different ways and for various
reasons, so as to accomplish our goals as outlined in Maslow's hierarchy of needs. A writer may
therefore want to provide information, persuade, entertain, instruct, command and so on.
The most obvious purpose of writing is to inform others through the process of reading, and to
record for reading what needs to be communicated. Consequently, writing must be accurate,
reliable and intelligible.
Regardless of how neutral a text is, one can always detect some personal clue about an author;
not only through their expressions, which are always personal and subjective, but also through
their use of conventions (although these might be neutral, they can also be used in a personal
way). For example, the poet "e e cummings" prefers not to use punctuation and capital letters,
and uses instead patterning that makes his writing distinctive and personal, which poetry lends
itself to. This kind of personal expression would not be appropriate for academic and business
writing, however. Purpose, audience and genre conventions therefore dictate what is to be
written and how it is to be written.
As we have mentioned in previous units of this study guide, over time categories of writing have
been generated as a result of human activities. The purpose of these categories is elaborated
on below.
8.4 GENRES
The writing components contained in tables 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4 in unit 1 can be assigned to the
categories of fiction and nonfiction. Fiction relates to literary works that are not based purely on
fact, and these include poetry, drama and prose. Nonfiction is based on fact and uses deductive
and inductive thinking and theory. Fiction and nonfiction may overlap, however, for example
when poetry, drama and prose include biographical, historical and scientific accounts.
Moving along the continuum of purpose -> audience -> category -> genre -> sub-genre ->
subject -> topic matter, let us look at the following table to obtain perspective about the sheer
volume of writing characteristics that exist.
Table 5.1 Categories, genres, sub-genres, themes, modes, mediums and topics
This is by no means a complete summary, as there are many more sub-genres. A fuller list can be found on Wiki.
Fiction is usually based on narrative themes including adventure, action, education, erotic, experimental, graphic,
historical, nonsense, mathematical, metafiction, fiction/nonfiction (cross-over), slave, occupational, philosophical,
political, pulp, quantum, religious, saga, speculative, etc.
Psychological domains of fiction are mystery, romance, horror, thriller, humour, and so on, as well as combinations
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of these.
Modes of writing include narration, description, exposition, argumentation and fiction-specific, as well as
combinations of these.
Mediums include: encyclopaedias, blogs, novels and short Stories, newsprint, scripts, comic Books, etc.
Categories would include fiction, fantasy and science, for examples

Genre would include classical/archetypical/traditional and modern literature
Literary Literary Subject matters and explanations
Genres sub-genres
Comedy Poetry:  Classic – fiction that has become part of an accepted literary
Including lyric canon, which is widely taught in schools
Tragi- song  Comics/graphic novel – comic magazine or book based on a
sequence of pictures (often hand drawn), with few words
comedy ode
 Crime/detective – fiction about a crime, how the criminal gets
and satire ballad caught, and the repercussions of the crime
sonnet  Fable – legendary, supernatural tale demonstrating a useful
Dramatic truth
 Fairy tale – story about fairies or other magical creatures
epic
 Fan fiction – fiction written by a fan of, and featuring
Drama characters from, a particular TV series, movie, or book
Prose  Fantasy – fiction with subplot(s), theme(s), and major and
Tragedy- Poetry: minor characters, in which the narrative is presented in verse
form (usually free verse)
classical; lyric
 Folklore – the songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a people
tragedy- song or "folk" as handed down by word of mouth
modern ode  Historical fiction – story with fictional characters and events in
ballad an historical setting
elegy sonnet
 Horror – fiction in which events evoke a feeling of dread and
sometimes fear in both the characters and the reader
Dramatic
 Humour – usually a fiction full of fun, fancy, and excitement,
epic meant to entertain and sometimes cause intended laughter; can
Drama be contained in all genres
Prose  Legend – story, sometimes of a national or folk hero, that has
a basis in fact but also includes imaginative material
 Magical realism – story where magical or unreal elements play
a natural part in an otherwise realistic environment
 Metafiction (also known as romantic irony in the context of
Romantic works of literature) – uses self-reference to draw
attention to itself as a work of art while exposing the "truth" of a
story
 Mystery – fiction dealing with the solution of a crime or the
revealing of secrets
 Mythology – legend or traditional narrative, often based in part
on historical events, that reveals human behaviour and natural
phenomena by its symbolism; often pertaining to the actions of
the gods
 Mythopoeia – fiction in which characters from religious
mythology, traditional myths, folklore and/or history are recast into
a re-imagined realm created by the author
 Picture book –a book with very few words and many pictures;
picture stories are usually for children
 Realistic fiction – story that is true to life
 Science fiction – a story based on the impact of actual,
imagined, or potential science, often set in the future or on other
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planets
 Short story – fiction of great brevity, usually lacking in subplots
 Suspense/thriller – fiction about harm about to befall a person
or group and the attempts made to evade the harm
 Tall tale – a humorous story with blatant exaggerations, such
as swaggering heroes who do the impossible with nonchalance
 Western – fiction set in the American Wild West frontier
region, typically in the late 18th to late 19th century.
Epic- Poetry:  Mythology – legend or traditional narrative, often based in part

classical; lyric on historical events, that reveals human behavior and natural
epic- dramatic phenomena by its symbolism; often pertaining to the actions of
the gods
modern epic
Drama Including tragicomedy and satire
Prose
Category: nonfiction – including cross-over non-fiction -> fiction
Genres and sub-genres include all human fields of activity, such as:
Biography – memoirs, autobiographies, slave narratives, diaries and journals
Commentary – news
Critique – various including narrative, psychological, rhetorical, post-modern, textual
Didactic - dialectic
Essays, treatises – academic and topical
Interactive – letters, e-mails, etc
Journalism and news reports
Narrative nonfiction/personal narrative
Manuals and guides – instructional
Reference – legal, medical, etc
Religious – sermons, etc
Reports: laboratory, business, etc
Scripts – manuscripts and movie scripts
Storylines
Oratory
As an example, in the category of nonfiction one would find the sub-genre of "medicine", which
would include subjects such as "surgery" and "nursing". A specific topic might be "post-
operative care".
Classifications are graded from macro to micro levels of meaning, and we should keep these
structures in mind when creating meaning in our writing. It becomes difficult to understand texts
when these perspectives are not clearly defined. One can infer that titles, headings and sub-
headings, as indicators of categories, genres, sub-genres, subjects, and topics, are important
pre-informants of what meaning a text will contain, as we saw in our critical analysis of the
narrative extract Collector of Treasure and the free-verse poem An Abandoned Bundle in unit 4.
To summarise: genres, sub-genres and so on are generated by audience needs and pre-inform
the audience about what register, style and tone, and meaning they can expect from a text. An
audience will be extremely confused if the category, genre, sub-genre, subject, topic, register,
style, tone and meaning content do not correspond, as this would break a writer-reader
"language structure-content contract" established over centuries. Remember that we also know
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that each genre and sub-genre has its own unique register, style and tone, as shown in tables
1.2, 1.3 and 1.4 in unit 1.
Activity 5.1
Did you know there are so many genres and sub-genres? How did you find out, or why do you
think you didn't know about them previously? Now that you do, are you interested in expanding
the number of genres that you read? Why? Why not?
8.4.1 Language writing conventions: five texts analysed
An author should always have a specific and designated audience in mind for his
message/story/argument. Let us examine elements that could form part of a literary analysis.
What follows is a list of characteristics of fiction literature.
Five examples of fiction literature for children, teenagers, adults and "everyone" were chosen,
as they epitomise the characteristics of the fiction literature available to readers that you need to
become familiar with.
Category: fiction
Genre: literature
Audience: 1) children, 2) teenagers, 3) adults, 4) everyone as shown in each

sub- category of characteristics hereafter
Sub-genre: drama and poetry
1) children: fairy tale, 2) teenagers: sci-fi, 3) adults: consulting detective, 4)

adults: lament 5) everyone: musical tragedy
Mediums: 1) children: storybook, 2) teenagers: comic, 3) adults: novel, 4) adults:

anthology, 5) everyone: storyline for a jazz opera
Context and storyline
1) children: good versus evil: a granddaughter finds a wolf disguised as her

grandmother; 2) teenagers: good versus evil: superhero saves citizens; 3)
adults: good versus evil: consulting detective solves crime; 4) adults: a
young girl's loss of innocence; 5) everyone: tragic loss of life
Register
1) children: simple vocabulary and Eurocentric literary collocations such as

"Once upon a time …" are typical.
2) teenagers: North American English vocabulary and expressions, which

relate to the subject of sci-fi and the theme of "super-heroes versus super-
villains", are used in the limited dialogue and text contained in the action
graphics.
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3) adults: Victorian English is used in these novels, as are collocations that
relate to crime and criminal behaviour. In the older texts, graphics were
included.
4) adults: simple vocabulary is used.
5) everyone: simple vocabulary and song occur that relate to the culture
and theme of South African townships and life in the boxing world.
Language style
1) children: informal
2) teenagers: informal
3) adults: although the Victorians used language more formally that we do

today, the dialogue is generally informal, but more formal when reasoning
discourse occurs.
4) adults: Informal vocabulary but formal through poetic devices.
5) everyone: Informal for dialogue and in song.
Tone: 1) anticipatory, happy, scary and sad; 2) serious with some humour; 3) serious with
humour and irony; 4) sad; 5) exciting, aggressive and sad
Organizational sub-structures of written words and meaning
Time: 1) narrative, 2) narrative, 3) narrative, 4) reflection in free verse, 5) narrative
Paragraphing: 1) headings and paragraphs, 2) direct speech in bubbles, 3) paragraphs

and chapters, 4) one heading as part of two verses and one line, 5)
heading for the storyline that follows
Sentences:
1) mostly simple, in addition to some very short compound and complex

sentence constructions
2) not typical – phrases, stand-alone verbs and ellipses as well as

commands and many exclamations
3) simple, compound and complex constructions
4) unpunctuated lines in free verse
5) simple, compound and complex constructions in dialogue and song
There could be a number of texts that fit the writing criteria used for the analyses we
performed above, but here are the names of the texts used:
1) Little Red Riding Hood, by Charles Perrault (first written in the late 1600s)
2) Superman, written by Jerry Spiegel and artwork by Joe Shuster (1933)
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3) Sherlock Holmes, written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1886)
4) Where else could she go? by Vangi Gantsho (2005) – see below
where else could she go?
she left home
vanity her only charm
sloths of drunken brawls
sold her innocence to lie with pigs
whose names she could not recall
where else could she go
wandered the streets
too afraid to pray
by Vangi Gantsho
5) Glasser, M. King Kong – a venture in the theatre. 1960. Cape Town: Rustica.
8.4.2 Stories for children

Storybooks for children are good examples to use when discussing pre-reading information to
do with register, style and tone as predictors and indicators of meaning. What would register
look like in a storybook for younger children? The vocabulary might be simple. The words might
be monosyllabic and phonetically simple to pronounce and read. Meaning and expression
would be age-appropriate. Pictures would usually be included to encourage learning by
association. Supervision of the reading process may encourage self-reflection by the child as
main focus. The supervisor may share simple information to help the child learn new words
through experiential association.
It is therefore evident that, above all, writers need to be clear about what an audience expects
from each sub-genre. This is a big task that must be learned over time.
Now we turn to purpose and the substructure of paragraphing of the following sub-genres: news
reports, business reports, novels, academic writing, poetry, advertising and blogs. Certain
aspects of purpose and structure are expected by an audience concerning the sub-genres
discussed below.
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8.4.3 Nonfiction: news reports
 Purpose: To inform and entertain. News reports must provide succinct yet
comprehensive news coverage according to conventions of the news genre, including
structure such as heading, columns, paragraphs, register, news writing collocations and
wording. Style is usually semi-formal and tone neutral and objective. Publication policies
such as that against the use of hate speech must be complied with.
 Number of headings: Usually one heading, which must pre-inform, grab attention and
create interest about the nature of the content. Recognition of authorship is provided.
Photographs would include blurbs containing summarised details.
 Length of paragraphs: Usually no more than four sentences.
 Organisation of meaningful content: Paragraphs focus on units of meaning that must
state the situation, the problem(s), comment(s) made by role-players, possible solutions
when applicable, and one closing sentence.
 Length of report: This depends on the perceived demand for news on a topic and
competition for space from other news flashes that have come in.
8.4.4 Nonfiction: business reports
 Purpose: to inform and persuade. The text must provide a succinct yet comprehensive
argument, usually proving the feasibility of a project or giving a progress update on a
project. Business register applies. Writing style is usually semi-formal, but may be formal
for annual reports, for example. Tone will usually be neutral and objective, except
regarding matters of public relations and marketing, when texts tend to be more positive
and persuasive, and thus less formal, than annual reports.
 Number of headings: Headings must pre-inform about the content and follow the format
that an argument may take. Reports usually contain the following headings: "Terms of
reference" (refers to what must be investigated) or "Introduction"; "Procedure" (refers to
how information was gathered and from whom); "Findings" (refers to information
gathered); "Conclusions" (refers to needs established based on findings); and
"Recommendations" (solutions based on findings).
 Length of paragraphs: Each term of reference usually warrants a paragraph. When one
or more issues belong together (for example, "slippery kitchen floors" and "dirty plates"),
they can be dealt with under one overarching heading, such as "Health and safety
issues".
 Organisation of meaningful content: This is based on the factors situation, problems,
solutions, and evaluation of the viability of solutions.
Length of the report: This is affected by various factors, such as the formality of the format.
Annual general meeting reports tend to be formal and longer than the semi-formal reports used
to record the outcomes of general management meetings. Informal reports that record the
minutes of social book club meetings or church committee meetings are, for example, usually
even shorter and less formal.
8.4.5 Nonfiction: academic writing
 Purpose: To provide information, entertainment and knowledge through the

conventions of academic argument.
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 Nonfictional academic conventions of format: These dictate that academic

arguments be presented in one of a number of possible formats, such as essays,
articles, reports, presentations, dissertations, theses, books, encyclopedias, and so
forth.
 Headings: Instructional and academic writing conventions dictate the number and
type of headings needed. These must always be succinct yet comprehensive.
Examples of formats are available for perusal on the internet.
 Length of paragraphs: Paragraphs are usually shorter to ensure that they are easy
to read. The length should not exceed a third of a page, ten lines or 100 words for
easy reading (although this is merely a guideline).
 Organisation of meaningful content: Paragraphs tend to focus on units of meaning
that must state the situation, problem(s), role-players, activities, solutions,
conclusions and evaluation.
Length of texts: This will depend on conventional academic and publishing requirements.
8.4.6 Fiction: novels (narratives / stories)
 Purpose: To provide entertainment and knowledge in the form of a story.

 Paragraphs and chapters: Determined by the storyline, the plot and other factors.
 Number of headings: There are usually no headings, but some novels, such as
young adult or fantasy novels, might have chapter headings that pre-inform the
reader and create interest.
 Length of paragraphs: Paragraphs are usually no longer than a third of a page.
Dialogue (direct speech in quotation marks) makes up a large part of most novels.
 Organisation of meaning: Generally paragraphs focus on units of meaning that deal
with the situation, problem(s), solutions, descriptions, characterisation, action and
climaxes.
 Literary and dramatic organisation of meaning: This traditionally refers to the
exposition (the introduction of the situation); the rising action (the problems or
challenges that face the main character or characters); the climax (events coming to
a head, when a solution might appear); the falling action (insecurity about how the
problem might actually be resolved); and the conclusion (also known as the
dénouement [/deɪˈnuːmɒ/̃ ], which refers to evaluation and catharsis – the release of
tension or the "happily ever after" ending once all the trouble has been dealt with).
 Length of novel: This will depend on the storyline and the plot. Most novels are
about 300 to 500 pages long in A5 format.
8.4.7 Fiction: poetry
 Purpose: To inform, celebrate, pay homage to, and uplift through poetic
conventions, of which there are quite a number!
 Poetic conventions of format: Note that poems display the most highly stylised
forms of writing and structure of all literature. Conventions of structure (shape,
number of lines in a verse, number of verses in a poem, and so forth) and
meaning (poetic devices) help the poet create the deepest meaning found in
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literary texts. Poetic genres include nursery rhymes, sonnets, free verse, haiku,
shaped verse, epic poetry and modern performance poetry, such as "slam".
 Number of headings: This is usually limited to one only, but in some poems there
are headings that signal units of meaning based on context, for example "The Wife
of Bath", one of the stories from the epic The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey
Chaucer (1387–1400), which consists of 24 tales, 528 pages and 17 000 lines.
 Length of verses and poems: This, as well as the number of words and lines,
depends on the format of the poem. For example, the first and last lines of a haiku
have five syllables each, and the middle line of the three lines has seven syllables.
A sonnet is made up of 14 rhymed lines, each 10 syllables long in iambic
pentameter, whereas free verse has no rhyme, usually no rhythm and can be as
long as the poet desires.
 Organisation of meaningful content: Meaning is captured in highly stylised poetic
forms, including verses or stanzas.
As the name suggests, free verse is not as stylised, in that its verses have no rhyme and
usually no rhythm, although the poet may still use figures of speech and sound devices to
communicate poetic meaning. In all poetry, meaning is personal and subjective in nature yet
often universal in scope. Poetry explores mental, emotional and/or spiritual matters.
Marshall McLuhan (1964) suggests that times are changing and so are the mediums of writing,
which brings the pressures of change to bear on the development of writing and writing skills.
Activity 5.2
How do you see writing evolving in the future? Consider what is already happening in SMSs
and on Twitter and other social media. There are many aspects that can be addressed.
Consider as many as you can, beginning with time, intelligibility, forms of writing, politeness,
hate speech, and so on. Identify the number of answers required in a question to ensure all
questions are answered. You may use section 9.3.7 of unit 6 "Academic writing at tertiary level"
as guidance regarding writing structure.
8.5 NEW INFLUENCES ON WRITING

8.5.1 Social media, multimedia, blogs, plagiarism and summaries
Writing for multimedia is being demanded more and more often as a result of the multimedia
requirements of the internet. These include blogging, video-clipping, and podcasting, and may
require scripts and storylines to be formulated.
The structural conventions of the internet's social media are having a marked effect on writing
and reading in today's world. For example, the limited wording allowed on Twitter means that
"tweets" tend to foreground facts or opinions in summarised form. Time is expensive and limited
on the internet, and long-windedness is becoming unpopular. Readers and listeners have time
only for succinct, factual and summary-like communications that leave them free to read
between the lines according to their own circumstances and realities.
Reliable writing is becoming a premium commodity as fake news and misleading

communications compel readers to be alert to manipulative communications that appear in
written and visual formats. Furthermore, authorship is being scrutinised: for example, quoting an
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author incorrectly is publicly and immediately rejected as fake. Plagiarism may well be on the
decrease, however, as electronic applications such as Turn-It-In and expert content analysers
are exposing those who are either stealing authors' work or not recognising authorship. As the
internet exposes readers and writers to the words of well-known authors, memes about
language usage and commonly-known quotations, they are thus becoming more sophisticated.
In general, exposure to good-quality writing on the internet's public forums is indirectly enabling
readers to practise critical content and literary analysis.
Memes (in the form of mini-posters) containing a limited number of words and graphics are very
popular on social media but are still unsophisticated, and so writing may still evolve in this
format. In fact, memes in the form of mini-posters might remind us of the Stone Glyph of ancient
times and, more recently, of political and propaganda posters.
In summary, as a result of changes in the mediums of writing and the quick conveyance of
meaning on the internet, writing may tend to take more summary-like forms, which means that
vocabulary, grammar and punctuation will need to improve, as they will have to support
economy of words and comprehensive meaning. Furthermore, clarity and integrity of meaning
will have to improve if authors want their words to be accepted and respected.
Another significant influence on writing and reading has been that of the internet blog; there are
now more than 132 million blogging sites in the world (Wiki). The scope of subjects covered in
these blogs is wide, and they are all accessible to all readers. In fact, this is an important field
for gathering knowledge.
Activity 5.3
What has your experience been concerning writing on the internet? Do you think you
understand what has been written, or do you go with the sentiments you feel are being
expressed? Explain your answers as clearly as possible, to help you get to know yourself better.
8.5.2 Blogs
Nature and writing conventions: The word "blog" was formed by combining the two words "web"
and "log". Like Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and others, blogs are social-media service sites. They
are usually interactive writing and multimedia logs that are connected to the cyberweb. Blogs
have traditionally been textual, but are increasingly becoming more multimedia oriented. They
are authored by one or more people (multi-author blogs or MABs) as well as by governments,
businesses and universities, and focus on specific subjects of interest. Texts and multimedia
offerings are embedded in a registered website on the worldwide web and have to be accessed
via a URL, such as http://www.Blog4Life.com/. Should the blogger allow commentary, a reader
could register in order to comment, but most blogs can be read without formally joining the
blogger's community that allows access to the blog commentary. Twitter is a micro-blogging
system that is somewhat different from blogs that are created by anyone, which are much
simpler and easy to use. Blogging is becoming more sophisticated by the day, however. NASA
is in the process of connecting an interactive blogging system to the International Space
Station, but astronauts have long been chatting in a private capacity on Twitter. The cost of
blogging depends largely on blogger requirements and blogging facilities.
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 The visual structure of blogs: The most recent postings appear first, and a reader
needs to scroll down to read previous postings, much like reading a Facebook page.
 Audience: The audience is anyone in the world who has access to and interest in the
subject matter of a particular blog.
 Purpose: To disseminate information and to entertain through informal, semi-formal
and formal writing, with or without multimedia support, for private and public interest.
Blogs fall into the category of artlogs, phlogs (photoblogs), vlogs (videoblogs),
podcasts, and so on.
 Design of pages and organization of content: The design of the blogging application
dictates the structure of a blog to a large extent. A blog is like a scroll of paper that is
never-ending and therefore lends itself to longer discourse than, for example, Twitter.
This may be suitable for diary and journal writing as well as the discourse of
arguments.
 Organisation of meaning: Generally, in a blog, the paragraphs focus on units of
meaning that state the situation and the problem(s); discuss the role-players and
activities; and offer personal solutions, opinions and conclusions. Organisation of
meaning would be similar to that of the categories, genres, sub-genres, themes,
subjects and topics mentioned in table 5.1.
 Number of headings: Blogs are constructed in a number of ways, depending on the
applications used, which can be found on Google and other search engines. Usually
a heading of some sort does precede the text and informs a blog discussion.
 Length of paragraphs: Usually not more than five sentences. However, because blogs
are privately owned, structure and content can be highly personal and subjective.
 Length of texts: This depends on personal preference, audience interest, subject
matter, and academic and publishing requirements, but a page a day would usually
be no longer than the page of a book: 30 lines or 300 words.
Activity 5.4
Do you feel confident about writing on the internet? Why? Why not?
Times are changing, and yet another writing and multimedia phenomenon has emerged.
8.6 BORDER CROSSINGS
In recent decades interesting and exciting combinations of genres and sub-genres have evolved
that have been conceptualised as the category "border crossings".
Border crossings refer to books and movies in which two or more registers, styles, tones and
conventions of expression (say, for example, of both science fiction and the western, or the
romance and horror genres) appear in the same text or movie. Authors have also used time
travel to merge historical periods, which requires knowledge of the language used in each era.
In the light of this, it may be time to explore how language has changed in one generation
alone. Think of how our parents speak or spoke, their reading preferences and the context of
their lives compared to ours. Imagine, then, how a hundred years can change a language due
to the pressure of technological and social shifts. In fewer than a hundred years, telephones
have evolved from hand-cranked, shared-service, cable-linked, huge, immobile Bakelite sender-
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receivers into satellite-fed telecommunication offices (smaller and slimmer than a hand), offering
every known facility for conducting interactive communication, gathering knowledge and
enjoying entertainment.
An interesting phenomenon is that, although semi-formal and formal correspondence is no

longer being posted in the traditional way but via electronic mails or e-mails, the writing of semi-
formal and formal letters and documents has not changed in terms of the academic writing
conventions they use. The structure of e-mails seems to serve only as informal and semi-formal
covering letters that contain details of meetings, enquiries and answers to enquiries, but
correspondence concerning more formal matters are attached as letters in traditional letter-
writing format, register, style and tone. One reason for this could be that attachments are easier
to print.
In South Africa, the English language and literature have to contend with pressures as a result
of multilingual and socio-cultural changes. Because of this, border crossings such as
"translanguaging" have come about, which, it appears, can be useful for language learning,
depending on context.
8.7 CONCLUSION
Now that we have worked through a number of writing concepts in various forms, we
understand that we have also practised writing about writing as an indirect function or
metafunction of critical language awareness, which is an important discourse in language
learning.
In unit 6, which follows after the table, language competencies will be addressed, with a greater
emphasis on bottom-up conventions that support meaning-making.
8.8 REFERENCES
REFERENCES
Bailey, S. 2015. Academic writing: A handbook for international students. 4th edition. London:
Routledge.
Glasser, M. King Kong – a venture in the theatre. 1960. Cape Town: Rustica.
Routledge.
Wyse, D, Jones, R, Bradford, H & Wolpert, MA. 2013. Teaching English language and literacy.
London: Routledge.
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8.9 GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
perspective – a point of view about a language matter
audience – recipient(s) whose attention is required in a communication
genre – distinctive and unique style of language conventions in communications
conventions – language rules and structures that facilitate intelligibility
register – vocabulary that is unique to a field of human interest
style –the degree of formality in a language
tone –quality and degree of expression in language
paragraphs –the organisation of sentences that facilitate reading
the Harvard reference generator on Google and click on References in the menu at the top of your
SELF-ASSESSMENT
Identify the number of answers required in a question to ensure that all questions are answered. You
may use section 6.3.7 of unit 6, "Academic writing at tertiary level", as guidance regarding writing
structure.
5(a) Think about this module and build a category -> genre ->sub-genre ->subject -> topic
thread. Example of an answer: Category: education -> genre: English -> sub-genre ->
language fundamentals -> listening, speaking, reading and writing -> academic writing
skills development.
5(b) Critical language awareness
The poems An Abandoned Bundle by Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali in section 4.5.3, and
where else could she go? by Vangi Gantsho in section 5.4.1 illustrate how young women
can be influenced by circumstances. Write a paragraph of no more than five sentences in
which you compare the two poems. First use the strategies we studied in unit 4 to
analyse each poem, and then use the academic writing strategies in section 6.3.7 of unit
6 to write the paragraph. Use words economically, to ensure that you are brief yet
comprehensive.
5(c) Using the following criteria, analyse an advertisement, addressing the following issues:
purpose, nonfictional academic conventions of format, number of headings, length of
paragraphs, organisation of meaningful content, and length of text.
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9 UNIT 6: LANGUAGE COMPETENCIES

The focus in unit 6 is on avoiding common English language errors for the purpose of imparting
accurate and reliable meaning to an audience.
Outcome 1
that they understand how to avoid common errors in language usage.
Assessment criteria for outcome 1: Students shall define and explain aspects
surrounding language competencies as contained in the key terms below.
Read the following sections in this prescribed textbook.
Bailey, S. (2015). Academic Writing. Part 1, units 1.5 – 1.7 and 1.10 – 1.12.
9.1 INTRODUCTION
So far in this study guide we have focused on gaining knowledge about how to become a more
proficient and competent user of English. In this last unit, we continue learning how to improve
our language by focusing on a number of language strategies for various purposes and modes
of communication, such as writing business letters, academic essays, advertisements, etc. We
also briefly consider how to combat language difficulties that may arise during the learning
process.
Key terms are purpose, critical thinking, context, vocabulary, logic, bias, balance, evidence,
proof of argument, point of view, essay, main idea, key words, meaningful structure, critique,
values, attitudes, intentions, explicit, implicit, appropriateness, accuracy, choice, inductive,
deductive, dictionary, thesaurus, word classes, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis,
evaluation, common error, ambiguity, audio-visual, comparisons and similarities, reference
words, editing and proofreading.
9.2 PURPOSE OF LANGUAGE COMPTENECE
One thing each of us can do to promote peace and a better world, is ensure that our
communications are accurate and intelligible. This means mastering language, writing clearly,
listening and reading accurately, and communicating our meaning as well as we are able to. In
order for this to happen, we need to be conscious of what we say and write, and how we say
and write it. In other words, we need to engage our critical minds.
9.3 CRITICAL THINKING
Critical literacy requires critical thinking, which implies a deeper level of thinking compared to
more passive or routine modes of thinking. An important point here is that critical thinking
underlies all mental strategies, because it requires one to be alert and active. We use the word
"critical" in the sense of discriminating to improve wording, meaning, etc, rather than exercising
criticism in a negative way. The former is a positive action, whereas the latter can be
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destructive if it does not provide appropriate guidance for improving intelligibility through clearer
wording and expression.
9.3.1 Context
Let us look at what the word critical could mean in the subheading "Critical thinking". Two
meanings immediately come to mind: "crisis" and "skilled". Which meaning should we apply to
the subheading? The context of this study module leads us to choose the meaning of "skilled
thinking". Our mission, when writing, is to provide essential context, and when reading, to find
and understand the context for the purpose of clear interpretation. Even in the simplest
conversation a listener will seek context, either by thinking or by asking: "What are you talking
about?" We usually determine context automatically in everyday activities, but it becomes an
essential component in the thinking process of critical literacy and critical analyses.
9.3.2 Vocabulary
Clear, conscious communication also requires that we possess a useful vocabulary: critical
thinking improves as one's vocabulary improves. Firstly, we can communicate more quickly and
clearly when we have appropriate and sufficient words to choose from, and secondly, we can
become more creative in our communication, which gives our audiences a better chance of
interpreting our messages.
For the purpose of understanding the deeper meaning of critical thinking, it might be useful to
consider the meaning of a number of associated words that come in handy when analysing and
writing academic texts. Notions of logic, fairness, bias, balance and evidence are all critical to
conveying meaning for clear understanding. It is good to cluster such words consciously,
because doing so embeds their meaning in our memory and makes them more quickly
accessible, as the one stimulates memory of the other. Let us look at each of these terms:
 Logic refers to reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity

that refers to evidence or proof of argument.
 Fairness refers to impartiality without favouritism or discrimination.
 Bias is neutral in meaning and relates to prejudice in favour of or against one thing,
person, or group compared to another. Its connotative meaning is usually negative.
 Balance refers to an even distribution of weight and importance.
The sum total of the above terms would constitute the evidence and proof of argument offered
in support of one's point of view in academic essays. These words expand our understanding of
what critical thinking involves, pointing to what is required for academic writing and essays.
Activity 6.1
For what purpose would you increase your vocabulary?
9.3.3 Essays
Key terms (purpose, critical thinking, context, vocabulary, logic, bias, balance, evidence and
proof of argument) mentioned so far above, all relate to essay-writing and, for that matter, any
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other form of communication. We now move on to how point of view can be established in
essays, for example.
An important preparatory strategy for identifying and developing the content of essays is to
determine positive or negative point of view.
Identifying main ideas
Whether we are listening, speaking, reading or writing, we derive positive and negative meaning
from main ideas and key words. Usually there is one key word embedded in a paragraph. When
writing and analysing a text, we only need to underline a key word in every paragraph in order
to identify its main idea. When listening, main and key ideas can be identified in tone of voice,
inflection, repetition of words, and so forth. Identifying positive and negative meaning and main
ideas is an essential language analysis strategy.
Once positive and negative meaning and main ideas have been identified, deviance from or
agreement with point of view would have to be established. For example, an essay question
may read as follows: "Refugees from war-torn circumstances should be allowed entry into a
country. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?" Alternatively, the question may be
stated thus: "What is your point of view about whether or not to allow refugees from war-torn
circumstances into a country?" In the first case, the writer must establish deviance from or
agreement with the point of view. In the second case, the writer must establish point of view. In
both cases, however, point of view must be substantiated.
Traditionally the schematic for writing essays had been introduction, content (body) and
conclusion. In terms of critical Thinking, however, this is not altogether helpful guidance. For
deeper understanding of the argumentative structure required in essay writing, we can look to
the more meaningful paragraphing construct of situation, problems, solutions and evaluation,
which, like the AIDA model, is explained in various publications on the internet. This word
cluster and organisation of meaning allows for quicker responses to the questions asked. Let's
take a closer look at both these organisational models (the components of the AIDA model have
been added in brackets):
 Situation: Understanding "the situation" tells us about the all-important context.

(Attention)
 Problems: This key guideline in meaning relates to gathering and understanding facts.
After doing an analysis, we may discover that something is not as it could be, which
means that …
(Interest) corrective measures must be taken. It could be a matter of self-interest, or it
could be in the interest of a company, a community, a country, or even of international
interest that may have to be addressed in some way.
 Solutions: Using reasoning about point of view, solutions must be based on valid facts
(deductive reasoning) and strong logic (including inductive reasoning) as evidence.
(Desire) that cannot be refuted: proof of argument. One may accept some ideas and
discard others, depending on priorities dictated by circumstances surrounding the matter.
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 Evaluation: This demands judgement that point of view has been substantiated in order
to (Action) ensure the desired outcome.
Let us establish our position on a continuum to envision a place from which to argue a point of
view:
0 _____________50______________100
The elements of a question could be: "What is your point of view concerning allowing refugees
from war-torn circumstances into a country? Substantiate your point of view." Where do you
stand on the above continuum between NO (0–49), NOT SURE (50) and YES (51–100)?
You have been asked to provide sufficient evidence to support your point of view. Your point of
view is never right or wrong; it must only be well argued, so that sufficient balance of evidence
supports your point of view. To do this, you have to identify the reasons that support allowing
entry to refugees or not.
Critical thinking always demands investigation into the balance between the positive and
negative aspects of a case. For this purpose, you can draw up a list of pros and cons.
To do this, think of the abbreviation SPSE, which stands for the following:
 Situation: This is the topic, namely whether refugees from war-torn circumstance should
be allowed entry into a country.
 Problems: The problems to be investigated could be, for example, moral, ethical,
religious, emotional, cultural, historical, and practical problems.
 Solutions: In this case, solutions would refer to point of view, arrived at after having
carefully considered the pros and cons of the problems.
 Evaluation: This would require a summary of decisions arrived at.
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Table 6.1 Examples of pros and cons
Aspects to be Pros – arguments that Cons – arguments against

considered support refugees from refugees from war-torn
war-torn circumstances circumstances being allowed
being allowed entry into entry into a country (anti-
a country (pro-refugee) refugee)
1 Moral/ Belief systems may Belief systems may dictate that
ethical/ dictate that kindness everyone must fight their own
must be shown to all. battles and not involve others.
Religious
2 Emotional Some people have Some people may feel
stronger feelings about threatened about their job
helping others in times security, health and safety, and
of need, no matter so on.
what.
3 Cultural Some cultures do not Some cultures are racist and/or
fear integration. fear integration.
4 Historical Historically and Historically and politically, such
politically, entry by entry was allowed before, but
refugees was allowed with negative effects on some
once before, with few communities.
negative effects.
5 Practical Resources are Resources are scarce at this
sufficient in the country time, and no easy solutions are
and in most apparent.
communities.
You could use this exercise for any debate or decision-making. Of course, for assessment
purposes, you would have to adapt your content based on marks allocated and other
constraints laid down by authors.
Proof of argument
In the exercise above, we developed proof of argument. It is helpful to remember that, the wider
our reading and experience, the more evidence we may be able to gather to use in the proof for
our arguments. While this is a requirement of life in general, it is also an essential matter at the
tertiary level of study.
As you may have noted, the SPSE structure supports the exercise of brainstorming for
identifying main ideas and placing them in a logical sequence to form meaning-based
paragraphs: situation, problems, solutions and evaluation.
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It must also be noted that proof of argument becomes meaningless without academic integrity,
which involves not only ethical writing practices, such as avoiding plagiarism and providing
proof of authorship, but also writing with integrity:
 Grammatical integrity means to provide proof of argument in a manner that is easily

accessible to readers. For example, the verb tense must clarify time. It is never the
recipient's responsibility to assume meaning.
 Words, that is one's vocabulary, must convey integrity that will support the proof of
argument in a logical way. Ensuring that you use words correctly will gain the reader's
confidence in an argument. For example, you would needs to clarify through the use of
context what the word "row" means – does it mean "argument", "a line of people/things",
or "to paddle using a rowing implement"?
 What is stated as fact must be unambiguous, true and verifiable.
 What is stated as theory and belief must be argued using strong logic.
9.3.4 Critique
Texts will have to be critiqued at some time during this course of study:
 Values, attitudes and intentions that are both explicit and implicit in a text. The
preparatory step of identifying positive and negative content in a text is a good first
step here.
 Explicit (denotative) meaning and implicit meaning (including connotation). Meaning

can become ambiguous due to deficient grammar and vocabulary. For example: "The
dogs bowls are smutty" would be incorrect if the writer meant "The dog's bowls are
filthy" or "The dogs' bowls are filthy". Also, "smutty" means "dirtied and blackened by
soot from a fire". The bowls may be blackened by accumulated dirt, but the use of
"smutty" would encourage a reader to think there is a fire in the vicinity, which would
be inaccurate and misleading.
 Flaws in approach and language use (appropriateness and accuracy). What is the
nature of the text? Does it provide enough evidence for making an intelligent choice,
or is it propaganda that relies on manipulation of desires to sway your choice?
 The relationship between form and meaning. Here we look at aspects such as why
the form free verse is appropriate for narrative poetry, whereas the form of haiku is
not.
 Meaning and facts, which should be unambiguous, true and verifiable. Arguments
may be based on inductive and deductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning refers to
statements of possibility and probability, whereas deductive reasoning refers to
statements of fact.
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9.3.5 Wordsmith strategies

Dictionary and thesaurus skills
The use of dictionaries and thesauruses may be one of the most under-used language-learning
strategies. Not using these valuable resources probably results from habits formed as children,
when vocabulary is learned from parents, other people and one's social context. There may be
a lesson to learn from past neglect and current technological usages, as children are now using
simple dictionaries and thesauruses as well as word-games applications and the internet to
check the spelling and meaning of words, all of which supports language learning.
Activity 6.2
Do you think children use dictionaries enough?

Example of an answer: It seems that many different kinds of dictionary applications are not
easily available to children, for example, synonyms and antonyms. Children would benefit from
being more exposed to dictionaries.
The following illustrates the importance of using dictionaries and thesauruses:
 Purpose. The first stages of learning (recognition) take place during the practice of
searching and finding of words. Dictionaries and thesauruses are useful for learning
pronunciation and spelling visually, whereas YouTube, for example, can promote
audio-visual learning and standard pronunciation.
 Learning synonyms and antonyms. Use of a thesaurus can expand our vocabulary by
means of learning synonyms and antonyms. This promotes the learning of word
clusters, which, as we saw above, assists in expanding vocabulary.
 Recognition strengthening. Dictionary and thesaurus searches expand and strengthen

recognition of words and spelling because of visual exposure to all the surrounding
words.
 Dictionaries provide more than meaning. They also offer the pronunciation of words, a
phonetic scheme and, sometimes, the correct accent. In addition they offer:
o access to abbreviations
o identification of words as parts of speech
o examples of usage, including collocations
o syllabic stress
o pronunciation of foreign words used in English
o information about consonants
o information about vowels
o inflexion
o etymology or source of words
It is vital that dictionary and thesaurus searches should not be avoided when studying at tertiary
level, as vocabulary is mainstay.
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Word classes
Forming clusters of words can improve one's vocabulary, as we said above. One of the
methods of clustering available to us, is to create word classes based on Bloom's Taxonomy
Action Verbs. Bloom classified words for assessment purposes and identified six levels of
meaning and a cluster of key question words related in meaning to each level:
1) Knowledge: Keywords elicit memory for basic knowledge – who, what, why, when,
omit, where, which, choose, find, how, define, label, show, spell, list, match, name, relate,
tell, recall, and select. Examples of questions: "What is …?" and "How would you explain
…" (Task example: Provide words and pictures for matching and recall.)
2) Comprehension: Keywords elicit memory for understanding of facts and main ideas –
compare, contrast, demonstrate, interpret, explain, extend, illustrate, infer, outline, relate,
rephrase, translate, summarise, show, classify. Examples of questions: "How would you
compare …?" and "How would you summarise …?" (Task example: Provide texts and
visuals and ask comprehension questions relating to them.)
3) Application: problem-solving. Keywords are apply, build, choose, construct, develop,

interview, make use of, organise, experiment with, plan, select, solve, utilise, model,
identify. Examples of questions: "How would you …?" and "What would happen if …?"
(Task example: Build a house from cardboard. Ask questions relating to aspects of
building and materials.)
4) Analysis: identifying, guessing and substantiating. Keywords are: analyse, categorise,

classify, compare, contrast, discover, dissect, divide, examine, inspect, simplify, survey,
test for, distinguish, list, distinction, theme, relationships, function, motive, inference,
assumption, conclusion, take part in. Examples of questions: "What are your conclusions
…?" and "How do you justify …?" (Task example: Provide a scenario for comparison of
belief and fact.)
5) Synthesis: Combine aspects of some kind to form a new matter. Keywords are build,
choose, combine, compile, compose, construct, create, design, develop, estimate,
formulate, imagine, invent, make up, originate, plan, predict, propose, solve, solution,
suppose, discuss, modify, change, original, improve, adapt, minimise, maximise, theorise,
elaborate, test, happen, delete. Examples of questions: "What is the reason for …?" and
"How would you improve on the new design?" (Task example: Provide words and pictures
to create an advertisement.)
6) Evaluation: Provide reasoning for point of view. Keywords are award, choose,
conclude, criticise, decide, defend, determine, dispute, evaluate, judge, justify, measure,
compare, mark, rate, recommend, rule on, select, agree, appraise, prioritise, opinion,
interpret, explain, support importance, criteria, prove, disprove, assess, influence,
perceive, value, estimate, deduct. Example of a question: "How did you come to this
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conclusion?" (Task example: Provide a topic for debate, such as "Would you support
entry for refugees from war-stricken circumstances into your country? Why? Why not?")
Now that you have skim-read Bloom's classification of keywords for questions above, it
should be clear that this study guide concerns level 6 questions, which involve a higher
level of critical thinking.
Activity 6.3
Which strategy do you use most to start a conversation?
Example of an Answer: I use questions that are not personal.
Should your memory fail you, remember that the most useful prompts are who, what, why,
where, when, how and how many. This is especially useful during exams.
9.3.6 Common errors: listening, speaking, reading and writing
Remember that you can check in a dictionary whether a word should be used informally or more
formally. Below we take a closer look at a number of common errors that occur in language
learning and ways in which to avoid them.
Listening
 Distinguish sounds by ensuring correct emphasis on syllables, as this promotes hearing

for correct spelling and pronunciation.
 A number of learners may complain that they do not like reading. It may be helpful for
those who do not read easily to compensate somewhat by listening more keenly. Every
bit of conscious strategic application improves one's chances of learning, especially
when learning English.
Speaking
Two problems experienced can be "fossilisation" and "infiltration", which refer to the
transference of grammatical structures from one language to another, or to habit formation
caused by copying others' pronunciation. Common errors of this type might be:
a) Me, myself and I
My friend and me went to the shops. X
("Me went to the shops" is incorrect grammar.)
My friend and I went to the shops. √
("I went to the shops" is correct grammar.)
The bus left the man and I behind. X
The bus left the man and me behind. √
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b) Names and gender
In English we would identify a name and gender together, but if we do not want to mention a
name, we might use any of the alternatives below. In some languages the additional personal
pronoun is standard practice, but in English it is unnecessary, as shown below:
My friend she went to the shops. X

My friend went to the shops. √
(We can clarify in the following ways.)
My girlfriend went to the shops. √
My friend, a girl, went to the shops. √
My friend, Thuli, went to the shops. √
c) Affect and effect

Affect = to move emotionally or make a difference to
How will it affect them? They will be happy.
Effect = outcome or result

What will the effect on them be? They will be happy.
d) Accept, except and expect

Accept – agree to
I accept your invitation. (a as in "apple")
Except – excluding
I accept your invitation, except that I will be late. (e as in "egg")
Expect – to anticipate something
I expect to be late.
e) Invite and invitation

Ensure use of correct parts of speech, including prepositions:
I invite you to my birthday party. (verb) √
Here is your invite. X
It is not your party, therefore it cannot be your invitation. Regarding the use of "invite" in this
instance, note that a verb cannot take the place of a noun.)
Correction: Here is an/the invitation (from me to you). √
Here is an/the invitation to my party. (noun) √
 f) "Gonna" and "wanna"
This is very informal English but very popular when speaking. It is unacceptable when speaking
or writing semi-formally or formally, however, unless used as dialogue in quotation marks.
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g) Further and farther
The word "further" means to "add to", whereas "farther" means "more of something. You may
research these two words, when necessary, to ensure clarity of meaning.
 "Furthermore, he jumped farther than expected," said the Olympic spokesperson.
 "In order to further our cause, I believe we should take the matter farther … maybe to the
Constitutional Court," he argued.
h) Homonyms
In the case of some homonyms, we distinguish between verbs and nouns by emphasising the
correct syllables.
Noun: emphasise the first syllable, e.g. "present"
Verb: emphasise the second syllable, e.g. "present"
(You can remember by noting that ‘N’ comes ‘first’ before ‘V’ in the alphabet).
Homographs such as "write" and "rite" are discussed under "Writing" below.
Reading
 Texts cannot usually be fully understood on the first reading.
 A first or quick reading refers to skimming a text, which is an essential strategy for
recognition of words and recognition of general positive and negative meaning. When
this phase of reading is skipped, subsequent phases fail in some respect, such as in
regard to comprehension speed.
 Scanning is a more in-depth reading strategy for finding details, main ideas and
keywords, usually after skimming has been done.
Writing
Here some grammatical guidelines about sentence construction may be helpful. It is important
to be reminded that there are structural or grammar rules for improving meaning.
Sentence structure:
Simple: A simple sentence has one independent clause, which can stand on its own as a
complete sentence. It has one finite verb.
Compound: A compound sentence has two or more independent clauses that are joined
by means of coordinating conjunctions ("fanboys" – for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).
Complex: A complex sentence can have any number of independent clauses, and at least
one dependent clause that is joined using a subordinating conjunction (all other conjunctions
not in "fanboys") and cannot stand on its own as a complete sentence.
Examples:
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Simple I am going to the store. (One independent clause)
Compound I am going to the store and want to return by 15:00. (Two independent clauses)
Complex I am going to the store to return what you bought me because it is too small. (One
independent clause and two dependent clauses: "what you bought me" is a dependent clause
that cannot stand on its own as a sentence, and so is "because it is too small".)
One can therefore use sentence structure and conjunctions in a combined way to create
meaning.
Additional incorrect usages
Note the following strategies and incorrect usages:
 Paraphrasing versus plagiarism. Paraphrasing means to retell in one's own words.

Plagiarism means to copy the words of an author. This usually happens when skimming and
scanning have been poor and self-reliance has not been exercised. Plagiarism is
punishable.
 Summarising versus paraphrasing. Summarising refers to extracting main ideas from a text
to use for paraphrasing as briefly as possible.
 Not taking audience, purpose and instructions into account. A lack of consideration for
audience, purpose and instructions are serious flaws that lead to a loss of audience attention
and interest, and a loss of desire to read.
 Incorrect register, style and tone. Using the wrong register, style and tone leads to failure to
pre-inform readers, who may lose interest before even starting to read a message.
The words in table 6.2 sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings.
Using them incorrectly can confuse a reader.
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Table 6.2 Parts of speech and other grammatical errors
Adjectives Nouns and Verbs Adverbs Other parts of

pronouns Speech
Pronoun + verb contractions

belongin dialogue and informal
utteringsbut not in semi-formal could/should/would
to formal writing. of have
My breath I breathe
smells of garlic fumes I
garlic. when I chop could/should/would
them. have bought the
It is here. I hear you. jersey to keep me
warm.
It is her book.
it's = it is i.e. = that is
A poem It is literally e.g. = for example

embodies 24:00 but
literal and metaphorically
metaphorical "the witching
meaning. hour".
A loose bolt is I will lose that My tooth is

causing the loose tooth loose in its
rattle in the soon. socket. I will do it in the
wheel. given period of
time.
It is my right to I will write
be free. about an
initiation rite.
then = adverb than = conjunction
He must eat He would rather

and then bath. bath first than eat.
their, there, they're

they
They are at to = preposition
It is their book. home.
The book is too = adverb
over there.
two = numeral
They have
"They're not
their book.
here!" he
shouted.
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It is too late to
go.
It is too late to go
where we're to the two shops.
Is it where I We are at
think it is? home.
"to go" = infinitive
Where are "We're home!" verb
you? he shouted.
countable =
were - We number – "many
were at home. Rands"
Whose is this? who's

Who is this? "Who's this?" uncountable =
she asked. amount – "much
money"
Who is this?
who (subject), Who will give their

whom (object) book to whom?
Your you're
You are "You are
reading your reading your
book. book," she
said.
Note that the words in table 6.1 are not difficult to understand, but if used incorrectly, they can
cause loss of meaning.
 Ambiguity: "The woman had visitors for breakfast." Did she eat them?
It may be better to say: "The woman had breakfast with her guests." Ambiguity is one of the
main causes of confusion in meaning.
Multimodal and audio-visual strategies
All modern-day readers and writers need to reorient themselves to multimedia learning and
become aware of its benefits. One of the main benefits of using multimedia when imparting
messages is that the use of audio-visual faculties encourage wider engagement with material
and therefore facilitate the language learning process. Music and other sound effects also assist
us to learn the meaning of words, for example scary sounds could signal the meaning of scary
words. Furthermore, when we listen and see mouth movements during speech, we learn what is
required to speak and can rewind and rewind to help us understand and to practise.
We see more physical actions and body language in movies than we do in real life. Writers
therefore have to describe actions and in so doing their words enrich our vocabulary. Writers
therefore have to describe actions and in so doing their words enrich our vocabulary.
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Reading is therefore a good source of learning and expanding vocabulary.

Children enjoy copying, therefore it is advisable to provide them with good role models that will
help them to improve their language skills during their exposure to multimedia. In fact, internet
statistics of YouTube usage prove that learners respond very favourably to multimedia learning,
which has been neglected and under-utilised in the past.
Appealing to the imagination as well as role-playing and related activities are powerful teaching
methods that elicit critical thinking; therefore actively creating scenarios and offering
opportunities for play-acting, reading, interpreting and writing should not play second fiddle to
learning via multimedia. Multimedia should not become a "lazy" way of learning and teaching.
The internet
Clearly the internet is a reservoir of knowledge and experience. There are, however, negative
aspects to the information on the worldwide web. The worst of these are probably the existence
of fake information, inappropriate communications and hackers.
Comparisons and similarities
Comparisons are a useful strategy for creating examples in logical argument.
A word cluster of adverbs has been generated over time, which signals and supports
comparative argumentation. Comparative adjectives and adverbs apply here:
Adverbs: slightly, marginally, approximately, considerably, significantly, substantially, possibly

and probably
Adjectives: more/less, greater/larger, better/worse, higher/lower, etc
Example: "There are slightly more XYZ being built than ZYX." Grammatically the sentence
structure looks like this:
There (relative pronoun) are (verb) slightly (adverb) more (adjective) XYZ (noun) being built
(present continuous verb) than (conjunction) ZYX (noun).
Conjunctions
Conjunctions such as "whereas" and "moreover" not only signal comparison but also improve
cohesion in a text. This supports fluency and comprehension.
Superlatives
Superlatives can also support argument, but they require careful use so that they do not read as
exaggeration. In other words, superlatives require proof. If we say "Lamborghinis are the fastest
cars on earth!", we have to provide the necessary facts to prove the statement in order to avoid
arguments and conflict.
Reference words
These are used to create cohesion in texts and they prevent text from becoming boring by
avoiding repetition.
Proper nouns1 become personal2, reflexive3 and possessive4 pronouns:
Mr Satsuma1 was delighted with the car he2 had bought for himself3. It was meant only for his4
use and no one else's. This was the first time he2 had had anything to himself3.
125
Table 6.3 Reference words that support cohesion in texts
Gender Personal Objective Possessive Reflexive Demonstrative
Female she her hers herself
Male he him his himself
Unknown it it its itself
Singular this, that female,

male, animal and
thing
Plural these, those females,

males, animals and
things
Other firstly, secondly, thirdly, the former; the latter furthermore, in

etc addition, etc
6.3.6.12 Final phase of writing

Once a writer has
 brain-stormed ideas
 used a meaningful organisational structure as guideline
 written a first draft (usually more than one)
then the text must receive its final polishing by means of the following:
o editing, which serves to correct register, style, tone, organisation of

structure, and organisation of meaning
o proof-reading, which serves to correct grammar and aspects of cohesion
and coherence to improve flow of words and logical progression of meaning
9.3.7 Academic writing at tertiary level
This section is not an afterthought; it is meant as a "grand finale", and it concerns academic
writing at university level. During text analysis, statements based on terms of reference must be
followed by proof of statement that must be taken directly from the text. For example, if a term of
reference requires that style be identified in a business letter, then statement and proof of
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ENG1515/501/0/2020
statement will be that the style is formal in conventions: "Yours faithfully". Knowledge shall be
demonstrated by including proof.
When quoting from sources by other authors, it is a strict academic requirement that the
author's hard work be acknowledged by using the Harvard style of referencing, whether a direct
quotation has been used (in which case quotation marks should be used) or whether the
author's words have been paraphrased (when no quotation marks are necessary).
Activity 6.4
In order to synthesise some of the "terabytes" of knowledge that you have gained in this
module, explain the meaning of SPSE and why it is of value to essay writing.
9.4 CONCLUSION
Unit 6 focuses on the various factors that contribute to good writing, and good writing is
essential to communicate meaning clearly to an audience. Hopefully, you will now be able to
recognise good writing and produce it yourself!
9.5 REFERENCES
REFERENCES
Routledge
Routledge.
Wyse, D, Jones, R, Bradford, H & Wolpert, MA. 2013. Teaching English language and literacy.
London: Routledge.
9.6 GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
logic – the use of intelligible inductive and deductive sense in language
bias – qualitative balance in meaning in language
proof of argument – a source of proof provided in a text or speech to support a statement
essay – a written discourse
main ideas – the essential thoughts and feelings conveyed in a text of speech
keywords – essential words used to convey main ideas
critique – an evaluation of text or speech
value –worthiness expressed through language
127
attitude – a quality of thinking and feeling that is conveyed through language
explicit – refers to meaning that is clearly stated
implicit – refers to meaning that is intended to be understood but is not clearly stated
accuracy – correctness, and therefore reliability, in language
choice – a conscious decision to use language in an intended way
inductive – language used to argue about proving theories and beliefs
deductive – language that relies only on facts to prove a point in an argument in an essay
synthesis –combining aspects of meaning
evaluation – refers to assessment of language in some way
ambiguity – meaning that is unclear and confusing due to poor use of language
comparison – consideration of the similarities and differences between words and ideas
similarities – similar features or aspects
editing –correcting to improve language in terms of language conventions and meaning
proof-reading – correcting the spelling of words and the technical aspects of a text
the Harvard reference generator on Google and click on References in the menu at the top of your
9.7 SELF-ASSESSMENT
SELF-ASSESSMENT
use section 6.3.7 of unit 6, "Academic writing at tertiary level", as guidance regarding writing structure.
What is the main idea in section 6.1?
Example of an answer: The main idea is to combat language difficulties.
Critical language awareness: answer the following:
1. "Beliefs are not false." Explain what this statement means.
2. What does the term "academic integrity" mean to you?
3. Does explicit meaning relate more to inductive reasoning or to deductive
reasoning?
4. Does implicit meaning relate more to connotation or to denotation?
Answers:
1. In an academic sense, until beliefs are proven to be false, they are not.
2. I understand that, in a broad sense, education is a reciprocal process between
the learned and the learner, in the course of which truth is determined through
diligent research. Furthermore, on a micro level, accuracy and reliability
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ENG1515/501/0/2020
(language integrity) must be ensured through use of grammar and other language
conventions that render messages intelligible.
3. Deductive reasoning
4. Connotation
What is the difference between editing and proof-reading?
Answer: Simply put, editing relates directly to improving expression and therefore
meaning, whereas proof-reading relates to improving technical aspects of language,
including grammar. Editing and proofreading together serve to improve writing.
This brings us to the end of the study course material for the module ENG1515. We trust that its
content has informed you and guided your learning, so that your skills in the English language
have improved.
Except where otherwise stated, all contents and table contents were compiled by the author
from a great number of sources that have been broadly and briefly used. All information can be
Googled. None of the contents originated with the author of this study guide.
129

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ENG1515/501/0/2020

Tutorial Letter 501/0/2020

Applied English Language for Foundation

Department of English Studies

This tutorial letter contains important information

University of South Africa

© 2019 University of South Africa

All rights reserved

Printed and published by the University of

6.6.7 Intention and the influence of listening habits ....................................................................... 57

9.3.7 Academic writing at tertiary level ............................................................................................... 126

Students shall demonstrate academic writing skills at tertiary level NQF 5.

3 OVERVIEW OF THE COURSE

3.2 Prescribed book(s)

These textbooks are available at all official Unisa booksellers.

3.3 Recommended book(s)

4 UNIT 1: CHARACTERISTICS OF LANGUAGE

4.3 LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

Table 1.1 Language development concepts

See below for further guidance.

1930 B Behaviourist theory – BF Skinner (1930s): external-environmental-connectionist-associative-

4.3.1 Important concepts

 multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary methodology: integration and blending of

4.4 A BRIEF LOOK AT ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION NAD LEARNING IN THE

4.4.1 World English – history, geography, technology and power

1.4.1.1 History and power – global and local influences

1.4.1.2 Geography and power – global and local influences

1.4.1.3 Technology and power – global and local influences

4.4.2 English and the South African Context

An audience (made up of readers, listeners or learners) always requires that conventions

Table 1.3 Characteristic language conventions of field

Business Social, 1-3 Conferen Semi- Objective: Verbal and Acceptable

Home: Instructional: Personal and 1-3 Oral: face-to- Informal: Subjective:

Business and Instructional: Social, 1-3 Conference Semi- Neutral:

used in the Advertising vocabulary (register) positive

Social Instructional: Culture and 1-4 Oral and Semi- Neutral:

On the street Instructional: Register 1-3 Oral Informal More

4.4.6 Analysing language to gain critical literacy

4.4.6.1 Poor grammar and incorrect vocabulary

intelligible - easily understood

critical language awareness - a holistic alertness to how language works

critical literacy – language understood through the active application of knowledge

language conventions – set structures in language that facilitate understanding

language expressions – thoughts and feelings conveyed in unique language

Language expression allows for personalised wording that can be manipulated,

Carefully read through the following sections in this prescribed textbook.

5.2 LANGUAGE STRUCTURES: SIGNS AND SYMBOLS – HOW SPEECH BECOMES

5.3 TIME AND CULTURAL EFFECTS ON LANGUAGE

5.4 DEFINITIONS TO KNOW

Table 2.2 Definitions for language analysis

Concept Part of speech Meaning Example

Phone-tic-s Noun – A system/systems of Phonetic alphabets,

Phone-tic Adjective Detailing information Phonetic alphabet – a kind of alphabet

Phon-ic Adjective Sound Describes the nature of sounds, such as standard

Phone-me/ Noun – Signs indicating the "cat"= /k/ae/t

Morph-ology Noun The study of word Grammar: prefixes, roots, suffixes

Grammar Noun Structural rules that Understandable, socially acceptable speech

Written – novellas, scripts, speeches, news, etc

Semantic-s/ Noun/ Study of the Vocabulary: denotative and connotative.

5.4.1 SPEECH AND SOUNDS: PHONOLOGY, PHONETICS AND PHONICS

(Source: IPA Chart, http://www.internationalphoneticassociation.org/content/ipa-chart, available under a Creative Commons

Table 2.4 The NATO phonetic alphabet

(Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NATO_Phonetic_Alphabet_reading.ogg (accessed on 4 July

Variations in pronunciation are the result of changes in speech over time,