English studies: Decolonisation, deparochialising knowledge and the null curriculum

This paper reports on a desktop review study of undergraduate and postgraduate English studies (both English literature and English language) module offerings (n = 48) of 24 English departments at 17 South African higher education institutions (HEIs) conducted in 2017. The review focused on the presence and purpose of the term, decolonisation, in these module offerings. Framed within deparochialism and a null curriculum, and employing purposeful sampling and explicit inclusion criteria common in systematic reviews and meta-analyses, the study has the following findings: (a) decolonisation has a presence in only three undergraduate module offerings and it is mentioned in only one honours module offering among the 48 module offerings reviewed. (b) All four modules are English literature modules; (c) decolonisation is a module thematic or topical component and is used for critical analytical purposes in the identified modules in varying degrees. (d) In the three undergraduate modules, decolonisation is restricted to African literature or Africa writings and (e) in the postgraduate module, decolonisation is offered as one of the four optional stand-alone modules. Finally, the paper argues for a decolonisation that deparochialises the disciplines of English studies

Use of mobile phones as supplementary teaching and learning tools to learners in South Africa

One of the major challenges in teaching English to speakers of other languages is the issue of inadequate contact time between teachers and learners and between learners and comprehensible English language input. This paper emanated from a burning desire to help learners in South African educational institutions, especially those in remote areas, increase the opportunity for learner-teacher-content contact. The deployment of mobile phones, as tools to supplement teaching and learning off-campus and after school hours, is presumed in this study to be one attempt to increase contact time for learners. A qualitative research methodology, which is interpretive in nature, was used. The study used a descriptive case study research design. It used a sample of 44 learners, drawn from Grade 9 English First Additional Language learners in one school in the Eastern Cape. The participants were sampled, using purposive and volunteer sampling techniques. Mobile phones were used to collect data, which was in the form of short message services (SMSs) and Mxit messages. A questionnaire with open-ended questions was also used to collect data about learners’ perceptions of the use of these devices in the educational process. The data were analysed by incorporating elements of both content analysis and discourse analysis. Despite the fact that some participants were of the view that SMS would corrupt their language and spelling, findings indicate that most SMS and Mxit texts produced by participants displayed full sentences, punctuation marks, correct spelling of most words, acceptable grammar and proper sentence use. Further, findings indicated that while SMS and Mxit communication were largely characterised by short hand and informal writing, when learners were aware that they were using these platforms for learning purposes, the traditional rules of formal writing applied. We conclude that mobile devices can improve the language acquisition of second language learners. We recommend consideration of the official inclusion of mobile devices as supplementary learning tools in the learning programme in South Africa