Research & the Language Development
Group
what we’ve been doing and what it means
‘languages of change’
• Language – as linguistic code– as medium of teaching and learning– as multi-semiotic– as metalanguage– as discourse
academic literacies
• as communicative practices
• as our work
• as field of enquiry
Where are we now and what difference has it made?
Where are we now and what difference has it made?
Research Output over last 7 years
• 4 PhDs• 5 PhDs bubbling• LD Book (2006): Academic Literacy and
Languages of Change• 29 Peer reviewed journal articles including
– 15 Accredited publications• 3 Chapters in books
LD’s Research Contribution to CHED
SPENCER
PROJECT
RPL
CET
NumeracyScience
Code switching
PG literaciesPhD
PhD
PhDPhD
ADPrPHealth Science
Multimodality
MEPIn 5 disciplines
Commerce
PhD
Numeracy
International
National
Institutional
CHED
Some Evidence:Institutional & International
• Embedding of academic literacies in curricula at UCT
• ‘…there is evidence that academic literacies [research] is informing institutional pedagogical initiatives (see for example Thesen and van Pletzen 2006) and more mainstream educational debates (see for example Haggis 2003, Ganobcsik-Williams, 2006) thus offering an additional and contrastive perspective to the dominant influence of psychologically oriented approaches.’ (Lillis and Scott 2008)
National SchoolingStudent feedback: Masters EAL
• I really do not know how it can be done, but courses like these should be introduced to as many teachers as possible. Teachers out there are struggling with changing curricula and there is little or no help offered to them. With the knowledge I gained in this course, I strongly feel I can make a difference out there. Hence I appeal to the course co-ordinator to send brochures to schools selling the course to teachers.
NationalLD in CHED: a model that is unique
• ‘a stimulus and an example’ to other units in SA (Stella Granville, Wits Colloquium, 2006)
Health Science
Engineering Law
Commerce
Humanities
ADPCHED
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