How isiZulu speakers use cohesion in their academic writing in English
Achievement rates for black students in South African higher education remain low after 20 years of democracy. Writing academic English according to existing conventions is a complex skill. One aspect of this skill is producing cohesive text. In this article, the writing of a group of isiZulu speake...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Afrikaans |
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Stellenbosch University
2017-12-01
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| Series: | Per Linguam : A Journal of Language Learning |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://perlinguam.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/700 |
| _version_ | 1819204825401786368 |
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| author | Drummond, Andrew Meikle |
| author_facet | Drummond, Andrew Meikle |
| author_sort | Drummond, Andrew Meikle |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Achievement rates for black students in South African higher education remain low after 20 years of democracy. Writing academic English according to existing conventions is a complex skill. One aspect of this skill is producing cohesive text. In this article, the writing of a group of isiZulu speakers at Wits is analysed to determine how Hallidayan cohesion is operating therein: how does this language group use conjunctions, lexical cohesion, referencing, ellipsis and substitution when writing in English? From this analysis, it is evident that there are elements of referencing, conjunction use and lexical cohesion which are well developed in their writing. At the same time, evidence of speech-type syntax in the data indicates areas where further development is possible. These findings have led to suggestions on how academic language input could facilitate writing skills development for this language group. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T04:41:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5109e5b0878f4d01b559a5d27ddd2592 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0259-2312 2224-0012 |
| language | Afrikaans |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T04:41:58Z |
| publishDate | 2017-12-01 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Per Linguam : A Journal of Language Learning |
| spelling | doaj.art-5109e5b0878f4d01b559a5d27ddd25922022-12-21T17:59:45ZafrStellenbosch UniversityPer Linguam : A Journal of Language Learning0259-23122224-00122017-12-01332769310.5785/33-2-700How isiZulu speakers use cohesion in their academic writing in EnglishDrummond, Andrew Meikle 0King’s College London, United KingdomAchievement rates for black students in South African higher education remain low after 20 years of democracy. Writing academic English according to existing conventions is a complex skill. One aspect of this skill is producing cohesive text. In this article, the writing of a group of isiZulu speakers at Wits is analysed to determine how Hallidayan cohesion is operating therein: how does this language group use conjunctions, lexical cohesion, referencing, ellipsis and substitution when writing in English? From this analysis, it is evident that there are elements of referencing, conjunction use and lexical cohesion which are well developed in their writing. At the same time, evidence of speech-type syntax in the data indicates areas where further development is possible. These findings have led to suggestions on how academic language input could facilitate writing skills development for this language group.http://perlinguam.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/700CohesionAcademic literacyIsiZulu speakers' written English |
| spellingShingle | Drummond, Andrew Meikle How isiZulu speakers use cohesion in their academic writing in English Per Linguam : A Journal of Language Learning Cohesion Academic literacy IsiZulu speakers' written English |
| title | How isiZulu speakers use cohesion in their academic writing in English |
| title_full | How isiZulu speakers use cohesion in their academic writing in English |
| title_fullStr | How isiZulu speakers use cohesion in their academic writing in English |
| title_full_unstemmed | How isiZulu speakers use cohesion in their academic writing in English |
| title_short | How isiZulu speakers use cohesion in their academic writing in English |
| title_sort | how isizulu speakers use cohesion in their academic writing in english |
| topic | Cohesion Academic literacy IsiZulu speakers' written English |
| url | http://perlinguam.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/700 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT drummondandrewmeikle howisizuluspeakersusecohesionintheiracademicwritinginenglish |