Browsing by Author "Veldsman, Marishan"

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    Taalgesindheid teenoor Afrikaans : ’n gevallestudie onder Afrikaanse Taalverwerwing 188-studente
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-03) Veldsman, Marishan; Adendorff, E. M.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Afrikaans and Dutch.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study examines the predisposition of Afrikaans Language Acquisition 188² students towards Afrikaans. The predisposition of language learners towards any language is crucial to ensure successful language acquisition. It is therefore important, for the purposes of this study, to understand the difference between “predisposition” and “attitude”. Predisposition towards Afrikaans in this study refers to the personal opinions of an individual towards Afrikaans, which serves as motivation and driving force for learning Afrikaans. Language attitude, on the other hand, merely refers to the mentality, stance or opinion of a student/speaker towards a particular language, whereas the word “predisposition” also includes the emotional reaction of a speaker towards a language. By examining students’ predisposition towards Afrikaans, the deep-seated convictions of individuals with regards to a specific language is revealed, as well as the language experience of language learners. The main research question of this thesis is: What is the predisposition of Afrikaans Language Acquisition 188 students towards Afrikaans? This question is investigated based on a few sub-questions: What impact does the students’ predisposition towards Afrikaans have on learning Afrikaans? What factors have contributed towards this predisposition? Are the students who feel positive towards Afrikaans more likely to use it outside the classroom than those who feel less positive? In what ways can the lecturer/tutors make positive changes in the classroom or adjustments to their lectures to promote a positive attitude and predisposition towards Afrikaans as a language and as a subject? This study was undertaken within the following theoretical frameworks, namely language attitude theories (Dittmar, 1976, Garrett, 2010, Dyers, 2013 and Swart, 2016), stereotyping (Roos, 1990 andLadegaard, 1998); the language acquisition theory (Krashen, 1982) with the focus on his affective filter hypothesis; academic emotions (Pekrun, Goetz, Titz and Perry, 2002 and Pekrun, Hall, Goetzen Perry, 2014); acculturation (Zaker, 2016)–specifically Schumann’s acculturation model– and language awareness (Ibarraran, Lasagabaster and Sierra, 2008). This study makes use of participatory action research with a case study component. The data collected were analysed using qualitative and quantitative research methods. The tool used for collecting data was a series of questionnaires. The data were used to investigate the predisposition towards Afrikaans, the motivation and emotional state of the respondents. Furthermore, the data only serve as a representative sample of the total Afrikaans Language Acquisition 188 student class. The main findings of the research show that predisposition towards Afrikaans is of importance in language acquisition. Therefor the motivation and emotional state of the language learner must always be considered by the lecturer. It is also necessary that the content discussed during lectures stimulates the learners’ interest in such a way that they do not lose focus and motivation to learn the language successfully.