Abstract
Background: In the intermediate phase of schooling, learners’ academic success is largely dependent on their ability to read and write academic texts. Teachers need to teach academic language intentionally and explicitly. In order for teachers to do this, they themselves need knowledge of academic language and its features. Teacher education students, therefore need to be explicitly taught about academic language and provided with sufficient opportunities to develop their own proficiency. Aim: This article aimed to explore the academic language proficiency of a cross-sectional sample of teacher education students at a Johannesburg university. Setting: This study took place at a South African university that implements a university-accredited primary school teacher education qualification. The university is located in an urban area, but attracts students from both urban and rural contexts. Methods: Students’ test scores on a core academic language skills instrument were utilised as data for this study, with descriptive and inferential statistical analyses procedures used to make sense thereof. Results: Findings from a cross-sectional analysis between first- and second-year students’ scores indicated that students’ academic language proficiency does not appear to improve after their initial year of study. Conclusion: The article concludes with a discussion of the implication hereof for teacher education and for the profession.
Highlights
The importance of academic language for teacher education students is twofold: Firstly, when students enter university they need to use academic language to engage with content across disciplines (Boughey 2002; Case 2013; Henning, Mamiane & Pheme 2001; Lamberti 2013)
This has several implications for teacher education and the profession. When these students qualify as teachers they will likely be unable to teach academic language to the learners in their classrooms explicitly and intentionally. The reason for this is, as the results of this study revealed, they themselves do not know the conventions of the generic academic language skills that are required for learning in the IP, as captured in the CALS instrument (CALS-I) test
Students’ scores on the CALS-I indicate that they may need extended academic language competences required to teach across the curriculum in South African schools from Grade 4 onwards
Summary
The importance of academic language for teacher education students is twofold: Firstly, when students enter university they need to use academic language to engage with content across disciplines (Boughey 2002; Case 2013; Henning, Mamiane & Pheme 2001; Lamberti 2013). I used a paired samples t-test to compare the mean test scores of the firstand second-year IP students in order to determine whether their test scores appear to improve after 1 year of study and engage with academic texts at a university (and experience some socialisation into the discourse of the academy).
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