Syllabi or study guide/content analysis (Appendix A)

The content in the syllabi and study guides from both institutions seem to fully cover the information for students to learn and master English as a Second Language. The syllabi include all basic English components such as parts of speech, reading comprehension, essay writing and analysis, summaries, vocabulary building, presentations and report writing, to ensure a high standard of English to be learned. The syllabi lack formal core activities such as formal debating.

Data revealed a lack of specific teaching objectives in oral communication and writing skills in the syllabi especially at University B. The syllabi did not make provision for how students were to be taught, for example, to generate high quality, precise and clear sentences. Also there was a lack of activities such as scrambled sentences, combining sentences and summarising to increase students’ understanding of sentence structure while developing their ability to compose complex sentences. In addition to that, there was also a lack of practice in editing and revising, especially on individual essays such that, even after a piece of writing was marked, there was no follow up of how to avoid similar errors in future. Although lecturers wrote comments or compiled lists of errors made by students, students did not follow the advice. They continued to make the same errors.

This researcher is aware of the fact that lecturers mostly taught what was found in the study guide although they did some research to supplement their teaching. The point was that much of what was written in the syllabi or study guides did not provide many activities for students to practice, especially on speaking skills. For example, there were no speaking activities provided in all the units in the English in Practice study guide where students could work together to discuss and come up with answers. Almost everything was done individually. As a result, some lecturers just followed the instructions in the study guide.

Considering the fact that English is a second language to the students and also the fact that students’ English proficiency is very poor in Namibia, the institution was not solving this problem but worsening it. The study guides did not make any provision for teaching speaking. If the institutions wanted to improve the students’ language proficiency then communicative language teaching methods should have been applied. For example, lecturers should have based communicative language teaching of second language learning on real life

situations. The students at University B did not care whether they had a study guide to use in class or not. This could also be a concern because they did not follow what was being done in class.

Also, the findings revealed that study guides did not make provision to teach syntax and morphology. In Namibia, English as a medium of instruction was introduced in most schools 24 years ago and the way it was being taught was a matter of concern both at school and tertiary level. The following is the analysis of each syllabus at both universities.

4.2.1 Syllabi at University A

4.2.1.1 Language in Practice Course Level 4

There is a unit on grammar where different tenses and other elements are listed such as compound and complex sentences. The syllabus also covers parts of speech such as prepositions, pronouns and modal verbs. The students in this course are required to write descriptive and narrative essays. The oral communication is not part of this course which should, in the opinion of the researcher be part of this course. Students in this course need to build their speaking confidence through speaking in front of the class and debating, because it is the first English course to be done by the students after secondary school and those who obtained lower grades such as D and E symbols are enrolled for this course.

4.2.1.2 English in Practice Course Level 5

English in Practice is a level higher than Language in Practice. It is a repetition of Language in Practice (LIP) except conditionals, direct and indirect speech, gerunds and text summarizing are added. The students in this course are expected to write opinion and argumentative essays. The oral part is neglected although they do power point presentations once a semester. It seems University A is not concerned with the students’ oral communication. Oral communication is a very important aspect of a student’s life. That students are only doing power point presentations once a month and are not involved in some sort of debating is a matter for concern.

4.2.1.3 English for Academic Purposes Course (EAP) Level 6

The English for Academic Purposes Course is offered at both universities but differ in content At University A, it is evaluated as level 6 while at University B, it is level 5. The prerequisites for EAP at University A are English in Practice, a “B” in English at Ordinary level or a 3 in English at Higher level in Grade 12. Students in this course write memorandums, business letters, reports and research writing. At University A, EAP aims to equip students to study effectively in an English medium learning environment. This aim should already have been emphasised during Language in Practice and English in Practice courses. In addition to this aim, English for Academic Purposes aims to assist students to improve and develop their English language proficiency within a framework of academic contexts in order to communicate accurately, appropriately and effectively in academic speech and writing. Also, EAP aims to support creativity and intellectual development through reading, writing and speaking activities related to students’ fields of study and to encourage students to enjoy and appreciate a variety of language. How does this course address these aims? There are eleven units in the syllabus. Most of these units emphasise writing (for example memoranda, business letters, reports, research writing and so on) except the last unit, which caters for oral presentation. It is the opinion of the researcher that oral presentation should have been integrated into the different units. Furthermore grammar is not part of this course because the course focus is on writing memorandums, business letters, reports and research writing.

4.2.1.4 Professional Writing Course Level 7

This course is basically about professional writing. Students produce different types of business writing such as request and response letters, complaints, adjustments, tactful letters, memoranda and emails, reports, persuasive letters and business proposals. Grammar and sentence construction are not part of the course. The grammar and sentence construction are only assessed during marking of students’ written work and correction depends on whether the students take notice of the marker’s comments or not.

4.2.1.5 Professional Communication Course Level 7

This is the last course for the undergraduates and some students do not have to enroll for this course. Since it is a professional communication course, students are introduced to professional language use for three weeks, which the researcher found insufficient because they (students) are expected to communicate professionally.

The grammar aspects in the Professional Communication Course fall under the Unit on language usage. According to the syllabus, three weeks are set aside for grammar, where verb forms – basic do, does, did; verb – past; verb – ing; to be, am, is, are, was, were and verb – d-n-t, to be, passive form are taught. Fifty five minutes three times a week is the time allocated to the teaching of these courses. This is very short, given that English is a second language for 99% of Namibia’s population.

The Professional Communication Course was designed to introduce students to oral and writing skills which are the focus of this study which should have been already done at school level. In addition, the course was designed to address the specific language needs of students’ at different levels. By looking at the writing aspects, it was apparent that the writing process was focused on planning, organisation, presenting, rewriting, proofreading and editing, leaving out accuracy in grammar, which is most needed by the students. It is this researcher’s opinion that all these processes need to be taught together with syntaxes. Otherwise, students would know how to correctly follow these processes but continue to make mistakes when it comes to sentence structures.

Some of the learning outcomes of the undergraduate courses at University A stated that upon completing these courses, the students would show the ability to use English across a variety of contexts and situations, demonstrate understanding of correct use of English in written and spoken forms and generate, plan and organise ideas for written and oral activities. This researcher’s view is that the time allocated is too short for students to be able to show these abilities in courses such as Language in Practice and English in Practice.

4.2.2 Syllabi at University B

4.2.2.1 English for General Communication Course

English for General Communication is a year course designed for students who obtained a “D symbol” in English at NSSC Ordinary Level. At University A, students who obtained “C, D or E” symbols in English at NSSC Ordinary Level were only given a semester (that is about 14 to 15 weeks). It is very interesting to note that at University B the English for General Communication Course (level 4) study guide or the syllabus was set in such a way that it catered for a unit on vocabulary, which was not the case at University A.

The writing, syntaxes and speaking are integrated in this syllabus. There are five grammar units on the parts of speech because each part of speech has its function. The unit explained parts of speech as well as how they are used in English. There are several activities set on all skills. Apart from reading, the parts of speech in the grammar units are explained in detail and different activities are given. The writing and speaking skills are integrated where students have to illustrate what they were taught in grammar and in their writing and speaking skills.

4.2.2.2 English Communication and Study Skills Course

The English Communication and Study Skills course is a semester course which is taken by students who obtained a “C” symbol in Grade 12. This was comparable with Language in Practice. The difference is that students who obtained “, C, D or E” symbols enroll for these courses for a semester at University A while at University B students who obtained an “E’ symbol are given a special course (English Access) to prepare them to enrol for EAP course. As mentioned earlier those who obtained a “D” symbol have to enroll for English for General Communication for a year at University B. There are nine units in the study guide for the English Communication and Study Skills course, which have to be completed within 14- 15 weeks. The English Communication and Study Skills Course introduces students to oral communication and have to be taken by those students who obtained a “C” symbol at NSSC Ordinary Level. Oral communication is assessed on its own, which is not the case in Language and Practice and English in Practice at University A. In the syllabus of this course, the criteria that lecturers use to asses oral communication is explained to students. The

rubrics for assessing oral communication are also given and explained in the syllabus. This gives students the motivation to work hard on this component. In this syllabus, students are given a chance to read through rubrics and decide on the part in which they thought they had difficulties and want to work on. Here, the emphasis is on student oriented ideas.

There is also a unit on vocabulary where students used the phonetic key or guide in their dictionaries to write the phonetic transcription of words. In the researcher’s view, this teaches students how to pronounce words correctly. Another example found in the syllabus is that, students are given rubrics to work in groups on a certain topic. They then present the topic to the rest of the class, which use an evaluation check list to evaluate the presenters.

Most of these activities were not found in Language and Practice and English in Practice syllabi.

4.2.2.3 English for Academic Purposes (ULEA) Course

The prerequisite for the English for Academic Purposes (ULEA) course at University B are English for General Communication (ULEG), English Communication and Study Skills (ULCE), or B in English at Namibia senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary Level ( NSSCO) or 4 in English at Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Higher Level ( NSSCH level. Here, the English for Specific Purposes (ULEA) course aimed to focus on academic reading, writing, listening and oral presentation skills for academic purposes.

Upon completion of the module, students would among other things be able to write effectively and demonstrate official and basic academic speaking. The aims of the EAP course focused on academic reading, writing, listening and oral presentation skills for academic purposes, empower students with the skills necessary to produce a referenced and researched essay written in formal academic style in the context of university studies, and empower students with oral presentations, reading and listening skills.

The English for Academic Purposes course consisted of 12 units (listening comprehension and note taking, basic academic skills, reading, academic vocabulary, mechanics in academic writing, writing academic proposals, functional situations in academic writing, selecting and synthesizing, the APA Reference style, editing and revising and academic speaking). English

for Academic Purposes was found to be the only course that taught morphology, called “word-parts” and is regarded as an aid to learning vocabulary. There were lots of activities in the study guide which students had to do. For example, students were given a word and asked to analyse it by identifying the prefix, suffix and the word itself. Students then had to define the word without the prefix and suffix. After that they had to define the word with a suffix and prefix such as “pre-dominant-ly”. Most of these activities were not found in the EAP at University A. Professional Writing and Professional Communication are not offered at University B but are offered at University A.