The South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR) is forging ahead with an initiative to help students with basic academic writing.
SADiLaR’s language development and testing node, the Inter-institutional Centre for Language Development and Assessment (ICELDA), has developed a series of videos, called Write It, to help students with their writing.
Academic writing is key to academic success, but getting it right is not easy, particularly for students who are learning in a second or third language. Some institutions offer modules in academic literacy and academic writing support, but not all students in South Africa have access to this kind of support.
Videos with handouts for simple reference and optional online tasks have been made accessible in sign language and all 11 of South Africa’s official languages. Students can watch the Write It videos on SADiLaR’s YouTube channel.
Dr Detlef Cloete, a lecturer and former project manager at ICELDA, says the choice of topics and how the content is presented is driven by insight and knowledge in academic writing development, as well as global and local research.
The programme comprises 15 topics, which include:
- task analysis – how to understand what is required from you for a particular task;
- how to write introductions and conclusions;
- discourse markers/logical connectors – how to guide your reader through the text logically;
- voice, stance and engagement – how to display authority over your text and involve your reader;
- how to reference correctly; and
- how to integrate and reference sources in such a way that you avoid plagiarism.
Although videos are available in all of South Africa’s official languages, the ICELDA team has decided to keep the handouts and activities in English.
Prof Tobie van Dyk from North-West University’s School of Languages, ICELDA-SADiLaR Node Manager, explains that students indicated that they would like to write and study in English with support in their home languages.
“Handouts and videos should be used as a package, particularly in a situation where a student knows the English term used, but not the term in their mother tongue, or vice versa,” says Prof. van Dyk.
Although the course is divided into 15 modules, students can choose how they want to interact with it. Therefore, students can use the materials from start to finish or just concentrate on the parts that are difficult for them.
“We are incredibly passionate about this programme as a way of supporting South African students with academic writing in their own mother tongue,” says Dr Kristien Andrianatos, senior lecturer at the North-West University’s School of Languages, and content developer at ICELDA.
“Using academic English and completing written tasks in higher education is complex, especially for beginners, and we trust that Write It will assist students with their academic acculturation on their journey to becoming part of the academic community,” says Dr Andrianatos.
Testing and quality control
As part of the design and development phase, the ICELDA team worked with Prof. Kris van de Poel and Dr Marilize Pretorius from the University of Antwerp, Belgium, in providing universal course content explains Dr Cloete.
ICELDA also worked with InterCulturate, a Belgian company that provided useful support for elements like the design and layout of the handouts and the online packaging.
“We also tested the materials on local students in our Writing Centre environment and in postgraduate academic writing workshops, and the feedback is really positive,” says Prof van Dyk.
Access to all
Students and lecturers can watch the videos on SADiLaR’s YouTube channel. If you want to access the full course content or require further Learner Management System support, contact SADiLaR on info@sadilar.org.
For further enquiries contact Ms Lihle Sosibo, Communication Manager at SADiLaR, on 064 684 9281 or email Lihle.Sosibo@nwu.ac.za
