Browsing by Author "Hamakali, Hafeni P."

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    Assessing students in English for Academic Purposes: The role of alternative assessment tools in writing instruction
    (2018) Hamakali, Hafeni P.
    This study aims to investigate the assessment of students in the English for Academic Purposes course at the University of Namibia Language Centre. There has been increasing criticism of standardised test and examinations and it has brought into question the value of other indirect approaches to language assessment (Reeves, 2000; Sharifi, & Hassaskhah, 2011; Tsagari, 2004). The study draws its theoretical foundation from the constructivist’s view of education (Canagarajah, 1999; Schunk, 2009; Vygotsky, 1962). The study embraces the interpretivist approach to research which tends to be more qualitative, and is open to diverse ways that people may understand and experience the same non-manipulated objective reality. The participants in this study are students and lecturers of the English for Academic Purposes course at the University of Namibia Language Centre. The study employs a qualitative research design, along with triangulation, where qualitative data was collected through lecturer interviews, lesson observations, multiple intelligence inventory, and student focus groups discussions. The study adapted the thematic approach of data analysis where the data were analysed and presented under themes derived from the research questions of the study. The findings indicate that, there was a limited stock of assessments that suits the classification of alternative assessment, namely: checklists, student-lecturer question techniques, and academic essay. The findings reveal some factors that influence the integration of alternative assessment in academic writing instruction, such as: lecturers and students’ knowledge of assessment, students’ assessment preferences, authenticity, classroom setup, and feedback. The findings also showed that the assessment practices that were used by the lecturers did not seem to fulfil the ideologies advocated in Gardener’s (1984) theory of Multiple Intelligences. However, the study found that the students and lecturers’ attitude which was skewed towards the positive direction may be an indication that there could be hope for success in attempts to integrate alternative assessment in academic writing instruction.
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    Assessing students in English Second Language courses: The role of alternative assessment tools in language instruction
    (University of Namibia, 2016) Hamakali, Hafeni P.; Lumbu, Simon D.
    This conceptual paper is an analysis of the role of alternative assessment (AA) tools in English language instruction. AA tools tend to be less formal than traditional testing; they gather information rather that at one point in time; and they are rather formative than summative in nature (Alderson & Banerjee, 2001). There has been increasing criticism of standardized test and examinations and it has brought into question the value of other indirect approaches to language assessment. Research has shown that these approaches provide a wealth of information which can inform a more valid interpretation of standardized test or examination results. The results of this analysis could be useful in informing language instructors, language material developers, language teacher trainers, as well as curriculum designers.
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    An examination of Korean students’ pronunciation of English consonants: The relationship between perception and production
    (University of Namibia, 2013) Hamakali, Hafeni P.
    This study examined the relationship between perception and production difficulties in English pronunciation. The participants were 24 Korean students at California State University, Los Angeles, in the English Language Program. First, the participants were given a listening test, evaluating their ability to discriminate consonants at word, sentence, and passage levels. Second, the participants took a read-aloud test, also at word, sentence and passage levels while they were being recorded. Using binary scoring, the recordings were rated by two raters. The means of perception and production errors observed were then correlated, and the resulting correlation coefficient indicated the kind and degree of relationship between the perception and production errors. The findings showed that although there seem to be differences between the number of perception and production errors, a significant relationship exists between the perception and production difficulties of English pronunciation. The findings of this study inform the ESL teachers and material developers about certain issues that they should consider when planning and designing teaching as well as assessment activities of English pronunciation. Even though this study only focused on perception and production difficulties experienced by Korean students, it can also be used as a reference for our Namibian ESL community in teaching and assessing ESL students.
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    Exploring the problems of second language learners’ English pronunciation: A contrastive analysis of English and Oshiwambo (Oshikwanyama)
    (University of Namibia, 2016) Hamakali, Hafeni P.; Mbenzi, Petrus A.
    English is the official language of Namibia. The majority of Namibians have to learn English as a second language because their mother tongue is either one of the Namibian indigenous languages or a different foreign language. Learning English has been a challenge to many learners and several studies attribute the high failure rate in Namibia to poor proficiency in English. In particular, contrastive analysis studies attribute some of the second language learners’ learning difficulties to their first language influence on the target language, English. This study, also a contrastive analysis, focuses on the difficulties which the native speakers of Oshiwambo encounter in learning to speak English, with particular reference to the Ovakwanyama. The study attempts to identify common errors which Oshikwanyama speakers would make in English and establishes the grounds for such errors. Finally, the study makes suggestion for the intervention strategies to remedy the situation.