Investigating the learners’ interpretation of everyday words when used in the physics context in South African classrooms

[摘要] The science teacher’s language, in the science classroom, has become a new language builtwith familiar Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT) words, in this case English. Thisresearch study investigated the learners’ ideas and understanding of simple everyday wordswhen used in the physics classroom. The study focused on bringing to light the existence ofthe problem of contextual meanings of everyday words in the physics classroom language.The participants in this study were mainly English second language learners and educatorsfrom 5 high schools in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, selected on the basis of theiraccessibility and socio-economic backgrounds. These consisted of 105 high school learnerparticipants of physical science, (84 grade 11 learners and 21 grade 12 learners) and 5physical science teacher participants (one from each school). The methods of data collectionused were the questionnaire and the interview. The questionnaire items were developed usingsimple everyday words to test the learners’ understanding of every words when used in aphysics context. The learners were interviewed soon after the questionnaire was marked. Therespective physical science teachers were also interviewed to further probe on their learners’answers.The findings in this study suggest that the learners have difficulties with the contextualmeanings of everyday words when used in the physics classroom. The types of difficultiesincluded learners assuming that certain words they meet in everyday life situations stillcarried the same meanings when they are used in physics contexts. The sources of thedifficulties were that the learners thought they understood the science classroom languageand the teachers also assumed that their learners understood this language. The findings alsoshowed that the educators fail to notice that what seems clear and simple to them may bedifficult and vague to their learners.

[发布机构] University of the Witwatersrand