william pitcher college Department Of Languages
The languages department offers courses in English Language, SiSwati and French to prospective teachers who are undergraduate students in the College.
MISSION STATEMENT
The overall mission of the department of Languages is to promote competence in the three Languages among prospective teachers. Specifically, the prospective teachers receive instruction on subject matter content, teaching methodology, classroom management and planning and conducting of instruction at classroom level. The department therefore prides itself with producing highly competent teachers to enrich the teaching fraternity in Swaziland.
COURSES OFFERED
Primary Teachers Diploma (PTD)
The Department offers courses for prospective teachers at primary school level. The teachers of English and SiSwati are trained to teach effectively and meet the acute demand of teachers of English at primary school level in Swaziland.
Secondary Teachers Diploma (STD)
The Department also offers courses to pre-service teachers of English and SiSwati at secondary school level in Swaziland.
Certificate in French
This programme offers prospective teachers with the opportunity to attain competence in a third language.
DESCRIPTION OF COURSES
1. English language
The Department equips prospective teachers with subject matter knowledge, skills in teaching methodology, classroom management so that the can effectively teach the English Language to Swazi students.
Course description
Students shall investigate the linguistic structure, development and growth of language and its varieties and social functions.
Course Content
- Linguistic structures
- Sentence construction
- Agreement, concord
- Verb tenses, tense forms, conditional sentences
- Direct and indirect speech
- Common errors
- Questions-open ended, multiple choice, true/false, rhetoric
- Parts of speech: adjectives, adverbs, nouns, pronouns.
- Growth and development
- Word analysis, context clues
- Understanding sentences, core parts, punctuation.
- Sentence analysis: main and subordinate clauses, simple and complicated sentences.
- Identifying topic/ key sentences in paragraphs
- Connecting ideas between paragraphs
- Writing creatively
- Critical reading
- Varieties of English and its social functions
- Responding to articles form the media
- Use of cohesive devices in written English, reference, substitution and ellipsis
- Phonetics- how and where sounds are produced
- Recognizing correct pronunciation and articulation
- Stress and rhyme in English
- Reading aloud
- Project, plays, short stories, oral literature.
Literature in English
The Department also offers Literature in English to prospective teachers at STD and PTD levels to train prospective teachers of English at primary and senior secondary school levels on critical thinking skills by exposing them to local and international literature. This will be a brief survey of major literary forms: Drama, Prose and poetry. Students are given the opportunity to engage in critical evaluation and respond to texts.
Course content
- One novel by an African writer
- One non-African novel
- A modern African play
- Anthology of African and non-African poetry
- One novel by an African writer
- One non-African novel
- One non-African play
- Anthology of African and non-African poetry (from year 1).
- Short stories
SiSwati Language
The Department also offers SiSwati Language and Literature to the prospective teachers to broaden their knowledge of SiSwati grammar. The course aims at increasing prospective teachers’ accuracy and range in speaking, understanding, reading and writing SiSwati so that they may be competent enough to teach effectively at secondary school level.
Course description
The course comprise of two major components: SiSwati content and Curriculum studies.
Course content
- language usage, substantive and qualitative, articulatory phonetics, child language acquisition and an introduction to the Bantu
languages - Teaching of Traditional Literature
- Oral narratives, riddles and lullabies
- Novel: plot, character, theme and point of view
SiSwati Curriculum Studies
1. Curriculum studies in Language
- Morphology, syntax and semantics
- Verb copulative
- Language usage
2. Curriculum studies in Literature
- Traditional literature
- Modern short stories
- Praise poetry
- Songs
- Short stories
3. SiSwati Curriculum Studies
- Language teaching methods
- Literature in English teaching methods
- Language diversity
- Language change
- Languages of the world
- Adverb, ideophone, conjunctive, interjective
- Project or term paper
- Traditional literature
- Drama
- Idioms and proverbs
- Project or term paper
Application of methods in language and literature
2. French
The department also offers French to all students. This exposes the prospective teachers to the grammar and culture of
a third language so that they can communicate effectively in the language meet global standards. This course is still at its
teething stage, however it is anticipated that it will be fully functional by August 2010.
3. Academic Communication skills
This department concerns itself with equipping prospective teachers with academic skills so that they attain proficiency
in the language in order to be able to use English in a variety of contexts. This department does not concern itself with
teachers of English but addresses the academic needs of students in all the faculties. The programme entails basic
communication skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening.
ACTIVITIES
- Presentations
- Debates
- Drama
- Teaching practice (final year students)
- Assignments
- Use of flipcharts and projectors
- Research projects by final year students