Strategic goal
To further access with success by leading innovation and support in language development.

Objective
To support students in the development of their academic language by means of academic literacy courses and Write Site support.

Assistant Director: Dr Annette de Wet

Contact person: Bloemfontein Campus
Ms Annamarie Otto
+27 51 401 4331
ottoa@ufs.ac.za

Contact person: Qwaqwa Campus
Dr Moodiela Mathobela
+27 58 718 5077
mathobelaMV@ufs.ac.za

Contact person: South Campus and regional sites 
Ms Linda Sparks
+27 51 401 9312
sparksla@ufs.ac.za   

Academic literary courses 

The English academic literacy courses are designed to support students studying across the disciplines. These courses focus on writing guided academic assignments for the purpose of developing students’ writing ability in various discourses. They also place emphasis on intensive and extensive reading, and listening and note-taking as vital to developing academic skills. Students are introduced to a variety of topics relevant to the respective disciplines through sustained content-based instruction.

Academic literacy courses are presented in the Higher Certificate qualification, extended degrees, and in mainstream programmes. The following literacy courses are presented:

• GENL1414 and GENL1524 (Higher Certificate and Qwaqwa)
• EALH1508 and EALH2508 (Faculty of the Humanities and Education)
• EALL1508 (Faculty of Law)
• EALE1508 (Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences)
• EALN1508 (Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences)
• EALM1504 (Faculty of Health Sciences)
• AGAH1508 (Afrikaans course Faculty of the Humanities)
• AGAE1508 (Afrikaans course Faculty of Education)

Outcomes of the literacy courses

The academic literacy courses are designed to support students studying across the disciplines. These courses focus on:

• Critical reading skills, which refers to the ability to extract the main ideas and key details of an
       academic text
• Academic writing skills, which refers to the ability to express information and opinions clearly and with appropriate organisation in the written mode
• Oral skills, which refers to the ability to express their opinions about a variety of issues fluently, critically, as well as creatively in the mode of oral discussion
• Critical thinking skills, which refers to the ability to apply, analyse, and/or evaluate information
• Listening and note-taking skills, which refers to the ability to collect and organise important ideas

Even though all of these skills are covered in the literacy courses, the main focus is on reading and writing.


 
Coordinators of various literacy courses on the Bloemfontein Campus

• Dr Peet van Aardt – EALH1508
• Ms Kelello Thamae – EALH2508
• Ms Marike Potgieter – EALL1508
• Ms Miranda Carstens Gouws – EALN1508
• Mr Michael Rowley – EALE1508
• Ms Linda Sparks – GENL1414 /1524 
  

Workshops presented for facilitators in the ULD

The following are examples of workshops that are presented as part of the training of facilitators:

• How to teach writing
• Language teaching and learning
• How to make use of media in academic literacy classes
• Student engagement
• Reading, paraphrasing, and summarising
• Managing the M-reader programme
• Assessment
• Lesson planning

Contact person: Bloemfontein Campus
Marike Potgieter
Mpotgieter@ufs.ac.za

Contact persons: Qwaqwa Campus
Dr Moodiela Mathobela
mathobelaMV@ufs.ac.za

Mr Mohau Nkutha
nkutham@ufs.ac.za

Contact person: South Campus
Ms Linda Sparks
sparksla@ufs.ac.za


Write Site

The Write Site assists students with their academic writing in collaboration with subject lecturers. Writing conventions are discipline-specific and prepared for specific student cohorts. The Write Site services include face-to-face and online workshops, followed by individual sessions with trained consultants at the writing centre.


 
Undergraduate and honours students can book individual sessions via Blackboard. Bookings must be made at least 48 hours (two days) in advance and students must come prepared with their written assignments to sessions. The link to the online booking system can be found on the Write Site Blackboard page, which is situated under ‘my organisations’ on Blackboard. Students are encouraged to visit the Write Site as often as they please, and the service is free of charge.

Staff members
Bloemfontein Campus:
Ms Laura Drennan – Coordinator
Ms Gini Keyser – Afrikaans coordinator
Ms Alison Stander – E-learning manager
Ms Thenjiwe Hugo – Administrative Assistant

Workshops presented 
A.    Examples of aspects covered in Write Site consultant training workshops:

• The art of consulting
• How to structure guiding questions
• Negotiating lengthy assignments
• Managing group bookings
• Discipline-specific text analysis
• Higher- and lower-order writing conventions
  
  

B.   Examples of writing aspects dealt with in workshops for students:

• Unpacking the assignment topic
• Discipline-specific text formats
• Thesis statement formulation
• Developing and supporting an academic argument
• Paragraph formulation
• Synthesis
• Effective paraphrasing
• Referencing

Contact person: Bloemfontein Campus 
Ms Laura Drennan
drennanl@ufs.ac.za

Contact person: Qwaqwa Campus 
Ms Dineo Babili
babilidn@ufs.ac.za

Language Support to academic staff

Lecturing staff are assisted with language issues in communicating to non-mother-tongue students, for instance in study guides and assessment formulation. This is done by means of  i) cooperation with focus area Academic Staff Development (ASD); ii) Module makeover and iii) Individual assistance.

Contact person:
Ms Miranda Gouws Carstens
carstensM1@ufs.ac.za