BACHELOR OF EDUCATION IN GA-DANGME

Transcription

1 UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA FACULTY OF LANGUAGES EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF GA-DANGME EDUCATION BACHELOR OF EDUCATION IN GA-DANGME

2 BRIEF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The GaDangme Education Department of the School of Languages, University of Education, Winneba, is an amalgamation of the Ga and Dangme Departments of the erstwhile School of Ghana Languages, Ajumako. When the University College of Education was established in 1992, the School of Ghana Languages was transferred from Ajumako to Winneba as the Department of Ghanaian Language Education in the Faculty of Language. Ga and Dangme became two units in the Department until the emergence of the present Department in September Mission The Department s mission is to produce professionally competent graduates teachers in the Ga and Dangme languages and culture and to endow them with analytical minds that will empower them in the pursuit of knowledge relevant for teaching in pre-tertiary institutions for national development. Academic Programme The Department offers programmes at the B.Ed degree level in Ga and Dangme. The programmes have been designed carefully to respond to the academic, professional and social needs of prospective teachers of Ga and Dangme. These programmes are reviewed periodically to respond to the changing needs of the GaDangme people and the country as a whole. Objectives of the B.Ed Degree Programme in Ga and Dangme i. To reinforce the student s proficiency in speaking, reading and writing Ga and Dangme. ii. To familiarise the students with the fundamental approach to phonological, morphological and syntactic description and analysis. iii. To assist the students to appreciate the nature and functions of literature, and to identify how literature is analyzed and evaluated. iv. To guide the students to analyse and appreciate how the cultural systems and practices of GaDangme society affect the national and world view of the GaDangme people. The new Bachelors program is designed to train qualified teachers to teach Ga and Dangme at both the basic and secondary institutions in the country. Additionally, some of our products do teach in the teacher training colleges of the country. Finally, the B.Ed. Program in Languages should equip all graduates from our Division to teach a second (and, possibly, a third) language as follows Specifically, the Bachelors Program will i) Promote research and provide a fundamental knowledge base of teaching languages in Ghana; ii) Provide necessary skills for interpreting and making sense of research (both local and cross-cultural research) in teaching and teacher education; iii) Provide skills for observing and analyzing teaching and learning; iv) Provide skills for effective supervision of instruction; v) Provide skill for measurement and evaluation of teaching and programs in languages education; vi) Provide skills in the development, implementation and evaluation of curriculum in languages education. v) To assist the student to develop the appropriate competence and confidence that will enable him/her to create the appropriate interaction and to provide the relevant resources in the classroom.

3 vi) To assist the student to build the appropriate attitude towards the teaching and learning in schools, and use of Ga and Dangme in appropriate situations. Outreach Programme The Department has a seven member academic staff, very knowledgeable in the Ga and Dangme languages. They offer consultancy services in the following areas: i. Development of textbooks for pre-tertiary institutions ii. Functional literacy programmes iii. Translation projects iv. Curriculum development v. Development of reading materials in the two languages vi. Language policy issues The Department also runs long vacation Sandwich courses in the history, culture and GaDangme language of the GaDangme people for all customers. Entry Requirement Applicants should i. Have Teacher s Certificate A with at least 3 years teaching experience. ii. Fulfil requisite O level/sss requirements, including a pass in Ga or Dangme iii. Pass the University Entrance Examination/Interview Under normal circumstances, a minimum of the Teachers Certificate A plus six passes at the SSS Exams (including a minimum of C grade in Mathematics, English and a Ga or Dangme) will be required. In order circumstances, certified teachers over 30 years of age with at least two years of post-graduation teaching experience will be considered. Exit Requirements a. An average of D in all under-graduate work is required for the award of a degree. b. Successful completion of a culminating experience-a long essay or project. Approach and Scope of the Program The main approach to the proposed Program is as follows: a. Organize the course of studies on a Faculty level with electives from the individual Departments within the Faculty. Not only will the resulting degree be more broad-based, but also a skeletal staff in each Department could team up to help train the candidates. b. Each participating student should be encouraged to major in one Department within the Faculty (i.e. their major electives should be weighted in favour of one preferred Department only). c. Award a Bachelors Degree in Education within the Faculty (i.e. the student s major electives). Duration of the Program It is envisaged that students would take four years full load of under-graduate level courses including a full year of off-campus practice teaching (not to include any deficiencies and/or prerequisites). A maximum of five years will be allowed for a student to complete the program.

4 LNG 111 Introduction to Linguistics 2 Cr. Hrs This course is designed to give students a general introduction to language and language related courses. It seeks to provide students with the major definitions of linguistics including the grammatical and non-grammatical aspects. It further seeks to distinguish between language and communication. LNG 112 General Phonetics 2 Cr. Hrs This course introduces students to the fundamentals of phonetics. While it focuses on articulatory phonetics, all the other major approaches to phonetics including acoustic phonetics, auditory phonetics, and physiological phonetics are also introduced. Students are expected to be conversant with topics such as places of articulation, manners of articulation, airstream mechanisms, and states of the glottis. Also, students must be able to both produce and describe all the speech sounds of the world s natural languages particularly, those found in the sub-region. LNG 121 Phonology 2 Cr. Hrs Students are taken through the fundamental principles of phonology including the notions of contrastive versus non-contrastive units, binary versus multi-valued features, natural classes, and phonological rules. Students are expected to apply any such principles to the sound patterns of their native languages. LNG 122 Morphology & Syntax 2 Cr. Hrs Topics treated include, morphemes, allomorphs, affixes, word formation, constituent structures as well as functions of constituents. Students are further introduced to Transformational Generative Grammar LNG 231 Semantics 2 Cr. Hrs Students are introduced to the notion of semantic features. Topics treated include, synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, idioms, similes, and metaphors. Students also learn principles of acceptability in meaning. Finally, the lexicon is introduced. LNG 241 Theories of Language Acquisition 2 Cr. Hrs Various competing theories of first and second language acquisition are analyzed. Part I of this course concentrates on First Language Acquisition including the various stages in language acquisition. Part II focuses on Second Language Acquisition. The approaches encompass (1) the Behaviorist /environmentalist and (2) the generativist /mentalist/rationalist. Methods of Contrastive Linguistics as well as Error Analysis are also treated. LNG 242 Language Lab Methods and Materials 1 Cr. Hrs Students are introduced to the latest language lab technologies and materials. They are further assisted in evaluation the effectiveness of the materials. Also requires school-based observation and participation beyond class time. LNG 351 Theory of Translation 2 Cr. Hrs The focus of this course will be on the following: introduction: uses of translation in society; place of translation in linguistic theory; levels/ranks of translation; qualities of translation. The Lexicon; Propositional structure; Inter-propositional Relations; Organizational meaning; and Situational Meaning. It shall also cover problems of translating text involving certain genres e.g.

5 EDP 351 Research Methods 2 Cr. Hrs The course deals with the theoretical and substantive contents of Research Methods. Emphasis is placed on the conceptual framework of research, Selecting a title; Identification of research problems, Review of relevant literature; Social measurements; Operational definition; Research design; Sampling techniques; Data collection methods; Data analysis; and Report writing. ELECTIVE LNG 122 English for the Ghanaian Language Teacher 2 Cr. Hrs This course is designed to address the basic problems found in the student teacher s use of the English language both spoken and written. Students will be given extensive exercises in writing skills essay, comprehension, and summary writing. The course also intends to review correct and effective use of preposition as will as adverbial particles, verbs especially phrasal verbs articles, and words of quantity; comparatives and superlatives, problems in spelling, punctuation, and word order (especially adverbs and adjectives) will be tackled. LNG 361 Field Language 3 Cr. Hrs Students shall be introduced to basic principles of field methods in linguistics by demonstration, explanation and students practice. Emphasis will be on the development of the procedures, principles and underlying rationale of analysis and description. These methods will be illustrated and practised through the study and gathering of data from a language not previously known to the students. LNG 362 Testing in Language & Literature 2 Cr. Hrs The course is designed to help students write better tests and to explain the principle of testing and show how they can be applied in practice to language and literature. It describes the process of test construction, from drafting initial test specifications to reporting test scores, test validation and administration. LNG 363 Socio-Linguistics 3 Cr. Hrs Introduces students to the study of language in social context. Analyzes problems in social dialects and communication, jargons, slang, bilingualism and language switching, Pidgins and Creoles. LNG 364 Psycho-Linguistics 3 Cr. Hrs. This course introduces students to the rather complex relationship between language and the human mind. Areas of concentration include: the cognitive process, discourse forms and functions; memory vs. comprehension; perception of speech sound; etc. LNG 365a Historical Linguistics 2 Cr. Hrs Students are introduced to various approaches to diachronic linguistics. Topics include phonetic and phonological change, morphological and syntactic change, and lexical as well as semantic change. Special attention will be give to borrowing, and semantic shift. Students will further be guided through the various methods of Reconstruction. GHL 365b Language Variations 2 Cr. Hrs This course treats practical topics in socio-linguistics and historical linguistics. Synchronic linguistic change is employed as a window to explain diachronic change. Of particular interest will be sound change in modern language. Students will be encouraged to collect and analyze data from familiar languages.

6 LNG 366 Morpho-Tonology 2 Cr. Hrs Explores the morphological and tonal patterns of Ghanaian languages, emphasizing unique features such as tonal down-stepping and down-drifting. Morphophonemic rules such as reduplication are investigated. Requires oral and written assignments, and a documented term paper. LNG 367 Discourse Analysis and Pragmatics 2 Cr. Hrs Identifies the basic values underlying the application of discourse analysis. Also provides students with systematic ways of analyzing the discourse structuring of language. Requires oral, written assignments, and a documented term paper. LNG 368a Language and Culture 2 Cr. Hrs This course explore the cultural dimensions of linguistic expression. It relates the use of language to cultural conventions and the values of different societies. Different area of social activity are also considered especially, how values are reinforced or understood by different by different aspects of language use. It further takes a critical look at the role of language in the ideological structures of social activities. LNG 368b Comparative Cultural Studies 2 Cr. Hrs This course introduces students to a comparative study of the cultures of the major ethnic groups in Ghana. The cultures of the ten officially recognized languages will be compared and contrasted. Topics to be studied include the family; life cycle (e.g. marriage, birth, death etc.): state organizations; religious beliefs and practices; the traditional economy; etc. LNG 471 Teaching Reading to the Child with Special Needs 3 Cr. Hrs Prerequisites: Two reading courses or instructor s permission. Explores reading as an extension of the language process focusing on children with special needs (e.g the learning disabled, the gifted, the linguistically different, the emotionally disturbed, the mentally retarded, etc.) Emphasises will be placed on the learning environment. LNG 472 Teaching of Written Composition K-12 3 Cr. Hrs A workshop for school teachers who wish to improve their writing skills and their teaching of written composition. Requires students to produce varied pieces of writing, discuss their writing in class read materials and texts dealing with teaching and writing, and survey techniques for teaching writing and producing a term paper. LNG 473 Foundations of Bilingual Education 3 Cr. Hrs Studies basic bilingual multicultural topics; how they are closely reated to any multilingual, multicultural society (whether in Ghana or elsewhere in the world); and how such relationships and their different concepts affect the conceptualization of national and international policies, political and social institutions, legal organizations, philosophical ideas, moral and religious concerns, and educational systems, etc. LIT 111 Introduction to Literature 2 Cr. Hrs LIT 121 Oral Literature/Folklore 2 Cr. Hrs LIT 231 Survey of African Literature 2 Cr. Hrs This course aims to provide students with a panoramic view of African literature. Emphasis is laid on the thematic treatment of the prescribed texts through a critical approach. The course embraces all the three genres prose, poetry and drama. It treats the following issues: the birth

7 and growth of the various genres (prose, poetry and drama) in Africa; the historical and thematic review of African literature; etc. Selected texts representative of all the genres will cut across the whole continent. LIT 241 Introduction to Theory and Practical Criticism 2 Cr. Hrs This course is designed to assist students to approach literature from various theoretical and practical positions. It seeks further to equip students with an operational knowledge of how critics and readers develop and articulate interpretations. It covers the following topics: Aristophanes view of judgment of literature; Plato s view on imaginative literature: Aristotle s view on the art of poetry; Longinus judgment of Art; Horace s view on Literature; some modern critical schools (feminism, formalism, etc). Students will also be exposed to some basic techniques of practical criticism. GADANGME COURSES GA-DANGME COURSE DESCRIPTION GDE 112: History and culture of the Ga-Dangme people The course aims to raise the consciousness to students as far as the history and culture of the GaDangme people is concerned. It is designed to achieve the following: - Trace the history of the GaDangme people from ancient (Middle Eastern) times, including their sojourns through East Africa to the present times and locations. - Appreciate the historical and cultural heritage of the GaDangme Linguistic community. - Develop cultural and linguistic awareness through plays and role-plays, including traditional drumming and dancing, proverbs, riddles, folktales, etc. - Acquire the socio-cultural values in the literature of the GaDangme people. GDE 112: Principles and Rules of Writing Ga-Dangme This course seeks to equip students with the principles and rules for the spelling and writing of Ga-Dangme. The basic skill to be taught is the orthography of Ga-Dangme, ie the rules governing word writing in Ga-Dangme. Care will be taken to differnciate between the GaDangme alphabet and other alphabets. GDE 112: GaDangme Structure and Ussage This course is intended to introduce students to the basic structure of the GaDangme sentence. It focuses on the study of grammatical categories, which make up the GaDangme sentence with emphasis on the verb and the adjective. Students will be initiated into different types of sentence analysis through practical exercises. GDE 121: Phonetics and Phonology of Ga-Dangme This course introduces students to the speech sound of GaDangme. It covers, among other things, the phonetic description of consonants and vowels of GaDangme. The notion of tones, down-step vs. down-drift will also be studied. The phonology component shall concentrate on the phoneme, the criteria for establishing the phonemes and allophones of the language; phonological analysis of utterances; phonological processes; supra-segmental phonology, vowel harmony, the syllable, stress/intonation etc.

8 GDE 122: The Ga-Dangme Essay This course introduces students to essay writing in Ga-Dangme. It places emphasis on writing as a practical means of communicating ideas quickly and clearly in whatever form work a day world may require. The basic skills to be emphasized at this level include: how to assemble material for the essay, planning the essay outline, style of writing, practice in paragraph writing, as well as learning to write beginnings, middles and endings of essays. GDE 231 Morphology and Syntax of Ga-Dangme This course introduces students to the morphology and syntax of Ga-Dangme. The morphology component covers the definitions, identification, segmentation and distribution of the morphemes; other classifications of the morpheme according to position, distribution and function; additions to the syntax component studies the basic grammatical units of the GaDangme language, eg. The sentences, the clause, phrases and word classes and their various subclasses. There will also be a detailed study of the noun phrase as well as the sub-categorization of the noun head into lexical nouns versus pronouns, animate versus non-animate, count versus noncount, generic, kinship versus non-kinship, etc. GDE 231 Ga-Dangme Oral Literature I This course is designed to help students appreciate the literary and aesthetic qualities of folktales, fables, historical narratives, myths and proverbs in GaDangme. I will cover situations during which these verbal art forms are used, and examine the extent to which these art forms are used, to reflect the culture/civilization and philosophy/ideology of the people. Students will be encouraged to collect and analyse some of these forms of oral literature for publication. GDE 233 Comprehension and Summary Writing 1 Cr. Hrs. This course introduces students to the techniques of comprehension and summary writing. It is designed to help students develop the skills of understanding what is being communicated and to make use of the materials or ideas contained in the communication. Students will be equipped with the basic skills of analyzing paragraphs in particular, and longer writings in general. PGL 231 Curriculum Studies (The Ghanaian Language Syllabus) This course exposes the students to the current Ghanaian Language syllabus of Primary School, Junior Secondary School, Senior Secondary School and Teacher Training Colleges. It identifies the aims and objectives of the syllabus in relation to the needs of the learner and the nation. Problems of instructional materials and methods of instruction and evaluation will also be examined. GDE 241 Word Classes: Particles. - Prepositions, Postpositions, etc. This course continues the study of grammatical categories with emphasis on particles, prepositions, postpositions, etc. Students will be exposed to corrective grammar, using their productions as basis for practical exercises. GDE 242 Written Literature of Ga-Dangme I This course introduces students to written literature in Ga-Dangme. Students will be introduced to vigorous analysis of written works of prose (4 books), poetry (2 books), and drama (3 books). Particular attention will be paid to different writing styles, etc.

9 PGL 242 Curriculum Studies (Texbook Evaluation and Adaptation I) 3 Cr. Hrs. The aim of the course is to familiarize students with Basic level textbooks, syllabuses and materials to enable them use these creatively. It will discuss the general principles of the organization of syllabuses. It will also examine the structure of Primary, J. S. S. and Teacher Training Courses and syllabuses and critically analyze the following elements; performance objectives, needs and goals, selection and grading of content and learning tasks. In addition, the course will concentrate on making instructional materials more communicative in the classroom. PGL 242 Methodology I (Language Teaching Skills) The course is designed to equip students with the skills to teach varied aspects of language. It focuses on various approaches to language teaching (traditional, structural, functional, etc), technique of teaching, reading and writing, etc. GDE 351 Translation Practice I This course continues the work begun in LNG 351. It builds on the knowledge acquired in that course in an attempt to give students copious practice in the various skills in translation. Students will be required to translate passages from English into Ga and Dangme and vice versa. PGL 242 Methodology II (Language Classroom Organization) The course addresses different practical issues in the language classroom including how to handle large classes effectively even with inadequate resources, improving interaction and teaching language across the curriculum, pair/group work, group formation and supervision, differentiated group tasks, classroom interaction, language across the curriculum etc. PGL 352 Curriculum Studies (Textbook Evaluation and Adaptation II) This course will expose students to the concept and principles of textbook evaluation and adaptation. Focus will be on the Ghanaian languages syllables and literature textbooks in use, criteria agreed upon, and appropriate adaptation techniques based on school context. EDP 351 Research Methods This course is designed to introduce students to the various methods and approaches to research. The ultimate goal of the course is to prepare students to do independent research at the end of their studies at the university. Topics to be tackled include, Identification of the Research Problem as well as the Topic. The Research Questions or Assumptions (Hypotheses), Purpose and Significance of the study, Review of Literature, Data collection, Data analysis, Validation and Reliability, Writing the Report, Referencing, etc. At the end of the course students are expected to produce good Research Proposals of their own. GDE 361 Ga-Dangme Structure and Usage II This course is meant to reinforce basic issues dealt with GDE 112 and GDE 231. It deals with relatively more advance issues in structure and usage such as tense, concord, relativization, reflexivization, plural formation, identification of types of sentences, sentence patterns, phrases and clauses and their functions in the sentence structure. GDE 362 GaDangme Oral Literature II This course continues work begun in GDE 232. In a forward-looking manner it will build on knowledge acquired in that course in an attempt to help students critically analyze texts of occupational songs, play songs, war songs, funeral dirges, folksongs, religious songs, drum language, horn language, xylophone language, panegyric and libation etc as poetry paying attention to the structure, style and content. The course will also cover riddles and/or puzzles and other verbal

10 art forms. GDE 363 Ga-Dangme Cultural Studies This course will continue the work begun in GHL 121, focusing on each language area s peculiar customs. In forward-looking perspective, it will build on the knowledge acquired in GHL 121. The following topics will be covered: the state (state hierarchy, state elders and their duties, the security of the state, etc) festivals and calendar, religious beliefs and practices (the concept of the unseen and destiny, the human personality, etc). GDE 364 Translation: Practice II Further practice in translation is the main objective of this course. At the end of the course, it is expected that the student will display a high level of proficiency in the various translation skills. Passages for translation will be taken from current journals, magazines, newspapers and other publicantions. GDE 365 Practical Testing in Language and Literature This course exposes students to formal and informal (continuous assessment) methods of test construction in languages. The following areas, among others, will be covered: The role of testing, types of test (including oral tests), Reliability and validity, sampling and weighting: Practical test design, continuous assessment procedures: construction of test for various subjects of study in Ga-Dangme will also be taught. GHL 361 Language Variations 2 Cr. Hrs This course treats practical topics in socio-linguistics and historical linguistics. Synchronic linguistic change is employed as a window to explain diachronic change. Of particular interest will be sound change in modern language. Students will be encouraged to collect and analyze data from familiar languages. GHL 362 Stylistics and Literature 2 Cr. Hrs The course concentrates on how literature can be characterized as a use of language, relates this to other approaches to literary study and seeks to demonstrate the relevance of this stylistic approach to the learning of literature. There will be work on practical stylistics and the applications to specific text of prose-fiction, poetry, and drama. GDE 367a GaDangme Written Literature II This course is an analytical study of the three forms (genre) of literature in the Ghanaian Language poetry, drama and prose. It is expected to lead students through a critical study of theme, styles (i. e. use of language), characterization and techniques of authors. Attempts will be made to trace the history/source of the writers and their literary works. GDE 367b GaDangme Written Literature III This course is an advanced study based on Ewe 362 (Ewe Oral Lit. II). The study shall involve field research work in the collection and critical analysis of the verbal art forms. These include folklore, folktales, all types of songs, traditional musical instruments and their language, proverbs, libation, panegyric etc. as poetry. Their significance to the social setting will be examined. Students shall be expected to produce good material for publication.

11 GDE 368 Creative Writing II: Practice This course is aimed at the development of the student s own type of creative writing narrative, descriptive, play/drama, and poetry writing. The course will also emphasize the development of style, originality and fluency among students. GDE 368b Project Work (Book Production) This course aims at getting students to develop their talents at creative writing. The student will be required to write his own book as a project of to translate a good piece of literature into his/ her own Ghanaian language. GDE 369 Lexicographical Studies: Development of Terminology This is a language-based course that aims mainly at exposing students to the principles of devising new terminology. It shall be applied to the actual creation and development of terminology in various areas of learning especially in the classroom, science, mathematics, social studies, etc.