Departments

English

Undergraduate Modules

The following modules are offered in the Department of English:

ECS (English Communication Skills)

English Communication Skills (ECS) consists of two modules. Module one is offered in the first semester and module two in the second semester. The first module ECS 1541 is a core module and must be taken by all first-year students from all schools enrolling for the first time, but also by those from other year groups who are repeating the ELP or ECS course. Thus many students are registered for this subject every year – roughly 3000. In order to accommodate them all in groups, there are quite a number of groups to choose from. Every student enrolled for ECS 1541 has to belong to one of these groups. The group the student chooses has to be selected according to the student's own personal timetable. Since some groups' lecturing times will clash with the lecturing times of other subjects, students have to be sure that they choose a group which will allow them to attend all four of the ECS 1541 lecturing periods. Students can therefore not come to an ECS 1541 lecturer, complaining that on a specific day they were unable to attend his/her class, because they (students) had a clash with another subject. Students simply have to choose another group, which does not clash with that subject. It is for this very reason that such a large number of ECS 1541 groups exist. Every group has four teaching periods per week. The lecturer assigned to that group will explain to students how these periods will be utilised. Students are expected to attend every period, as this is a practical skills based module, which entails working in class. As a result of the large numbers lecturers have to work with, the setting of dates for tests and assignments is a laborious affair, which can easily be complicated. In this regard, students' full cooperation and patience will be greatly appreciated.

In the second semester students are expected to register for their School Specific Module i.e.

• ECS 1641 for Human & Social Sciences
• ECS 1642 for Education
• ECS 1643 for Business & Management Sciences
• ECS 1644 for Law
• ECS 1645 for Natural & Agricultural Sciences
• ECS 1646 for Environmental & Health Sciences

The same principles for choosing groups, as applied in ECS 1541, hold true for the students' respective electives.

Language

As English is an important key to educational success in South Africa, the aim of the English language courses is to develop knowledge and skills in the English language and the way in which it is used in various social contexts. The language course is divided into two categories; namely, language structure and language use.

Language Structure

This section of the course focuses on phonology (how sounds combine), phonetics (the sounds of language), morphology (structure of words), syntax (sentence structure), semantics (meaning of sentences) and pragmatics (meaning of sentences in situations).

Language Usage

This section of the course examines the uses of English for everyday communication. It focuses on the grammatical usage of English for various purposes. Common language errors and mistakes that second-language (L2) students make in various uses of English are also addressed. The following language modules are offered.

• ENG 1561 Introduction to the English Language (Structure & Usage)
• ENG 2561 English Structure and Usage: Intermediate Level
• ENG 3541 Advanced English Structure (Core)
• ENG 3542 Advanced English Usage (Core)

Literature

The literature course is designed to open new vistas in the students' minds by showing lives, experiences, values and beliefs that are different from their own. The course is meant to inculcate in students knowledge of the three genres of poetry, prose and drama and their characteristics. The main aim of the course is to make students conversant with critical concepts as well as literary conventions and how they change. The course aims to inculcate a strong critical sensibility in students. Students will be expected to thoroughly familiarise themselves with all the literary terms employed in the criticism of each genre and work out what texts signify as well as determine the aesthetic value of a text. Hereunder is a list of modules offered.

• ENG 1661 Introduction to Literary Studies
• ENG 2661 Postcoloniality and the African World in Literature
• ENG 3641 Postcoloniality and the Novel (Core)
• ENG 3642 The Poetry of Love, Protest & Resistance (Elective)
• ENG 3643 The Drama of Class, Race and Cultural Differences (Elective)