Browsing by Author "Mafelesi, Relebohile"

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    Incorporating the writers workshop approach to engage Grade 9 English Language learners in community activities and enhance language skills in one secondary school in Leribe
    (National University of Lesotho, 2025) Mafelesi, Relebohile; Mao, Mahao
    Curriculum design constitutes a fundamental mechanism for ensuring curricular quality, which in turn serves as a primary determinant of quality education. To this end, the curriculum must be characterised by both openness and flexibility, thereby enabling it to effectively address emergent challenges and opportunities. This necessitates the deliberate integration of contemporary issues and the provision of relevant instructional modalities that facilitate learner-led inquiry into subjects pertaining to their local environment and community concerns. Concurrently, there exists a prevailing imperative to equip learners with 21st-century competencies and learning practices. These skills are principally oriented towards the cultivation of critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, perseverance, and creativity, amongst others, thereby fostering the capacity for life-long learning. This study interrogates the role of the Writers’ Workshop Approach (WWA) in promoting community service and the acquisition of language skills. This investigation was precipitated by an observed misalignment between the general aims of the Lesotho English Language Grade 9 syllabus and its concomitant learning outcomes and pupil experiences. Methodologically, this research employed a multi-faceted approach to data generation, utilising pre- and post-tests, questionnaires, focused group discussions, and reflective journaling. The study aims to address the identified pedagogical gap by deploying the Writers’ Workshop Approach as an innovative intervention to ameliorate this issue of curriculum quality. The key findings demonstrate that language skills are most effectively acquired not in isolation, but through engagement with authentic, everyday activities, thereby ensuring genuine communicative competence. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that the WWA significantly enhanced learners' writing proficiency, problem-solving abilities, and capacity for collaborative learning. Consequently, this study proposes the revision of the English Language syllabus to incorporate community-based writing activities, thereby aligning pedagogical practice with the demands of a performance-based curriculum and the development of essential 21st-century skills.