ENG1515 Assignment 1 (DETAILED ANSWERS) 2026 - DISTINCTION GUARANTEED

ENG1515 Assignment 1 (DETAILED ANSWERS) 2026 - DISTINCTION GUARANTEED - DISTINCTION GUARANTEED - DISTINCTION GUARANTEED Answers, guidelines, workings and references.. .. Question 1 1.1 In Unit 1, you were introduced to the notion of intelligibility. In your own words, explain what this concept means. Do not copy the explanation used in the study guide or any other source; otherwise, you will be penalised. (2 marks) 1.2 What is the meaning of objective language in this module? In your explanation, use your own words as much as possible; otherwise, you will be penalised for copying an answer directly from the study guide or any other source(s). (2 marks) 1.3 In Unit 2, denotation and connotation are explained as features that play an important role in making meaning from words in a sentence. Bearing this explanation in mind, study the following sentence and provide the denotative and connotative meaning of the sentence. I could hardly walk; my shoes were killing me. 1.3.1 Denotative meaning (1 mark) 1.3.2 Connotative meaning (1 mark) 1.4 In your study material, it is pointed out that when teaching bilingual/multilingual learners, the teacher should consider both multilingualism and multimodality. What do you understand by these terms as explained in your study material? In your explanation, use your own words as much as possible. Do not copy the explanation used in the study material or any source(s); otherwise, you will be penalised. (4 marks) [10 marks] Question 2 Critical literacy is the key concept that runs throughout the module. When someone demonstrates the ability to analyse various components of a language, including its structure, they are said to have attained critical literacy, as understood in the module. Given what you know about the different linguistic structures as explained in Units 1 and 2, read the following text and answer the questions that follow. Downloaded by Pied Zulu () lOMoARcPSD| TEXT A The real drivers of career growth: Here’s what’s key to climbing the corporate ladder Paragraph 1 Soft skills are the real secret to success Human Resources Executive, Boniwe Dunster, says the secret to success is a combination of both technical and soft skills. ‘Technical skills give you expertise, depth and credibility in the execution of your work, while soft skills give you the “how” of execution and the approach of engaging with those you deliver for and with,’ she says. Paragraph 2 Critical skills needed for climbing the corporate ladder Empathy is one of the most critical skills needed as one climbs the ladder. Boniwe says dealing with different personalities and managing team dynamics is important to understand. Show your team members that you genuinely care. ‘Communication is another important skill required to convey messages and strategy, and align teams you lead to ensure that they are gearing towards common goals. Lastly, is the adaptability,’ she says. The world events of the past five years have urged us to be agile in the workplace – one must be open to constant change, quick change and dealing with uncertainty and ambiguity in managing one’s career, and leading business for success. Paragraph 3 Workforce readiness CEO and Co-Founder of SheC, Christiana Ojonugwa Onoja says looking back, her ability to connect, adapt and communicate clearly helped her navigate diverse roles, from engineering projects to global development platforms. ‘These weren’t “nice-to-have” skills, they were survival skills. Influence, trust, resilience – those are built through people’s skills,’ she says. At SheC, Christiana and her team are building an AI-first platform that blends technical training with soft skill analytics, helping young professionals understand how they work and who they are Downloaded by Pied Zulu () lOMoARcPSD| at work. ‘It’s both high-tech and high-touch. That’s the future of workforce readiness,’ she says. Paragraph 4 Soft skills vs learning another software tool ‘Learn the tool and master the language, but never underestimate the power of presence, clarity and confidence. I’ve been in rooms where everyone knew Python, but only one person could align the team, translate the need, and inspire action,’ says Christiana. Soft skills don’t expire; they compound. And in today’s hybrid world, they’re often the tiebreaker between a good and an unforgettable employee. Source: Bona, September/October 2025 2.1 Based on what you know about morphology as a linguistic structural aspect/component, study the underlined word in paragraph 2 and identify the morphemes that make up the word. You do not have to name or label the morphemes. managing (2 marks) 2.2 In some cases, morphemes that make up a word are not easy to identify when they are fused. This is especially the case if a word changes from one part of speech to another. Taking this explanation into account, do the following task. 2.2.1 Identify a word in paragraph 1 where this process has occurred. (1 mark) 2.2.2 Mention the part of speech of the word you identified in 2.2.1. (1 mark) 2.2.3 Identify the base or root from which the word you identified in 2.2.1 was formed. (1 mark) 2.3 There are three main sentence types in English, namely, the simple sentence, the compound sentence, and the complex sentence. Read the following sentence taken from paragraph 2. Identify the sentence type of the sentence and justify your answer. The world events of the past five years have urged us to be agile in the workplace – one must be open to constant change, quick change and dealing with uncertainty and ambiguity in managing one’s career, and leading business for success. (2 marks) Downloaded by Pied Zulu () lOMoARcPSD| 2.4 Punctuation plays a critical role in conveying a message in written language. What meaning does the dash convey in the sentence in paragraph 3? (2 marks) 2.5 In paragraph 4, the word “but” is mentioned two times. What is the grammatical meaning or significance of this repetition? (2 marks) 2.6 Critical literacy requires an understanding that a text is embedded in the social, cultural, political, and historical context, among other contexts. What would you say is the context in TEXT A? Support your answer by referring to the text. (4 marks) [15 marks] SUB-TOTAL FOR THIS SECTION: [25 MARKS] Section B: Application-based question Question 3 In the Tutorial letter 501 complementary notes, which is found under the Additional Resources tool on the module site, you were made aware that communication involves various modes, such as visual, linguistic, gestural, spatial, and oral modes, among others. Based on this information, open the link found under TEXT B below. Study the cartoon and answer the questions that follow. TEXT B Source: 3.1 Identify two modes in TEXT B. (2 marks) 3.2 What is their relevance in conveying the message in the text? (2 marks) 3.3 Why would you use a multimodal text when you teach English in a multicultural and multilingual class? Give two reasons to motivate your answer. (4 marks) [8 MARKS] Question 4 In this module you were introduced to a broader concept of multilingualism. In this sense, multilingualism extends beyond the ability to use more than one standard language; it encompasses the capacity to blend standard language(s) with non-standard language varieties, such as Kasitaal, Tsotsitaal, Kaapse Afrikaans, and Downloaded by Pied Zulu () lOMoARcPSD| slang, among others, within a single communicative event. In this respect, when an English text combines English and other varieties, such as those mentioned above, it may be regarded as a multilingual English text. Bearing this notion of multilingualism in mind, read the following text and answer the set questions. TEXT C As I was about to start another line from the Old Major’s speech, there was a loud knock on the door. Quickly, I got onto my feet and opened the door. Dunga and his girlfriend Thekwini, known to us as Theks, were standing there. ‘Wola pintshi!’ Dunga greeted me in township lingo. ‘Heyta daar. Please come in.’ ‘Hi Dingz’, said Theks. ‘Hello.’ ‘I thought that you weren’t alone because I thought I heard you talking,’ said Dunga. ‘Maybe it was the radio,’ I answered, not wanting to show him how impatient I was to go to vote. ‘OK. Are you ready then?’ ‘As always.’ ‘Let’s vamoose then. Don’t forget your ID.’ ‘Sure,’ I said as I showed them out and locked my room. Source: N. Mhlongo. (2004). Dog Eat Dog. Kwela Books. 4.1 What evidence shows that the text is a multilingual English text? Support your answer by citing three words in the text. (3 marks) 4.2 Provide the standard English form of each word you identified in 4.1. (3 marks) 4.3 What tone is used in TEXT C? Justify your answer by referring to the text. (3 marks) 4.4 Find a multilingual English text of no more than 150 words, which is about two paragraphs. The text could be your own creation. If so, indicate that the text is your own creation. Alternatively, it could be a text from a source, in which case you must reference the source appropriately to avoid plagiarism. Answer the following questions. Downloaded by Pied Zulu () lOMoARcPSD| 4.4.1 Identify two words that show that the text is a multilingual English text. Underline the words you have identified; otherwise, you will be penalised. (2 marks) 4.4.2 Provide the standard English form of each word you identified in 4.4.1. (2 marks) 4.5 Imagine you are a teacher of English in a bilingual or multilingual classroom. How would you cater to the diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds of your learners? Briefly discuss two strategies you would use. (4 marks) [17 marks]