Degrees Held
- Senior Primary Teachers Diploma (SPTD,) Mpumalanga College of Education, 1986
- National Diploma: Industrial Relations, Damelin School of Management, 1991
- Certificate for Overseas Teachers of English- (COTE), University of Cambridge local exams Syndicate & the English Language Educational Trust, 1992
- English at Secondary Level Certificate – (EASL), Canterbury Christ Church University College (UK), 1994
- Master of Arts in English Language Education, Kent University (UK), 1996
- Master of Commerce in Organisational and Management systems, University of Natal-Durban, 2001
- National Diploma: Project Management, Varsity College, 2002
- Doctor of Education (D.Ed.) University of Zululand, 2018
Experience
- Taught English at high school level for 7 years.
- Taught English and Communication at tertiary level for 5 years.
- Have taught English Language Education for 6 years at university.
Awards
- Scholarship to study the teaching of English as a second language at Canterbury Christ Church College (UK) in 1994.
- Scholarship to do a Masters in English language Education in Canterbury Christ Church College / Kent University 1n 1995 – 1996.
Accomplishments
- 1987-2002 Have published poems in the “New Nation” Tribute magazine & “Fidelities,” a Poetry journal.
- 2002- 2009– Have edited 4 published books by Rev. S. Hlophe “Hope for the hurting heart”, “The Power Within”, “Be Inspired: Book 1 & Book 2”
- 2007 Co-authored a published national Grade 9 English Language book titled: English. grade 9@ Macmillan published by Macmillan Publishers
- 2008 Written and self-published a poetry book entitled ‘I will not dance’
Research Interests
- Teacher Education
- Sociocultural Theory
- Language Pedagog
- Critical Literature Pedagogy
Teaching Interests
- English Language Education
- The teaching of English Literature: The African novel, Poetry and the short Story
- Sociolinguistics
Publications
Journal Articles
Journal Articles
- Mogotlane, S.M., Hazell, E. and Mthembu, B., 2008. Women’s cultural perspectives on reasons for HIV/AIDS prevalence in a rural area of the Kwazulu-Natal province of South Africa. Africa Journal of Nursing and Midwifery, 10(1), pp.35-43.
- Pillay, A., Khosa, M., Sheik, A., Campbell, B., Mthembu, B. and Nyika, N., 2021. How home contexts of South African University students shape their experiences of emergency remote teaching and learning. Student Success, 12(3), pp.37-47. https://doi.org/10.5204/ssj.1779.
- Mthembu, B. and Pillay, P., 2021. Strategies that Learners Employ in Acquiring Speaking Skills in English Second Language (ESL) in Township Schools. Gender and Behaviour, 19(1), pp.17442-17452.
- Mthembu, B. and Pillay, P., 2014. The Development of Strategies to Teach Listening and Speaking Skills to English Second Language (ESL) Learners in African Society: Insight from the Pinetown District, KwaZulu Natal. Assessment, 47, p.48.
- Mthembu, B., 2022. Township EFAL teachers and speaking skills: the discrepancy between the espoused and enacted. Per Linguam, 38(2), pp.31-47.
Community Involvement
- 2011 – 2013: The KwaZulu Natal Winter Writing Project (KZNWP)modeled on the National Writing Project in the United States and funded by the US Embassy Language office
- 2018: Ethiopian Agricultural TVET College Academic Literacy Project in partnership with McGill University, Canada
- Member of the UKZN Edgewood Campus Community Engagement Committee, 2019 – 2022
- Associated with the Edgewood Extra Tuition Programme (EETP) and the Community Development
Teaching Expertise
- B.Ed. modules at all levels
- B.Ed. (Honours): Language Learning and Teaching in multicultural Societies
- Post Graduate Certificate in education (PGCE): English First Additional Language Teaching
- School of Education Masters and PhD Cohorts
- Research Methodology
Student Supervision
Honours
Masters
Phd
Honours
- Ayeni Adeniyi Oluwaseun (2013) The Challenges of Teaching Poetry Analysis to Second Learners of English Language.
- Ndovela, T. (2014) Gender as a Factor in Second Language Learning
- Magwaza, P.P. (2015) Speaking difficulties experienced by English second language learners in schools
- Mtetwa, S.P. (2015) The interface between the reading and academic performance of English First Additional Language (EFAL) learners and students
- Dlamini, T. (2016) Exploring the Use of Coded Language in Prisons
- Mathe, S. (2018) The teaching of ESL in the FET phase in an African context
- Maharaj, S. (2018) The teaching of reading skills in South African primary schools
- Makhathini, P.K. (2019) An Analysis of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) Document Focusing on Addressing Speaking Challenges Faced by English Second Language (ESL) High school Learners
- Nangappen, S.K. (2019) What the CAPS, the LiEP and the Language Policy have to say about the use of Slang in the language classroom
- Magutshwa, S. (2019) Exploring the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) document in search of strategies to improve the English Second Language learners’ speaking skills in high schools.
- Dubazane, N. (2019) Various strategies proffered by the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) document to prevent ESL high school learners from experiencing speaking challenges
Masters
- Nomalungelo Ngubane (2014) Full thesis – ‘The effectiveness of cooperative learning in an English first additional language classroom’ – co-supervision with Mrs Ansurie Pillay. Dissertation – successfully supervised to completion.
- Smangele Mtetwa (2021) ‘Exploring teachers’ experiences of teaching poetry to English First Additional Language learners: a case study of three grade 11 teachers in Township schools’
- Slindile Phewa (2023) ‘Factors that influence the speaking skills of grade 11 English second language learners in rural schools’
- Shevanie Maharaj (2023) ‘Exploring the teaching of Reading skills to Senior Phase Learners in a South African school’
Phd
- Mpumelelo Ntshangase (2020 – in progress) Exploring Teachers’ Understanding of Outcomes-Based Forms of Pedagogy Used in Foundation Phase
- Portia Phindile Mkhonta (2020- in progress) Investigating the teaching of siSwati poetry in the Kingdom of Eswatini, a case study of secondary schools in Shiselweni region