Challenges Posed by the Use of English as the Language of Learning and Teaching in KwaZulu Natal (KZN) high schools.
Loading...
Date
2021
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Univeristy of Zululand
Abstract
This study set out to investigate factors behind the poor academic performance of Grade
12 learners in the township schools of KwaZulu-Natal. The research was conducted in 12
public high schools of the Department of Basic Education in the districts of Umlazi and
Pinetown. The enquiry was prompted by the observation that learners from township
schools often struggle to do well in both the Matric examinations and at first year university
studies, yet official reports of learner performance give the impression that Grade 12
learners’ academic performance is improving.
The study posited that the relatively poor academic performance is a result of a myriad of
factors that make learning a struggle for South African township learners. It postulated
that these factors included the use of English as a medium of learning and teaching
among second language speakers of the language, learners’ social and economic
circumstances, their learning and home environments, and their psychological attitudes
or conditions. However, the main focus of the study was the use of English as a medium
of learning and teaching. Therefore, the theoretical foundation of the study was the
question of language competence and language use, especially in South African
education. The study adopted Noam Chomsky’s theory of Transformational Generative
Grammar as well as later modifications of the theory as its framework.The core of the study was linguistic and communicative competence. It emphasised that
for township high school learners to perform well academically they need to master the
language of learning and teaching in the following crucial areas: vocabulary and
grammatical rules that allow for understanding and creative production of the language;
the four language skills – reading, writing, speaking and listening; all forms of the
communicative systems that work in language; and cognitive academic language
proficiency (CALP) which will enable them to understand and use the formal language
register of classroom discourse and textbooks, as well as to think analytically and critically
to solve problems, to use their imagination and engage in inductive and deductive
reasoning.
Using a Mixed Methods approach, the study found that, although on paper, all South
African children have access to education, for learners in the townships, learning is an
on-going struggle. The poor and unstable living, social and school conditions in which
they live and learn do not allow them to acquire the linguistic competences required of
them to learn and be taught in English, especially since they are taught English First
Additional Language which is regarded as inferior to English Home Language taught in
former Model C schools. These conditions do not promote excellent academic
development and achievement, neither are they conducive to cognitive development and
learning. In spite of this, the majority of learners, educators and parents preferred that
English, which is perceived as a high status language with power, ‘linguistic capital’ and
functional value, be used as the medium of learning and teaching.
The study asserts that as long as English remains the medium of instruction, without
additional English language support, the majority of learners from township and rural
schools who write the Grade 12 examinations will not be competent enough in English to
be successfully able to learn and be examined in it. Therefore, the study suggests that,
for these learners to do well in the Matric examination and first year university, special
interventions should be introduced. The study proposes that these could include
identifying and gaining a deeper understanding of the hurdles that confront township
learners; introducing creative teaching and learning approaches as well as language
choices and uses that could solve some of the linguistic and learning problems. The study
proposes an intervention education model whose aim would be to develop learners
holistically and prepare them to perform well in the Grade 12 examination and first year
university studies.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfilment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2022.