The world of learning continues to change and grow for students post-lockdown, and an exciting new entrant into the sphere of education is that of additional languages set to be offered in South Africa – if implemented properly.
As part of Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga’s Budget Vote for the 2022/23 financial year, allusions to more language options in our country were outlined.
The minister expressed that in South Africa more than 80% of learners are learning in languages that are essentially foreign to them, i.e. not their mother tongue, as per Businesstech.
Motshekga explained that this is prohibiting achievement, and policy shifts need to be made in this field.
Drawing on growth from the Eastern Cape whereby some subjects are being taught in isiXhosa and Sesotho, the minister indicated that the rest of the country needs to get on a similar page.
Motshekga said that the list of South African languages offered as Second Additional Languages will include:
- Khoi
- Nama
- San
- South African Sign Language (SASL)
“The introduction of Kiswahili Second Additional Language (SAL) in our curriculum, is still in the pipeline. The growth we continue to observe in the regional and international assessment studies, is a further illustration of the system’s improvement as a system on the rise,” the minister said.
The addition of the second-languages is presented by the department as a way to combat the current situation whereby cognitive development is essentially overshadowed by language abilities.
However, challenging the optimism comes with drawbacks from the past. As UCT Vice-Chancellor Prof Mamokgethi Phakeng indicated in a lecture hosted by the University of Bristol, policies are in place where the practices are flawed.
Phakeng referenced the Department of Higher Education and Training’s language policy framework in 2020. She critiqued the intentions because they failed to redress to the hegemon which is the English language.
“Access to English means access to social goods, such as higher education, jobs, international opportunities, status, etc.,” Phakeng said of English’s entrenchment.
The language-learning debate in South Africa exists as a much more complex matter that looks at the entire educational run from primary school to tertiary education.
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