Reflections on a research initiative aimed at enhancing the role of African languages in education in South Africa

In the South African educational domain, there are an increasing number of initiatives which attempt to address the inequities in the system by providing support in an African language at various levels. Many of these initiatives use translation of texts in various subject areas as a major method of support which necessarily involves terminology development. This article puts forward the argument that although linguistic andconceptual development are inextricably linked, provision of translations, terms and word lists may not be sufficient to encourage ‘deep’ learning of the key concepts in the disciplinary content areas. The challenges arising out of the present educational context in South Africa require a more holistic approach, including language provision and management, professional translation and back translation, more inclusive methodsof terminology development with richer contextualization and the enrichment of teachers’ pedagogic content knowledge. The argument arises out of a re-examination of the findings from research into the development of two multilingual resource books for use by teachers of mathematics and science at secondary school level. These resources were developed in order to facilitate understanding of key concepts in themathematics and science disciplines and will undergo a re-appraisal of the extent of their effectiveness in meeting these aims

A problem-oriented, form-focused course design for teaching isiZulu as an additional language

This article describes the development of a university course for mother-tongue isiZulu students on the learning and teaching of isiZulu as an additional language at school level. The course was developed at a university in KwaZulu-Natal for second and third year students in the general BA degree and was based on three fundamental principles: (i) that learning should be task and problem-based leading to reflection; (ii) that tasks and materials should include authentic and relevant content and data for problem-solving; and (iii) that the students would derive more from an instructional context that made use of their mother tongue as well as English. The course design and methodology draw on research into teacher thinking and cognition which lays emphasis on consciousness-raising and reflection while the course content conveyed in worksheets and seminar inputs draws on psycholinguistic theories of second language acquisition with emphasis on developmental processes. The course is described with the focus on the main research assignment as an example of the task-based, mediated approach used in the course. A case is made for the explicit focus on form encouraged by the worksheets because of the structural nature of the language in question and the challenges it poses for learners, and also for the use of complementary languages of instruction.Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2013, 31(2): 219–23

Background languages, learner motivation and self-assessed progress in learning Zulu as an additional language in the UK

The paper reports results of a study of beginner-level learners of Zulu in higher education in the UK, focussing on learners’ linguistic background, their motivation and reasons for studying Zulu, and their self-assessed progress at the beginning of the second term of teaching. The study shows that participants typically studied Zulu as an additional or L3 language and often had prior knowledge of three or four background languages, including in many cases prior knowledge of an African language. They studied Zulu for personal, academic and professional reasons and their motivation was integrative as well as instrumental. Many expected to use Zulu professionally, in particular for work or study in South Africa. While learners’ motivation does not interact significantly with self-assessed progress, the study suggests that both a higher number of background languages, and knowledge of an African language structurally similar to Zulu might have positive effects on self-assessed progress