scholarly journals The Medium of Instruction in a Multicultural Classroom: Teachers’ Perspectives in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 342-355
Author(s):  
Matshikiza Spokazi ◽  
Simon Luggya ◽  
Magdaline Tanga
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Multicultural Education ◽  
English Language ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
African Languages ◽  
Multicultural Classroom ◽  
Universal Language ◽  
Teachers Perspectives

The South African Government has instituted a policy of multicultural education (ME) to ensure inclusivity and equal learning opportunities for all learners. This paper aimed to explore teachers’ perspectives on the medium of instruction in a multicultural classroom. The paper was extracted from a thesis that examined multiculturalism in selected schools in South Africa. A sample of 18 participants was purposively selected from two urban schools that have learners from different socio-cultural backgrounds in the Eastern Cape. The paper used the interpretive paradigm, which aligns with the qualitative approach. Data were analyzed thematically. The findings revealed that as a universal language, most participants preferred using English in the classroom. However, they sometimes code-switch to IsiXhosa and/or Afrikaans (two of the 11 official languages in South Africa) if the need arises. The participants also revealed attempts at balancing the use of English with learners’ first language, mostly during breaks, sporting, and cultural events, but they admitted this does not equal ME. Finally, the participants indicated that preference to teach in English was due to its universalism. Consequently, African languages have become receptors and not creators of knowledge. The paper concludes that despite the ME policy, teachers are not keen to practice it because of a lack of skills. It is recommended that the country be zoned into language areas and teachers be taught in at least two dominant languages of each region, excluding the English language, to ensure equal educational opportunities.

Iranian University Faculties and Managing Culturally Diverse Classrooms: Strategies for Peace Establishment in the Higher Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 234-256
Author(s):  
Parisa Badrkhani
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Culturally Diverse ◽  
English Language ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Empathy Training ◽  
Multicultural Classroom ◽  
Diverse Classrooms ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Local Students ◽  
Different Cultures

There are large number of students from around the world who are planning to continue their education in the U.S. universities. They have different nationalities, cultural backgrounds, social beliefs, and so on. Moreover, the educators who are from different countries have the special cultures. This is their task to manage the culturally diverse classrooms to obtain the best results for the educational purposes. In this study, the focus was on three main issues: (a) teaching in multicultural higher education, (b) students’ attitudes toward the different cultures (especially their classmates), and (c) the strategies the educators apply in the multicultural classroom to establish peace. Five Iranian faculties who were teaching English language literature subject, in California State universities, were selected and interviewed via Skype. The results showed that they had a very positive attitude toward teaching in multicultural classrooms. The educators claimed that they apply the emotional empathy, empathy training, culturally proportional curriculum, and the structured rules for the multicultural classroom. One of them argued that holding conferences regarding the diversity is very useful, and the other one proposed that holding involuntary service, sport, and community programs for both the immigrant and the local students is considerable to make the students closer and establish the sense of peace among them.

scholarly journals Switch from Mother Tongue to English: A Double Jeopardy

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. p22
Author(s):  
Berrington Ntombela
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
African Languages ◽  
The Status ◽  
Mother Tongue Instruction ◽  
Intellectual Capacity ◽  
The Moment ◽  
English Medium Of Instruction

This paper interrogates the sorry state of switching from mother tongue instruction to English medium of instruction in South Africa. Adopting a critical approach to literature review, it critiques the resistance mounted on the utility of African languages as viable media of instruction. It argues that the status quo is perpetuated by the dominance of English as a medium of instruction both in South Africa and abroad, and that this state of affairs can be traced back to a colonial system which presently works itself out as globalisation and internationalisation. The paper ends by demonstrating how switching from mother tongue instruction to English medium of instruction robs learners and teachers of their intellectual capacity, where they appear incompetent due to a language barrier. The paper concludes that the situation could only be rescued by promoting mother tongue instruction for the majority of South Africans which at the moment is enjoyed by a minority.

scholarly journals ‘The Burden of Diversity’: The Sociolinguistic Problems of English in South Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Berrington X. S. Ntombela
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
English Language ◽  
Black Population ◽  
Indigenous Languages ◽  
Thick Description ◽  
African Languages ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Black South African ◽  
Black South Africans ◽  
The Government

<p>At the emergence of democracy in South Africa the government corrected linguistic imbalances by officialising eleven languages. Prior to that only English and Afrikaans were the recognised official languages. The Black population had rejected the imposition of Afrikaans as the medium of instruction. However, such rejection did not mean the adoption of indigenous languages as media of instruction; instead English was supposedly adopted as a unifying language among linguistically diverse Africans. Such implicit adoption of the English language has created a stalemate situation in the development of African languages to the level of English and Afrikaans. Although there is a widespread desire to promote indigenous languages to the level of being media of instruction, the desire is peripheral and does not carry the urgency that characterised the deposition of Afrikaans in the 1976 uprisings. On the other hand this paper argues that the hegemony of English language as a colonial instrument carries ambivalence in the minds of Black South Africans. Through ethnographic thick description of two learners, this hegemony is illustrated by the ‘kind’ of English provided to most Black South African learners who do not have financial resources to access the English offered in former Model C schools. The paper concludes that Black South Africans do not only need urgency in the promotion and development of indigenous languages, but further need to problematize, in addition to the implicit adoption of English language, the quality of the language they have opted. The paper therefore suggests that this is possible through a decolonised mindset.</p>

Cory Library for Humanities Research

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff Peires
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Visual Representations ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Valuable Resource ◽  
Tertiary Institutions ◽  
African Languages ◽  
Civic Organizations ◽  
Comprehensive Collection ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Essential Resource

Cory Library in Makhanda (Grahamstown), South Africa, was established on the basis of historical papers bequeathed by Sir George Cory, a professor of chemistry and enthusiastic amateur historian. Initially characterized by a strong settler and colonial bias, the Library was transformed by the deposit of records from black tertiary institutions threatened by the apartheid “Extension of Universities Education” Act of 1959. These included the valuable manuscripts of the Lovedale Press, which had been, for many years, the sole publisher of books in isiXhosa and other African languages. Civic organizations such as the Black Sash, the End Conscription Campaign, and the Surplus Peoples Project, which sprang up following the Soweto uprising of 1976, likewise deposited their records. The Cory Library thus became a valuable resource for all the peoples of the Eastern Cape, rather than only for its privileged sector. Its unique and comprehensive collection of books, maps, manuscripts, official documents, and visual representations across all disciplines of all things Xhosa and Eastern Cape make the Cory Library an essential resource for all researchers with interests in this area.

scholarly journals Implementation of Text-To-Speech Audio System in isiXhosa for Dwesa Community in Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

10.28945/4223 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 001-015
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
English Text ◽  
Eastern Cape Province ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Text To Speech ◽  
African Languages ◽  
Full Implementation ◽  
University Of Fort Hare ◽  
The University ◽  
Audio System

Dr. ZW Saul, the Head of the Department of African Languages at the University of Fort Hare, was considering the future of a text-to-speech system that converted English text into isiXhosa audio. The system had experienced a successful pilot, but much work remained to be done in taking the project to full implementation and sustainability.

Influence of Knowledge Management Practices on Public Service Delivery by Municipalities

Mousaion ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charleen Musonza ◽  
Ndakasharwa Muchaonyerwa
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Integrated System ◽  
Eastern Cape Province ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Public Service Delivery

This study examines the influence of knowledge management (KM) practices on public service delivery by municipalities in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The study sought to determine the factors that have triggered the implementation of KM practices; the effectiveness of KM practices towards public service delivery; and the extent to which KM practices have influenced public service delivery by municipalities in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed in this study. Quantitative data were collected through a survey questionnaire administered to a sample of 202 employees at the Raymond Mhlaba Municipality in the Eastern Cape. Qualitative data were collected through observations and interviews of 2 senior managers. The data collected gave a response rate of 72 per cent. The quantitative and qualitative data were analysed descriptively and presented verbatim respectively. The results indicated that the internal and external factors included in this study have contributed to the implementation of KM practices in the municipality. Furthermore, the effective use of KM practices has increased the organisational KM initiative, as well as the provision of services such as electricity, education, transport, and social services by the municipality. The study recommends the establishment of KM awareness and the establishment of an integrated system that will assist in effective knowledge sharing, retention and acquisition across municipalities in the Eastern Cape.

Exploring the South African Government Communication on Land Expropriation without Compensation

2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (1-3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lungisani Moyo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Food Security ◽  
South African ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
South African Government ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
The South ◽  
Land Expropriation ◽  
African Government ◽  
Government Communication

ABSTRACT This paper used qualitative methodology to explore the South African government communication and land expropriation without compensation and its effects on food security using Alice town located in the Eastern Cape Province South Africa as its case study. This was done to allow the participants to give their perceptions on the role of government communication on land expropriation without compensation and its effects on South African food security. In this paper, a total population of 30 comprising of 26 small scale farmers in rural Alice and 4 employees from the Department of Agriculture (Alice), Eastern Cape, South Africa were interviewed to get their perception and views on government communications and land expropriation without compensation and its effects on South African food security. The findings of this paper revealed that the agricultural sector plays a vital role in the South African economy hence there is a great need to speed up transformation in the sector.

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