By Faith Chabalala
The Sol Plaatje University, held its second edition of the School of Education seminar series on the 21st of May 2019, entitled, Talking Science: Teaching and Learning Science in South Africa. The seminar was presented by Dr. Audrey Msimanga, the new head of the School of Education at the University.
Dr. Msimanga has a PhD in Science Education from the University of Witswatersrand as well as an MSc in Zoology; BSc Hons in Biological Science and a BSc in General Botany and Zoology. She is a prolific researcher and has substantial wealth of international experience. The new appointee’s work ranges from being a visiting researcher at the University of Warwick in the UK, the University of Georgia in the USA, the Royal Museum of Central Africa, Belgium and the National History Museum in Paris, France.
With 12 official languages and many other African languages in South Africa, the classrooms have become vastly multilingual. Thus, the language of learning and teaching differs from the mother tongue of learners. English is one of the most widely spoken languages across the globe and a medium of instruction in most schools.
Research has shown that for many English Additional Language learners, language remains a critical factor in the performance of learners in science subjects. How can teachers ensure that they make sense in the classroom especially in teaching subjects such as Mathematics and Science to all learners in the variety of languages that exist?
With Additional Language Learners, it is not only about grasping the content but learning the science of the language on its own, which they may not be proficient in. This results in confusion and misunderstanding in the classroom. Should code switching and smuggling of vernacular be permitted in the classroom outstanding the diversity and multi-linguicism in many South African classes? Are there comprehensive and efficient programmes accessible to help prepare teachers to teach science effectively in the contexts of linguistic diversity and what impact can research have on this issue?
Several revisions have been seen to be made to the national curriculum in the past decade. The inclusion of Indigenous Language in teaching is a hotly contested issue and language in post-apartheid times has been a subject of considerable debate and scrutiny. There is an irony to this issue, since the 1976 Soweto uprising where Afrikaans was seen as a language of the oppressor, today English which is not an African language is widely spoken and is used as a medium of instruction. Black parents even take their kids to multi-racial schools and choose English teaching models, instigating that English may be seen as a language of liberation and bearing more status than other native languages.
Dr, Msimanga’s presentation included a review on recent curriculum developments, diversity of the context, policy, evidence from the classrooms and language factor in the classrooms. The aim of the prolific writer’s research and presentation was to understand the nature and role of classroom talk in the teaching and learning of science. Her research drew findings from the developing of the Language in Science Project (LiSP), which took effect from 2014.
The research was conducted from 2014 – 2018, in the different phases in the
East Gauteng District. The data collected from surveys shows out of 144 pre-service teachers, 70 did not agree with permitting Home Language in the classroom, 58 would allow, and the remaining 16 had no opinion. In language preference a split is seen in the views, data collected from student teachers in their fourth year in educational studies, 20 out of 74 preferred to be taught in their Home Language whilst 54 preferred co-switching medium of instruction and in teaching others.
From the discussions that took place, there were two schools of thought, the first is that learners do well if they are have a foundation in their mother as a language of teaching from an early. The other school of though is that learners must take English early in their education life so that they do not struggle at a later stage. The teachers perceptions about the use of language in the classroom indicated that they are faced with a complex situation of using English and other languages in teaching math and science, there was also an indication that teaching in mother tongue does have some benefits. One example of this is the impeccable results of Namakwa District in the Northern Cape where the vernacular of the province is the most used language of teaching, the district recorded the highest pass rate percentage of 83.7% in the province and took fifth in top performing districts across in the country. The province’s schools use their vernacular Afrikaans in teaching and learning.
In light of the seminar it becomes clear that much attention, further research and action in this issue is necessary pertinent to the South African context.
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