Out-of-school literacy practices - the case of Sesotho-speaking learners in Cape Town
This study investigates the out-of-school multilingual literacy practices of four Grade Seven learners aged between 13 and 14 years at Lehlohonolo Primary School (henceforth LPS) in Gugulethu, Cape Town. They come from lower-income Sesotho speaking households and live in residential areas where isiXhosa is the predominant language of interaction. LPS is one of only two primary schools in the area that cater for these Sesotho speaking learners. The Language of Learning and Teaching is Sesotho from Grade R to Three, and then changes to English from Grade Four onwards for all subjects besides Sesotho. Located within the broader New Literacy Studies framework, this study approaches literacy as a historically and socially situated practice. It examines the learners‟ exposure and engagements with formal and informal texts by identifying the diverse communicative resources they have access to, and employ in, especially, out-of-school contexts. One central aim is to specify the roles of the various languages with a particular focus on Sesotho. Using an ethnographic approach, data was gathered primarily through observations and conversations. This was complemented by the photographic documentation of literacy artefacts and semi-structured interviews with the learners, their teachers, caregivers and other household members. To gain a better understanding of their multilingual repertoires and communication networks, the learners were asked to participate in language portrait and social network communication exercises. The core research question that informs the study is: What communicative resources do participants use in different out-of-school literacy events? The study‟s main findings are as follows: (a) the learners have unique language and literacy histories with varying degrees of digital access and competence in Sesotho, English and isiXhosa; (b) standard varieties of Sesotho and English are used for academic purposes; (c) the scarcity of Sesotho literacy is highlighted by the dominant English and isiXhosa literacy practices in out-of-school contexts, including online spaces and (d) Sesotho is used in spoken interactions at home and does not feature in leisure reading and writing.
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School of African and GenderStuds, Anth and Ling