Challenges Posed by the Use of English as the Language of Learning and Teaching in KwaZulu Natal (KZN) high schools.
This study set out to investigate factors behind the poor academic performance of Grade 12 learners in the township schools of KwaZulu-Natal. The research was conducted in 12 public high schools of the Department of Basic Education in the districts of Umlazi and Pinetown. The enquiry was prompted by the observation that learners from township schools often struggle to do well in both the Matric examinations and at first year university studies, yet official reports of learner performance give the impression that Grade 12 learners’ academic performance is improving. The study posited that the relatively poor academic performance is a result of a myriad of factors that make learning a struggle for South African township learners. It postulated that these factors included the use of English as a medium of learning and teaching among second language speakers of the language, learners’ social and economic circumstances, their learning and home environments, and their psychological attitudes or conditions. However, the main focus of the study was the use of English as a medium of learning and teaching. Therefore, the theoretical foundation of the study was the question of language competence and language use, especially in South African education. The study adopted Noam Chomsky’s theory of Transformational Generative Grammar as well as later modifications of the theory as its framework.The core of the study was linguistic and communicative competence. It emphasised that for township high school learners to perform well academically they need to master the language of learning and teaching in the following crucial areas: vocabulary and grammatical rules that allow for understanding and creative production of the language; the four language skills – reading, writing, speaking and listening; all forms of the communicative systems that work in language; and cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP) which will enable them to understand and use the formal language register of classroom discourse and textbooks, as well as to think analytically and critically to solve problems, to use their imagination and engage in inductive and deductive reasoning. Using a Mixed Methods approach, the study found that, although on paper, all South African children have access to education, for learners in the townships, learning is an on-going struggle. The poor and unstable living, social and school conditions in which they live and learn do not allow them to acquire the linguistic competences required of them to learn and be taught in English, especially since they are taught English First Additional Language which is regarded as inferior to English Home Language taught in former Model C schools. These conditions do not promote excellent academic development and achievement, neither are they conducive to cognitive development and learning. In spite of this, the majority of learners, educators and parents preferred that English, which is perceived as a high status language with power, ‘linguistic capital’ and functional value, be used as the medium of learning and teaching. The study asserts that as long as English remains the medium of instruction, without additional English language support, the majority of learners from township and rural schools who write the Grade 12 examinations will not be competent enough in English to be successfully able to learn and be examined in it. Therefore, the study suggests that, for these learners to do well in the Matric examination and first year university, special interventions should be introduced. The study proposes that these could include identifying and gaining a deeper understanding of the hurdles that confront township learners; introducing creative teaching and learning approaches as well as language choices and uses that could solve some of the linguistic and learning problems. The study proposes an intervention education model whose aim would be to develop learners holistically and prepare them to perform well in the Grade 12 examination and first year university studies.
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