Challenges Posed by the Use of English as the Language of Learning and Teaching in KwaZulu Natal (KZN) high schools.
type: CreativeWork
description: 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…
abstract: 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…
author: Cele-Sangweni, Esther Emily
license: https://devspace.unizulu.ac.za/bitstreams/88d90972-c0eb-454b-9c12-5d0777b2e174/download
date published: 2021
date modified: 2026-07-24T06:16:55Z
provider: University of Zululand
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Univeristy of Zululand