RECOMMENDATIONS

4.1. The most urgent reform – Changes in the language practices in the current LiEP (DoE, 1997)

The most apparent outcome of this study has revealed that changes in the language practices in the current LiEP (DoE, 1997) are one of the most urgent reforms needed to improve access, quality and outcomes in South African education. The obvious change would involve the more explicit expansion and legitimating of the language practice of code switching or the implementation of mother tongue instruction (MTI) and bilingual schools. According to Heugh (2002) such a change would require careful planning and implementation and involve materials development and in-service training, it would provide a “reasonable expectation of a

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positive return on investment” (p. 193). Research (Heugh, 2002) has shown that this change is by no means unaffordable. Heugh (2002) describes explicitly in her research that the cost for the provision of materials would require only an increase of 1% of current expenditure on education which far outweighs the 5% expenditure on providing remediation for failures. In an earlier study by Heugh (2001) she describes that there is sufficient evidence which shows the linguistic, academic and social advantages of MTI and bilingual schools in order to “ensure that all pupils will have equal access not only to the school door but also useful and meaningful engagement with the curriculum” (p. 3).

What does a change in LiEP practices mean for SA? Literacy in MTI needs to be developed to the level that written texts and oral language in the teaching and learning of ML can be understood by the learner. This process should not be interfered with in any way by the policy makers and curriculum developers and planners such that all FAL English learners need to have a very good teaching of their home language and an introduction of the FAL English should occur as late as eight years into their primary school education (Foley, 2007). If a switch from MTI to another language of instruction such as English is done too early in the first two formative years of the learner, then the learner would not have developed a high level of proficiency in both the home language as well as the FAL English. The Thomas and Collier (2002) study on education in the USA included full mother tongue instruction programmes. Their results show that “the strongest predictor of L2 (second language) student achievement is the amount of formal L1 (first language or mother tongue) schooling. The more L1 grade-level schooling, the higher L2 achievement was obtained” (Thomas & Collier, 2002, p. 7). In this study the most unsuccessful results were with students in regular programmes where the students’ mother tongues were either not supported at all or where they only had some mother tongue instruction. Their learning was mainly done in English, a language that is not the mother tongue of the students. In such a case, the learning process is disrupted and therefore competency levels remain poor in all learning areas.

The data from the teacher and learner participants in this study suggested that their favourable choice to teach and learn is in their home language isiZulu alongside

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English, indicating the interest with bilingual education. What is the way forward? The language of high economic, educational and political status in South Africa, i.e. English should be seen as a complimentary medium of learning in a learner’s secondary school education alongside the learner’s home language isiZulu, i.e. bilingual education. The mastering of complex, abstract or academic concepts, as found in the ML curriculum, in an inadequately known FAL English is always problematic as this study indicated. However, once mastered in the mother-tongue, both concepts and cognitive skills also transfer readily and are available for use in intellectually demanding contexts thereby adding to the necessary language proficiency (Heugh, 2001).

According to Cummins (1984) academic contexts are far more demanding than the more concrete, contextually supported circumstances in which everyday conversations take place, and the degree and type of skill required are very different. Cummins (1984) classifies communication skills according to intersecting sliding scales indicating cognitive demand and the amount of contextual support available. He distinguishes between basic interpersonal communications skills (BICS) in the first quadrant, which may often take as little as two years to acquire, and cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP) in the fourth. The CALP involves the ability to communicate effectively in context reduced, cognitively demanding, educational situations (Cummins, 1984). It is with this notion that many researchers describe that a complete switch from MTI to English only, is not necessarily the best way to ensure the developed proficiency in the FAL English (Foley, 2007; Heugh, 2001, 2002).

The fact that many teachers and learners have expressed positive comments about their use of home language isiZulu in their teaching and learning augurs well for the future such that they have not undervalued their home language isiZulu in their education. As mentioned before, the teachers revealed the extensive use of code switching as a classroom strategy. However, the concern is that code switching is not recognised by the teachers as a legitimate classroom strategy in FAL English classrooms. Adler (2001) described this as the dilemma of code switching. The recommendation is therefore to make FAL English teachers and learners alike, to be aware of the fact that code switching is a viable strategy to be used in classrooms,

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as stipulated by the LiEP (DoE, 1997), so that teachers can develop code switching skills to use and integrate it carefully in their daily planning and preparation of lessons. Therefore, during the ML lesson, teachers can implement it carefully by factoring it into their lesson plans and seize the best opportunity to use it appropriately thereby maximising its benefits.

4.2. Access to ongoing in-service training

The interviews with teachers around the use of group work did not reveal the group work dynamics that were planned or the types of interactions that emerged when the learners engaged with group work. Strategies such as scaffolding and collaborative discussions were mentioned but these strategies were not elaborated. There was little input about the group work dynamics from the learners as well. The recommendation is to engage in further research using instruments such as classroom observations so that the researcher can provide further insights about the teachers’ classroom practice that incorporates strategies such as group work as effective or not. These insights could draw on their good practices especially with language practices to benefit all or guide teachers into improving their classroom practices to successful ones to use as an effective strategy.

In this study, the finding of group work and discussions thereof were an indication that such strategies were drawn on. However, the teacher participants were hesitant to divulge the details of their group work, scaffolding or collaborative discussions, thus indicating that they were most probably not engaging in group work at all or they possessed little understanding of what constitutes effective group work, scaffolding or collaborative discussions. Therefore, I recommend that the teachers should take the responsibility of accessing ongoing in-service training (INSET) on effective classroom strategies that can be used appropriately enabling teachers to be better planners and facilitators in ML bi/multilingual classrooms. As per the opinions of the teacher participants, specific in-service courses, such as effective classroom strategies in ML teaching that incorporate the development of English literacy skills and mathematical skills, should be the key aspect. Also, specific workshops should also focus on aspects such as remediation, acquiring fluency in

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English as well being able to teach about acquiring fluency in English in bi/multilingual ML classrooms.

Since teachers showed such enthusiasm to embark on professional development and post-graduate studies in ML, the DBE should give this idea a considerable amount of thought. The DBE should at least be able to subsidise the teachers a percentage of the tuition fees so that the whole financial burden does not lie on the shoulders of the teacher. This financial commitment by the DBE would indicate to the teachers and all stakeholders involved that the DBE is willing to take steps to improve and promote quality education in SA, and that the DBE is able to identify with the challenges and problems of the FAL English teacher. From the opinions of the teacher participants, I also recommend further research into how effective the in- service training has been.