Linguistic challenges faced by rural Tshivenda-speaking teachers when Grade 4 learners transition to English

Evans, Rinelle; Nthulana, Ipfani

doi:10.4102/td.v14i2.545

Cited by 6 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 19 publications

(18 reference statements)

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“…At school, Nel (2010) posits that rural learners converse and socialize in their mother tongue regularly. The FET novice teachers are confronted with challenges that hinder them from teaching in English across the curriculum, as they either teach in indigenous languages or code-switching from indigenous languages to English for their learners to understand their lessons (Evans & Nthulana, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…FET inexperienced teachers are alarmed by code-switching, which was used by seasoned teachers while teaching subjects that were meant to be taught in English. Evans and Nthulana (2018) posit that when it comes to enforcing the strategy of teaching in English through the curriculum, most FET inexperienced teachers are likely to face difficulties. Learners frequently express concern to HoDs about their difficulties interpreting lessons taught when English is used as the LoTL, which adds to the strain.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the unfortunate fact is that both FET novices The participants recognized the importance of effective information comprehension during the teaching of all subjects across the curriculum. The lack of this crucial competence jeopardizes inexperienced teachers' ability to deliver successful lessons (Evans & Nthulana, 2018;Quansah, Sakyi-Hagan & Essiam, 2019). Jordaan, Welman, and Stephen (2004) make the case that weak comprehension of any subject matter hinders second-language speakers, a claim that is borne out when inexperienced teachers begin asking serious questions to test learners' level of understanding before the lesson is facilitated.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Findings from the study as well as extant literature affirm that the FET novice teachers in most rural schools lack sufficient reading materials to help novice teachers plan lessons for the twenty-first century. Most participants agreed that a teacher who has had little exposure to reading content such as books while planning a lesson influences learners to do less reading and writing (Mashayi, 2011;Mathole, 2015;Evans & Nthulana, 2018;Seabi, 2020). As a result of the school environment, participants are less likely to continue teaching in English, which is contrary to the profession's core values.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the policy lacks effective implementation and it has been like that for a very long time (Nkambule & Mukeredzi, 2017;Seabi, 2020). Teaching across the curriculum with English as the medium of instruction has always been a serious challenge to rural learners in most rural parts of South Africa, the learners are usually comfortable with their indigenous languages (Evans & Nthulana, 2018). In another study conducted in Rwanda on the impact of using English to teach across the curriculum, Sibomana (2020) posits that learners in rural high schools learn meaningfully with English as a medium of instruction, but could understand better with their indigenous languages.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Teaching in English across the Curriculum: A Lived Experiences of the Novice Teachers in A Selected Rural Fet Schools in South Africa

Mncube¹,

Mkhasibe²,

Ajani³

2021

IJHE

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Novice teachers’ use of English as the medium of instruction in curriculum delivery across all subjects in rural South African schools is the focus of this study. The duration of their entry into the profession as Post Graduate Certificate in Education holders is short and does not capacitate them enough, thus, making them weak and inexperienced, with a high degree of professionalism, especially at the commencement of their careers. This study investigates the lived experiences of selected novice rural teachers on the tasks of teaching in English across all subjects in the rural schools. Fifteen participants from 15 high schools were purposively selected from 15 different rural high schools from King Cetshwayo District, KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. The participants were engaged in a focus group discussion as well as classroom observations of these teachers for data collection. Data analysis for this qualitative study was thematically analysed to generate themes for the presentation and discussion of findings. Theories of the Skills Acquisition Theory (SAT) and the Second Language (L2) Comprehensible Input through Teacher Talk Theory (CITTT) were adopted as theoretical frameworks to underpin the phenomenon. Various novice teachers find it difficult to teach across all subjects, using English as the medium of instruction in many rural schools in South Africa. Findings indicated that the educational backgrounds of learners hinder teachers’ use of English to teach them meaningfully. As observed during various classroom observations, teachers also found it convenient to use indigenous languages to deliver lesson content or communicate to these learners in the classrooms during lessons. Findings also revealed that some teachers struggled to express themselves in English due to their educational backgrounds as well. The study, therefore, recommends that teachers during their pre-service education should be well-groomed in English and this should be promoted during their teaching practice in both rural and urban. Various teacher education institutions should be encouraged to deliver curriculum contents/modules to the pre-service teachers in English across all modules.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Teaching in English across the Curriculum: A Lived Experiences of the Novice Teachers in A Selected Rural Fet Schools in South Africa

Mncube¹,

Mkhasibe²,

Ajani³

2021

IJHE

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Perceptions of isiZulu-speaking pre-service teachers’ classroom English proficiency

Kellerman

Evans

Graham

2021

SAJE

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Despite less than 10% of South Africans claiming English as their home language, it has become the de facto language of instruction. Yet we cannot assume that teachers have sufficient command of this language when using it for instructional purposes. As a sub-study, in this article we report on the oral proficiency of isiZulu-speaking pre-service teachers who use English when expounding content in rural schools. The conceptual framework draws primarily on research relating to instructional communication and Classroom English. For this mixed methods case study, using questionnaire data from 52 pre-service teachers and 18 tutors, we sought to establish the perceptions that respondents had of students’ oral proficiency while teaching in situ. Responses were statistically analysed using computing software. Unedited audio recordings of lessons presented in rural KwaZulu-Natal schools during pre-service teachers’ work-integrated learning stint provided oral data from which to gauge proficiency using a self-designed rubric. Findings correspond with those of previous studies, pointing to pre-service teachers’ oral proficiency being less than ideal for effectively facilitating learning. However, what is considered adequate proficiency and what is ideal is yet to be agreed upon. We recommend that interventions which address the development of oral proficiency required for classroom use be considered. Our pilot rubric may serve as a useful data-gathering tool in future research.

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Language Conflict, Language and Culture Shock in The Context of Bilingual Primary School Students

Kızıltaş¹

2022

Kuramsal Eğitimbilim

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Many bilingual students studying at schools in rural areas of Eastern and Southeastern Turkey experience language conflict in the process of acquiring Turkish. Likewise, teachers appointed to schools where bilingual students are educated, especially from the western regions of Turkey, have problems adapting to the region's culture and language. The problems experienced and seen cause language and culture shock for teachers. At the same time, these problems lead to various negativities on students and teachers in the education process. In this study, language conflict experienced by bilingual students was evaluated according to teacher opinions. Likewise, it is aimed to question the dimensions and consequences of language and culture shock in teachers. Teachers from different branches (n=120) working in the district villages of Van province were included in the study group. Research data were collected via an online questionnaire in the spring semester of the 2020-2021 academic year. The collected data were analyzed with the MaxQDA 2020 program. It was concluded that the students experienced intense language conflict at school. Similarly, it was concluded that the teachers also experienced language and culture shocks in the eastern regions where they were assigned.

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Linguistic challenges faced by rural Tshivenda-speaking teachers when Grade 4 learners transition to English

Cited by 6 publications

References 19 publications

Teaching in English across the Curriculum: A Lived Experiences of the Novice Teachers in A Selected Rural Fet Schools in South Africa

Teaching in English across the Curriculum: A Lived Experiences of the Novice Teachers in A Selected Rural Fet Schools in South Africa

Perceptions of isiZulu-speaking pre-service teachers’ classroom English proficiency

Language Conflict, Language and Culture Shock in The Context of Bilingual Primary School Students

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