The adverse effects of monolingual home-language teachers in bilingual Sesotho and isiXhosa foundation phase classrooms

Abstract

This article is about home-language teachers who are monolingual teaching in bilingual classrooms in the foundation phase, and the repercussions for other languages. The staff numbers are determined by the total number of learners enrolled at the school, not by the number of home languages or subjects offered or taught at that school. In public schools, the foundation phase (Grades 1–3) teachers teach all learners in their mother tongue in all subjects. This leads to one language dominating in teaching and learning, and disadvantaging learners of the other language that is influenced by the teachers’ home languages. This may also lead to the learners of the disadvantaged language opting for the language of the teacher (dominant language). The Language-in-Education Policy emphasises that children have a right to be educated in their mother tongue. A qualitative approach was used in this article in which five Grade 3 teachers from five schools were selected. A wide range of data was gathered using the action research methods of observations, interviews and questionnaires. The triangulation method was also used as it refers to the use of multiple methods or data sources in qualitative research to develop a comprehensive understanding of phenomena.