Original Research

IsiZulu and English in KwaZulu-Natal rural schools: how teachers fear failure and opt for English

Nontokoza Mashiya
South African Journal of Childhood Education | Vol 1, No 1 | a71 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajce.v1i1.71 | © 2011 Nontokoza Mashiya | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 23 May 2014 | Published: 31 December 2011

About the author(s)

Nontokoza Mashiya, University of Zululand, South Africa

Full Text:

PDF (216KB)

Abstract

 

In this article, factors inhibiting the use of mother tongue as the language of learning and teaching (LoLT) in rural foundation phase classes is investigated. I analysed qualitative data from focus group interviews with 20 foundation phase teachers that were selected through purposive sampling. Findings show that factors such as prior learner knowledge, better opportunities for children, time constraints, low self-concepts of African teachers, failure of the education system, teachers’ lack of proficiency in the language of teaching and learning, directly translated resources, lack of parental involvement in decision making, and ‘invisible’ school language policies inhibit the use of children’s primary language in the classroom. These nine factors are discussed and the article makes recommendations to suggest ways to alleviate these challenges.


Keywords

mother tongue teaching, foundation phase, rural schools, language in education policy , teachers’ self concept

Metrics

Total abstract views: 4768
Total article views: 10385

 

Crossref Citations

1. Mother tongue as a medium of instruction in the foundation phase: A comparison of classroom reality with the South African language-in-education policy
Madoda Cekiso
South African Journal of Childhood Education  vol: 16  issue: 1  year: 2026  
doi: 10.4102/SAJCE.v16i1.1777

2. Exploring the challenges of information and communication technology localization in South African higher education: a language management approach
Hloniphani Ndebele
International Journal of Multilingualism  vol: 19  issue: 3  first page: 368  year: 2022  
doi: 10.1080/14790718.2020.1717496

3. Competing Purposes: Mother Tongue Education Benefits Versus Economic Interests in Rural Zimbabwe
Gamuchirai Tsitsi Ndamba, Micheal M Van Wyk, Josiah C Sithole
International Indigenous Policy Journal  vol: 8  issue: 1  year: 2017  
doi: 10.18584/iipj.2017.8.1.1

4. The Effects of On-Campus Residence on Academic Performance of University Students: A South African Perspective
Tebogo Rakgogo, Maboragane Jonas Magedi
Commonwealth Youth and Development  vol: 19  issue: 1  year: 2022  
doi: 10.25159/2663-6549/9844

5. Examining teachers’ views on the adoption of mother tongue-based bilingual education in mathematics teaching and learning: A South African context
Zwelivumile Malindi, Clever Ndebele, Berington Zanoxolo Gobingca
South African Journal of Education  vol: 43  issue: Supplement 2  first page: S1  year: 2023  
doi: 10.15700/saje.v43ns2a2242

6. Teachers’ discourses of literacy as social practice in advantaged and disadvantaged early childhood contexts
Colwyn D. Martin, Hasina B. Ebrahim
South African Journal of Childhood Education  vol: 6  issue: 2  first page: 10  year: 2016  
doi: 10.4102/sajce.v6i2.454

7. The management of isiZulu as a language of teaching and learning at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's College of Humanities
Hloniphani Ndebele, Nogwaja S. Zulu
Language and Education  vol: 31  issue: 6  first page: 509  year: 2017  
doi: 10.1080/09500782.2017.1326503

8. Foregrounding silences in the South African National Early Learning Standards for birth to four years
Hasina Banu Ebrahim
European Early Childhood Education Research Journal  vol: 22  issue: 1  first page: 67  year: 2014  
doi: 10.1080/1350293X.2012.738869

9. Senegalese Professors’ Intention to Engage in Learner-Centered Instructional Strategies in Agriculture Courses
James Anderson, Ibukun Alegbeleye, Wangui Gichane, Azenegashe Abaye
Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education  vol: 26  issue: 1  first page: 85  year: 2019  
doi: 10.5191/jiaee.2019.26108

10. Embracing the use of African languages as additional languages of teaching and learning in KwaZulu-Natal schools
Phephani Gumbi, Nobuhle Ndimande-Hlongwa
South African Journal of African Languages  vol: 35  issue: 2  first page: 157  year: 2015  
doi: 10.1080/02572117.2015.1112999

11. Umphumela wokufundiswa koLimi lokuQala loKwengeza kubafundi abasincele ebeleni isiZulu
Xolani Khohliso, Siphelele Mbatha
South African Journal of African Languages  vol: 45  issue: 1  first page: 45  year: 2025  
doi: 10.1080/02572117.2024.2379289

12. Relations between morphological awareness, vocabulary knowledge and word reading in different orthographies and scripts: Evidence from Africa and Asia
Lieke Stoffelsma, Kelvin Fai Hong Lui, Catherine McBride, Isaac N. Mwinlaaru, Yanyan Ye
Cognitive Development  vol: 78  first page: 101698  year: 2026  
doi: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2026.101698