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Recommendations
Quick links to: Central Recommendations | Derived Recommendations | Implied or Latent Recommendations
Three categories of recommendations are presented, namely, Central, Derived and Implied.
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CENTRAL RECOMMENDATIONS |
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The Task Team (TT) places at the head of the Report two central recommendations, from which all other recommendations and implications derive. These are formulated precisely and unambiguously in order, among other things, to suggest desirable amendments to the wording of the original brief given to the TT. Accordingly, the following two recommendations are made:
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To implement the policy of mother-tongue based bilingual education in Grades R – 6 as from 2004-2005 in all primary schools of the Western Cape Province.
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To institute incentives to guide all children towards electing to take (offer) the third official language of the Province as their second additional language (SAL).
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(i) |
Evidence in support of the central recommendations
Four categories of factors that provide the motivations for the central recommendations are described and elaborated upon below:
Socio-economic and political factors
Both the PanSALB-MarkData Survey of 2000 and the Task Team’s survey of the Western Cape indicate clearly that the majority (up to 84%) of parents would want their children to be taught in both their mother-tongues and English, if this is possible. In our view, this is the decisive statistic from the point of view of predicting the success of the implementation of MT-based bilingual education.
The Language in Education Policy (1997) as well as the Revised National Curriculum Statement on the Learning Area "Languages" both provide the national policy framework, based on the language provisions of the Constitution, for the implementation of MTE. These positions have been backed up in recent months by strong statements of principle emanating from the national Minister of Education as well as by the Values in Education exercise.
At the level of provincial language policy, the activities of the Western Cape Language Committee are helping to create a climate in which all three official languages of the province are valorized and beginning to enjoy the "parity of esteem" heralded in the national Constitution. At national level, the initiative of the Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology to get the National Language Policy and Plan put on the Statute Book is about to be realised. These developments, among others in this domain, constitute essential extra-mural conditions for the successful implementation of MTE.
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Legal factors
Advice from the State Law Adviser makes it clear that there is no legal barrier to the introduction of MTE.
In particular, legal opinion confirms that the WCED has full powers to create new legislation to make home language mandatory, notwithstanding the powers granted to the governing bodies of public schools to determine the language policy of the schools. This right (of SGB’s) is subject to the Constitution, the SA Schools Act, and any applicable provincial law. The Western Cape Provincial School Education Act (1997) section 3 sub-sections (1) and (2) grants the MEC powers to determine the policy which is to be pursued in respect of education in schools in the province, with the proviso that "every learner shall have the right to mother-tongue education, including the right to take his or her mother-tongue as a subject, insofar as it is reasonably practicable". (see Findings, Research Task 6).
Current legislation allows the Department to implement the policy of making three languages compulsory as it is in line with the Constitution, the SA Schools Act and the Western Cape Provincial Schools Act.
Note: For reasons argued elsewhere in this Report the Task Team does not advocate compulsory MTE.
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Educational factors
On both a priori and empirical grounds, most researchers agree that mother-tongue education results in cognitive advantages for school learners, especially in the first years of primary school. The majority of studies also support the proposition that bilingual education affords children numerous cognitive advantages over monolingual children.
Some researchers state explicitly, and most others imply, that MTE affirms children in their self-worth and in their identity. Children exhibit increased and more lively participation in the classroom process. Their levels of self-assurance are raised as is their critical engagement with the teacher.
Most modern research confirms the proposition that a sound foundation in the mother-tongue facilitates the learning of additional languages. It also supports the intuition that children who are obliged to learn through a language they do not know are in most cases extremely disadvantaged and unable to catch up.
Research suggests that most children need at least 12 years to become competent in the L1, hence the need for a minimum of 7 years of primary schooling in the L1.
A recent study of the matriculation examination results of the year 2000 in the Western Cape shows conclusively that students who were taught and assessed in their L1 (English or Afrikaans) performed incomparably better than those (mainly Xhosa L1-speakers) who were taught and assessed in their FAL (mainly English). There were individual exceptions, and while it is not suggested that language-medium is the only causal factor at play in this case, this correlation is extremely significant.
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Financial factors
The TT has recommended that a detailed cost analysis of its proposals be undertaken, and the findings of this exercise cannot be pre-empted. However, some significant indicators have emerged from this research as summarized below:
While common sense makes the argument that multilingual education and in our context, MTE, is necessarily more costly than monolingual education, regardless of the LoLT, this has been shown in numerous contexts in different parts of the world to be a fallacy.
Research shows that the salary component of the education budget, which is the largest category of expenditure, remains virtually unchanged when language-medium policy is changed, since this move does not imply any major creation of new posts.
Two additional (and crucial) considerations are presented for a proper evaluation of costs. These relate to the fact that any educational reform necessitates an initial outlay and language-medium reform is, therefore, not a unique case; and also that costs should not be viewed as some notional economic or financial category only. The social implications of the wastage evident in the current system, in terms of high drop-out, repeater, failure and teacher burn-out rates, and the concomitant social alienation, must be factored into decision-making. While it cannot be argued that language-medium policy is the only reason for system failure, there is no doubt that it is one of the central causes.
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(ii) |
Factors that will obstruct implementation
Three categories of factors that have the potential to impede implementation of the proposed policy are set out below:
Stakeholder apathy and resistance
The negative attitudes towards MTE that are featured in this Report as prevailing especially among Xhosa- and some Afrikaans-speaking parents, constitute an inhibiting factor that will have to be addressed systematically and consistently, if implementation of the policy is to be carried out successfully. In this regard, awareness campaigns and emphasising the gradual phasing-in of the policy as well as the conceptualisation of it as mother-tongue-based bilingual education ought to be adequate tools for the purpose.
Systemic overload can be expected to be an equally inhibiting factor. In view of the fact that this language-medium reform is being introduced at the same time as the implementation of the measures recommended in the Revised National Curriculum Statements, it can be expected that educators as well as various levels of managerial staff will have a sense of being overburdened. This crucial issue will have to be addressed by means of careful planning, training and retraining courses and incentives, as well as through the publication of the results of good practice. School governing bodies will have to be targeted for special attention since they have the critical function of determining the language policies of their particular schools.
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Existing language policy and practice in schools
The language policy in education that was proclaimed on 14 July 1997 remains largely unknown and, with few exceptions, is not being implemented. Also, as professionals, most teachers are predisposed to preserving the known above embracing the unknown. Furthermore, the deep-rooted tendency among parents, teachers and policy-monitoring staff to regard the subtractive transition to English-medium schooling as the natural and most desirable educational strategy, looms large as a potential hindrance in the way of successful implementation. Awareness-raising campaigns, supplemented by exemplars of good models which demonstrate the benefits of MTE, will slowly remove the remnants of policies of the recent and the more distant past.
The view that prevails among intermediate and senior phase Xhosa-speaking teachers especially that it is difficult, and even impossible, to teach in the mother-tongue will have to be countered decisively. Besides role models and the good practice of key teachers as points of reference, acceptable ways of developing appropriate terminology in critical subjects such as mathematics, chemistry, physics and biology will have to be promoted assiduously.
Pre-service education and development curricula and, more pertinently, the actual practice of HEI’s which do not prepare would-be educators for a bilingual educational system, will negate attempts to effect the required changes. Inspired leadership from the front, as well as incentives and exposure of critical decision-makers to good practice in South Africa and in other multilingual countries with bilingual educational systems, will help to turn the situation around if the phasing-in of the policy is handled sensitively, yet firmly.
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Resource deficits
Some of the issues here lie within the ambit of education-specific planning and provisioning. The inherited unequal distribution of resources among the schools of the Western Cape will have to be dealt with decisively in view of the fact that the projected implementation of the language-medium policy will lead to demands for additional resources and for a completely different pattern of resource allocation. Teacher redeployment in terms of a more appropriate match between the language competence of educators and the language profile of the children at particular schools and in particular districts will be a major problem factor. Some of the issues that will arise from the new situation can be dealt with by means of clustering and twinning of schools, a process that has already begun spontaneously in some communities. Other aspects to the problem of unequal distribution of resources lie outside the narrower field of education policy. They resort in the domain of macro socio-political policy and, therefore, require integrated, inter-departmental planning, for example, the locating of new schools.
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DERIVED RECOMMENDATIONS
Educators
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To immediately devise and implement with HEI’s and appropriate NGEO’s a comprehensive range of courses for the professional education, development and re-orientation of (language) educators. These courses will vary in duration and focus, and will cover one or more aspects of language knowledge, proficiency and pedagogy.
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If the language-preparedness and language-effectiveness of educators are used as yardsticks of measurement, then several deficits have emerged from this study. These relate to each of the languages as First language (L1), both as a LoLT and as a subject; but they also relate to each as Second language(Add1) and Third language (Add2). The deficits are more marked in some cases than others, for example, educators in ex-HOR and ex-CED schools who have little knowledge of Xhosa, or educators in ex-DET schools whose proficiency in English as LoLT is sub-standard. Improvement in the quality of education is presented as one of the desired outcomes of this policy initiative, and since language is foundational to all learning, it is imperative that teacher education and development programmes be geared towards significant improvement and modernisation in keeping with current theory and practice.
This study has also shown that very few educators have been trained for bilingual-education or for teaching in a dual-medium context, and education and development programmes need re-alignment to make this the norm over time.
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To devise and negotiate a deployment strategy which will arrest and reverse the growing mismatch between learners and educators in terms of primary language and LoLT, and which will enable schools to fulfil the obligations inherent in the central recommendations.
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Firstly, this report records a significant shift of learners across previous racial divides, and a change in the language policy of many schools, mainly to English. There is little evidence of any comparable shift or adjustment in the educator complement of schools. As an example, many schools from the ex-CED and ex-HOR sector that have enrolled Xhosa-speaking learners have not also employed educators whose primary language is Xhosa. The reasons are, inter alia: a shrinking staff complement as a result of rationalisation; unfavourable economic circumstances which make the creation of additional SGB posts unaffordable; or negative attitudes to Xhosa as a language. Furthermore, where Xhosa-speaking educators are engaged their employment is often on a part-time or teacher-aide basis. Both for personal and professional reasons this practice is deemed to be unacceptable as a long-term solution.
Secondly, for the overwhelming majority of educators in the ex-DET sector, English, which is the school’s Lolt from Grade 4, is a second or even third language. Schools are often without an educator with L1 proficiency in the LoLT.
For these and other reasons, it is clear that some stimulus is required from the Department to bring about a more equitable distribution of human resources. The well-planned and rightful deployment of newly-qualified educators presents one such opportunity. However, the trend of the past 2-3 years, which shows declining enrolments and an almost complete drying-up of Xhosa-speaking students in teacher education programmes, calls for a vigorous and targeted recruitment drive, including the provision of incentives such as bursaries.
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To provide for the special needs of deaf learners by including an elementary knowledge of Sign Language as a requirement in programmes for the professional education and development of all educators. As a starting point, all educators should be acquainted with the First 200 Basic Signs contained in materials issued by the Worcester Institute for the Deaf.
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This report highlights an untenable situation in regard to the language rights of the deaf, namely, that very few educators who work with deaf learners have any knowledge of Sign Language. This language is constitutionally recognised and given equality with the 11 official languages. Language rights generally are promoted as part of human rights, and deaf learners enjoy the same rights as those who hear. It is self-evident that deaf learners have the right to receive tuition through the language of their choice, and that the state has an obligation to provide for this choice.
All educators must be equipped to communicate with deaf learners, whether in mainstream or special schools, and also in out-of-school settings.
School Resources
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To allocate or secure funding for a heavy initial investment (say, 5-10 years) in the production and procurement of high-quality learning support materials in each of the 3 regional languages, and bilingual learning materials in the English-Afrikaans, English-Xhosa and Afrikaans-Xhosa combinations.
The scale of the investment will be determined by an audit of needs throughout the primary school sector.
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The basic skills in language acquisition are speaking, listening, reading and writing, and the development of these skills is enhanced by the availability of teaching and learning resources in the form of visual, audio and print materials. The study confirms the inequitable distribution of resources as a major problem, but also raises the issues of quality and appropriateness of content. It points to a paucity of bilingual learning materials.
The requirements of the Revised National Curriculum Statement and of OBE place much store on self-learning on the part of learners. A resource-rich, particularly a print-rich, environment is crucial in this regard. There is a great need for readers as a source of enjoyment and source of information in a range of subjects, as well as for dictionaries.
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To devise a provisioning strategy that will redress the current imbalances between the languages, particularly the paucity of high-quality Xhosa-language readers and other literacy materials.
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The study highlights the severe shortages of high-quality learning materials in Xhosa specifically, and to a lesser degree Afrikaans. By making more Xhosa texts available learners will be encouraged to read and write and the status of Xhosa at school level will be promoted. Much is to be gained from WCED evolving a joint strategy with its Eastern Cape counterparts to promote the language.
The possibility of ‘financial constraints’ being presented as an obstacle is an ever-present spectre. However, the concept of ‘provisioning strategy’ recognises the WCED as a key, but not only, provider; and distinguishes between commercially-produced and non-commercial LSM’s. Therefore, part of the recommended strategy will entail the identification and development of the creative and improvisational skills of classroom educators. The strategy will also include exploiting, in the best sense, the normally untapped pool of resources available in communities. By, inter alia, disseminating samples of good practice, the possibilities for replication are enhanced.
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To initiate, in partnership with the 5 national Publishing Houses, relevant NGO’s and local HEI’s, programmes of training in writing and translating of textbooks and other learning materials; and to identify and support educators as participants in such programmes.
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Very little evidence has emerged of the involvement of educators (teachers) in the writing of original books, and the translation of high-quality printed matter. The acquisition of these skills is crucial if, for example, Xhosa is to be promoted as a LoLT, in which case textbooks and manuals covering Science, Mathematics and other content subjects will be indispensable. The development of terminology in Xhosa lies at the core of this activity. There is also a need for learners to be exposed to the richness of the literature available in other local languages.
Local HEI’s and commercial publishing houses have the capacity to develop and nurture these skills. Educators, who are active practitioners in the classroom, are well placed to engage in this activity, and should be encouraged to participate in ways that will advance rather than disrupt their careers.
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To encourage all schools to develop a basic library ‘facility’, by drafting guidelines on the selection of books and the allocation of school funds for the acquisition of readers and other sources of information, bearing in mind the onerous requirements of OBE and bilingual education.
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The report draws attention to a parlous state as far as school libraries are concerned. Very few schools have operating libraries, or library spaces of any kind, and the situation is not likely to change overnight. There are some actions, however, which schools can take to alleviate the situation, and which may require administrative and organisational support from WCED. This could, for example, entail establishing partnerships with outside bodies (organisations and NGO’s) for the supply of books to school libraries; or the training of educators in the basic principles of operating a school library, at no cost to the Department. Bodies such as the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA), or Masifunde Sonke, or Biblionef, play an important role in this regard.
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To embark upon an immediate, intensive and continuous programme to raise awareness on the motivation for, and benefits of, mother-tongue-based bilingual education specifically, and also additive multilingualism.
To achieve its objectives the programme needs to be multi-pronged and multi-layered, and should reach all stakeholders in all communities.
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The findings of this study disclose a substantial (majority) level of support for MTE. However, it also discloses strongly negative connotations which still prevail in predominantly Xhosa-speaking communities. The negativity stems from recent memories of Bantu Education, Christian National Education, the marginalisation of indigenous languages or their exploitation as a means of enforcing racial and ethnic separation. The fears, suspicions and misconceptions born out of these memories are immediate and inescapable.
There is also evidence of ignorance, for example, failure to acknowledge the official status accorded to African languages, including Xhosa, by the new constitution. Alternatively, there is apathy towards the home language from those parents and communities (Xhosa- and Afrikaans-speakers) who see English as a high-status language and a gateway to academic and economic advancement.
There are contrasting scenarios to the above. There are Xhosa-speakers who wish to see their language elevated, that is, operating in the school system, universities, the commercial world and public life. And there are English and Afrikaans-speakers who attach little value to Xhosa as a language worthy of mastery.
Research has identified a multiplicity of target-groups and care will need to be exercised in the formulation of the message and the choice of media. It is as crucial to bolster the positive attitudes as it is to counter the negative sentiments.
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To introduce a system of incentives or inducements that will encourage schools to adopt language policies in keeping with the objectives of the LiEP and of the central recommendations described above; and that will encourage educators to improve their proficiency and classroom practice in all 3 languages.
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Throughout this report emphasis has been placed on the importance of a persuasive rather than a coercive approach to the proposed language reform. The Task Team does not advocate the imposition of compulsory mother-tongue tuition or the introduction of a compulsory third language in the curriculum. It does, however, propose a framework which will promote the home language as LoLT or as L1 in a bilingual setting, and allow for the phasing in of a third language as circumstances permit. The TT believes that a system of incentives will provide impetus to this process.
The incentives need not be of a monetary nature only but can include, for example, a higher categorisation or more generous staff allocation for schools which adopt progressive language policies; or language proficiency endorsements on professional qualifications, or enhanced promotion prospects for educators in particular school contexts. The introduction of such a system will be crucial and more productive in the early stages, and some elements may later be phased out as the need diminishes.
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IMPLIED or LATENT RECOMMENDATIONS.
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The first proposal flows from a set of guiding principles adopted by the Task Team prior to embarking upon this project; the latter 2 are process recommendations that elaborate the approved Work Plan by defining the participants in the activities.
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To launch an investigation into the implications of extending the proposed language policy to Grades 7 – 12, in order to create continuity and coherence throughout the school system; and
to take appropriate steps, through consultations, to synchronise the provincial schools language policy with that of local HEI’s.
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If credence is to be given to the benefits of MT and bilingual education as described in this Report, and to the principle of language equality, then it is clear that Xhosa-speaking learners in the province should enjoy the same right of access to MTE up to Grade 12 as Afrikaans- and English-speakers. The current context renders such an ideal impracticable at this stage, but planning for its possible future implementation should commence. Also, tertiary institutions are being called upon to re-assess their language policy in the context of their admissions policy, and WCED needs to consult with HEI’s to promote some level of synchronisation locally.
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To immediately appoint a specialist agency, academic researchers and the WCED’s internal units to carry out a full cost analysis of the recommendations contained in this report, and to secure approval of the costs prior to implementation of the plan.
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Costing is an important part of the implementation strategy, and the full cost implications of the proposals must be well-researched by specialists in advance. A comparative cost analysis of dual- and parallel-medium education against unilingual tuition should form part of the investigation, as should the annualised cost to WCED of current repeater rates and drop-out rates in provincial schools. Cost-drivers identified in this report include, inter alia, educator salaries, training and re-training of personnel, provision of facilities and resource materials, incentives and advocacy strategies. The data is vital, not only for planning, but also for political decision-making.
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To appoint language specialists and translators, with lexicographers in attendance, to translate this report into Afrikaans and Xhosa prior to its general release.
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It is of cardinal importance that this report be available in the 3 local official languages, both to enhance its general accessibility to stakeholders, and to endorse the principles underpinning language equality and equity.
Some of the descriptive and explanatory text contains technical terms or refers to concepts in language education. It is important, therefore, that language specialists and lexicographers be part of the translation process to ensure congruence of meaning in all 3 languages.
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Conclusion
The recommendations spell out the framework of a language policy that is rooted in modern-day South Africa, even Africa, and that seeks to address the contextual realities of the Western Cape Province. The proposals have their genesis in a set of criteria that were conceived at the inception of the project, namely, to develop a language policy and strategy that are educationally and linguistically sound; that resonate with the rights and aspirations of the majority of the population; that are inclusive rather than divisive in their application; and that possess elements that are inherently understandable and capable of implementation in the short term.
Timing is always a critical consideration when introducing a new policy or strategy. For a number of reasons the present time is considered ‘right’, and failure to seize the moment may be construed as a missed opportunity. There are presently several national initiatives being implemented in schools, for example, the Revised National Curriculum Statement, OBE, and the LiEP. These are destined to set the pattern for schools’ and classroom practice for the foreseeable future. It is self-evident, that a new provincial language policy needs to be synchronised and integrated with these initiatives, firstly, to ensure widespread implementation, rather than appear as an ‘add-on’ at some later stage; and secondly, to utilise the training opportunities presented by these initiatves.
The detectable swing towards English in Western Cape schools at the expense of Xhosa and Afrikaans does not accord with trends elsewhere in the country and on the continent, and in multilingual societies worldwide, and indeed runs counter to the principles of language equality and equity, and the promotion of bilingualism. The local trend needs to be checked urgently in a manner that promotes gains rather than sacrifices, as exemplified in the proposals.
The proposals call for a massive investment in human resource and material resource development and provision. However, a phasing-in approach is proposed in recognition of the fact that change and development on the envisaged scale cannot be achieved overnight. This will ensure that the monetary investment will not be seen as a ‘once-off’ activity, but correctly assessed as incremental and cumulative over time, and appropriately offset against savings from lower repeat rates and drop-out rates.
One of the key assumptions undergirding the implementation plan is universal ‘buy-in’, where universal applies more to stakeholder constituencies than to individuals, and buy-in implies understanding, acceptance and active support. Active participation in well-planned and effectively executed campaigns of awareness-raising, in which all issues germane to the language in education debate are addressed, is seen as a prerequisite for stimulating ownership of the policy.
The proposals rest on persuasion rather than coercion, following the dictum that ‘allure rather than constraint’ is the appropriate route to follow, especially where sensitivities, prejudices, fears and suspicion are roused. It must be realised, however, that reliance on a spirit of voluntarism does present pitfalls, such as apathy, fear or resistance to change. Therefore, WCED needs to be vigilant in its evaluation of progress and to subject its strategy to periodic review and adjustment. WCED also needs to remain apprised of good practice in its schools, and in research pilot projects, for example, the Norwegian-funded project looking at Xhosa as LoLT in Geography and Science (Grades 4-6). Exemplars of good practice, disseminated for replication, provide an effective antidote to inclinations towards retaining the status quo.
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