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Ponte Academic Journal
Sep 2021, Volume 77, Issue 9

MULTILINGUALISM: IMPACT AND TEACHER PERSPECTIVES AS OPPOSED TO LANGUAGE LEARNING

Author(s): BULELWA MAKENA ,NTANDO MPAHLA

J. Ponte - Sep 2021 - Volume 77 - Issue 9
doi: 10.21506/j.ponte.2021.9.4



Abstract:
This paper argues that many schools cannot easily address language diversity through multilingual education. Application of varying modes of delivery in a multilingual classroom, in many schools, more so to vast numbers of home language learners who are expected to learn an additional language not familiar to them, becomes a difficult adventure for teachers offering languages. The survey conducted by authors in selected schools from one of the education districts in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa, discovered a number of difficulties encountered by some language teachers and their pursuit of teaching learners in multilingual classrooms. In this article, questionnaires were administered to ten language teachers. Through interventions by the authors, participants were then required to contend whether there were any significant impacts of multilingual education with regards to language learning. Findings divulge that learners who received multilingual education were observed to be expressing a more encouraging attitude to language learning. Therefore, we recommend observance of some strategies to address challenges experienced in multilingual classrooms. Strategies recommended are aligned with language diversity and school policy imperatives. Finally, learning various languages is perceived as a social advantage that could improve communication amongst people from numerous cultures, as South Africa is a country noted for its distinctive characteristic of being a diverse cultural environment.
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