Christine Anthonissen

Teaching in linguistically diverse classrooms: difficulties in the implementation of the language-in-education policy in multilingual Kenyan primary school classrooms

Kenya’s language-in-education policy supports mother-tongue education as the ideal approach to developing language and literacy skills of young learners. The policy has been informed by findings of various past national education commissions as well as international declarations such as the UNESCO declaration on the use of Vernacular Languages in Education of 1953, the World Declaration on Education for All of 1990 and the Dakar framework of 2000. The country’s Constitution of 2010 re-affirms this policy. However, available reports indicate that little progress has been made in implementing the use of Kenyan mother tongues in education. This paper reports on impressions gained in the process of collecting and analysing data for a doctoral study still in progress. Preliminary findings indicate that in most urban and peri-urban schools, where the learner population is highly multilingual, the policy has been implemented in such a way that in effect either the notion of ‘mother tongue’ seems to have been redefined or the term is used in an unconventional way. Even in rural areas where, comparatively, there is minimal diversity, practical aspects of the use of mother tongue in education seem not to be in accordance with policy provisions. Learning materials and assessment systems are not suitably structured to enable mother-tongue education to take place. The paper (1) gives an impression of the status quo regarding use of language in multilingual primary school classrooms in Kenya, (2) considers the different interpretations given to the term ‘mother tongue’ in current classroom practices and (3) provides pointers to the gap between de jure and de facto policy, which may eventually be helpful in improving the implementation of the current language-in-education policy, in such a way that it will strengthen mother-tongue literacy and facilitate eventual transfer to English as medium of instruction.

Bilingualism and language shift in Western Cape communities

This paper considers a number of pertinent sociolinguistic aspects of a distinct process of language shift recently noted in some historically Afrikaans first language (L1) communities established in the Cape Metropolitan area. Particularly, it considers qualitatively how a number of families made deliberate choices to change the family language from Afrikaans L1 to English L1. It elaborates on an exploratory study undertaken in 2003, adding data collected in 2008 and 2009, investigating linguistic repertoire and language choice in a number of families where there has been contact between English and Afrikaans over a number of generations. The aim, eventually, is to characterise the nature of the perceived process of language shift. The paper considers how widespread use of both English and Afrikaans in communities that until recently were predominantly Afrikaans, impacts on linguistic identities. It reports on structured interviews with members of three generations of families who currently exhibit English-Afrikaans bilingualism where members of the younger generation are more fluent in English. It finds that there is evidence of language shift, it reports on the circumstances that motivate such shift, and concludes that the third generation presents either a monolingual English identity where Afrikaans has a decidedly second language status, or a strong English-dominant bilingual identity.

On Interpreting the Interpreter – Experiences of Language Practitioners Mediating for the TRC

Abstract This article considers the role of the interpreters at the hearings of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in view of a topical question in translation studies. Referring to experiences of simultaneous translating interpreters, the paper highlights a number of characterising features of the interpretation processes at TRC hearings. The problem addressed here relates to how interpreters’ recollections can contribute to a better understanding and appreciation of the communicative process at TRC hearings and of recorded and transcribed interpretations of public events more generally. The paper draws on Pym (1988, 2003), emphasising the historiographical importance of recognising and understanding experiences of translators/interpreters. It analyses data on officially appointed TRC interpreters’ perceptions and recollections of their experience. It finds that these interpreters were not transparent ‘conduits’. They were often also ‘catalysts’ and cultural consultants who mediated between participants, and were personally affected. The conditions under which they worked virtually guaranteed a compromise on accuracy. TRC interpreting took place in exceptional circumstances that need to be recognised in order to properly understand why the official records are at times fraught. Interpreters’ histories give vital information on the mediation process and on the artefacts that remain after the process.

Language and youth identity in a multilingual setting: A multimodal repertoire approach

Abstract This article is based on a study of a community of multilingual adolescents in Johannesburg which examines participants’ linguistic repertoires and how they use their linguistic resources as a basis for identity construction, integration and performance. This kind of linguistic multiplicity lends itself to subtle and occasionally subversive positioning, as well as the creation of complex identities. Multilingual speakers call into play different aspects of their linguistic identity according to what particular circumstances dictate. For the most part, learners use their repertoires, which in some cases include non-standardised, mixed forms such as Tsotsitaal, to integrate and negotiate; and they are open to learning and accommodating other languages, with perhaps (in this data-set) one exception, namely Xitsonga. The implications of these findings are discussed with regard to language use in educational settings.

MULTIPLE VOICES IN BILINGUAL HIGHER EDUCATION: LANGUAGE CHOICES OF AFRIKAANS/ENGLISH BILINGUALS AT STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY.

This paper uses a sociocultural theory and heteroglossic approach to investigate the bilingual learning experience of seven Afrikaans/English bilinguals at Stellenbosch University. In particular these bilinguals were asked to reflect on the language choices they make when completing various assessment tasks and when they are internalising new information. These students were also asked to reflect on the ways in which a bilingual learning context has changed their language proficiency. It is evident from the data that the language choices are made for a multiplicity of reasons, and that the participants draw on a number of different voices, some contradictory, to articulate their experience. These findings are discussed especially in connection to the implications for policy makers, showing that methodologies such as surveys and questionnaires in which participants are requested to make a choice, do not reflect the heteroglossic and ambiguous nature of bilingualism.

Testing learners' attitudes - visual components of texts as bridges or barriers to learning

This article considers how visual images in texts may enhance or inhibit language learning. It draws on Kress and Van Leeuwen’s (1996) work on the grammar of visual design, recognising that visual images form part of a powerful semiotic system that carries representational and connotative meanings in a manner comparable to that of words, sentences and larger textual units. It takes note of the ways in which new technologies have introduced more visual material in printed texts than was available before. And it reports on an investigation into the specific responses of Grade 10 learners to visuals of people featuring different characteristics. Eventually we need to develop learning materials where visuals facilitate and motivate language learning, and simultaneously facilitate the development of socially responsible values.

Question-answer sequences between doctors and patients in a

It is widely acknowledged that HIV and AIDS infecti on rates are exceptionally high in South Africa (cf. Whiteside 2005). Although the figures 1 that reflect infection in the Western Cape are slightly lower than in other parts of the count ry the situation is nevertheless alarming and worrying. The nature of the condition and of curren tly available medication is such that successful verbal communication is an essential pre condition to effective treatment. Against such a background it appears to be even more import ant than with other pathologies that misunderstanding or lack of understanding between d octors and patients should, as far as possible, be addressed and minimized. However, obse rvation and analysis of a small number of consultations between doctors and patients in an HIV day clinic in the Western Cape has given some impression of the communicative dilemmas and difficulties of doctors and patients in consultations related to anti-retrovira l (ARV) treatment. Such communicative problems arise from the variety of disparate matter s hat need to be attended to, specifically the need to monitor constantly not only the physica l condition of patients, but also their