Pedagogical translanguaging and the construction of science knowledge in a multilingual South African classroom: challenging monoglossic/post-colonial orthodoxies

ABSTRACT

The majority of learners in South African schools are African language speakers, yet the dominance of English in the political economy has meant that schools choose to switch to English medium instruction by Grade 4, before learners have the necessary English proficiency to access the curriculum, with negative effects on learning. This paper outlines South Africa’s long engagement with such issues and documents the translanguaging practices of a teacher who breaks the post-colonial monolingual ideologies prevalent in classrooms and engages with learners’ linguistic resources to provide access to both science knowledge and English.

KEYWORDS:

• Translanguaging
• multilingual education
• classroom discourse
• science education
• South Africa

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. The racial classifications that formed the basis of apartheid, including segregation of schools, into those for ‘whites’, ‘Indians’, ‘coloureds’ and ‘blacks’ are regarded as reprehensible. However the effects of this historic segregation and associated inequalities have far reaching effects on the education system today and so one is obliged to continue to use the racial terminology.

2. ‘Townships’ are dormitory suburbs that were set-up on the periphery of cities during the apartheid era, to house those Africans who had official permission to work in the cities. As such, they were subject to the apartheid laws of racial segregation and restricted movement. Today some township areas have seen the growth of middle-class enclaves but on the whole, they house the urban poor in a mix of low-cost housing and informal shacks.

3. Mud schools are literally schools made of wattle and daub or mud bricks and as such insecure structures for teaching and learning.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Margie Probyn

Margie Probyn is a researcher at the Centre for Multilingualism and Diversities Research at the University of the Western Cape. Her research interests are language and education in multilingual contexts; language policy and practice; literacy; language and science teaching; teacher education. She has experience in classroom teaching and teacher education.