Choice of language in education: do we know what South Africans want?

Abstract

A key factor in providing quality education is the main language of instruction (M-LoI). This creates a challenging situation for education policymakers in post-colonial multilingual countries such as South Africa. Language-in-education policies must valorise indigenous languages and redress their exclusion in past education systems while ensuring access to any economic opportunities afforded by colonial languages. Public attitudes have a bearing on individuals’ interactions with language policy as well as the education system as a whole. This article examines attitudes towards the M-LoI in education. Data from the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) for the period 2003–2016 were used. We hypothesised that preferences for M-LoI would be associated with support for other forms of societal racial transformation in South Africa. However, a majority of the general population favoured English as the M-LoI in education and M-LoI preferences were not related to the degree of support for other forms of racial transformation. The limitations of the SASAS dataset and current method are then described and possibilities for new research presented. The article concludes by discussing how post-colonial education policies and implementation can nurture multilingualism and promote the valorising of indigenous languages.

Keywords:

• Attitudes
• language of instruction
• South Africa
• post-colonial education policies
• racial transformation

Acknowledgements

Support for this study was provided by the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) a programme within Democracy Governance and Service Delivery research programme, Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). For their support and encouragement, special thanks to Benjamin J. Roberts and Jarè Struwig Co-ordinators of SASAS.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 In the parlance of South African politics, ‘racial transformation’ refers to deliberate changes aimed at redressing historical disadvantages as they pertain to the issue of race.

2 The nine languages under discussion are Sepedi, SiSwati, Sesotho, Setswana, isiXhosa, isiZulu, isiNdebele, Xitsonga and Tshivenda and fall under the major branch of the Niger-Congo language family known as ‘Southern Bantu’ (for a detailed description of these languages, see Herbert and Bailey, 2002).

3 It is necessary to acknowledge that race is social (rather than a biological) construction and we recognise the historical complexity of using ‘racial labels’ in our analysis. We do not support the use of racial categories and classifications. However, this is the terminology used by the current post-apartheid state and continues to be commonly used in South Africa.

4 This recommendation is based on the work of education scholars who contend that learners should first develop their home language as a certain level of proficiency is needed before acquiring a second language. The benefits of language instruction in South Africa were shown in a recent study by Taylor and von Fintel (2016) which used longitudinal data from Annual Surveys of Schools and a fixed-effects approach to isolate the effect of mother language instruction on educational outcomes later in life. They found that mother tongue instruction in the early grades significantly improved learners’ English acquisition in later education (also see Posel and Zeller 2011).

5 Consider that in 2016, White South Africans had a mean Racial Transformation Index score (M = 3.16; SE = 0.17) that was about half that of the Black African majority. Moreover, the Coloured (M = 3.93; SE = 0.16) and Indian (4.13; SE = 0.19) minorities exhibited index scores that were very similar to that of the white minority. Those racial minority group members who preferred home language as the M-LoI had lower mean Racial Transformation Index scores than those who preferred some other language. For instance, White adults in 2016 who preferred home language as the M-LoI in higher education had a mean index of 3.80 (SE = 2.41) compared to 2.36 (SE = 2.08) for those who did not.

6 SASAS respondents were asked “what language a respondent speaks mostly at home?” in each round of the survey. It was possible to distinguish between five major Black African language groups: (i) Sesotho, (ii) Sepedi, (iii) Setswana, (iv) isiXhosa, and (v) isiZulu. Those Black Africans who identified a language other than these five (such as Swazi, Ndebele or Venda) as their home language were coded as ‘Other’. Although a more nuanced subdivision by language may have been preferred, data limitations prevented further categorisation.