Language ideologies and Stakeholder responses to the proposed implementation of Mother Tongue-Based Bilingual Education in Grade 5 Natural Science.

Leeuw, Ignacious

Language ideologies and Stakeholder responses to the proposed implementation of Mother Tongue-Based Bilingual Education in Grade 5 Natural Science.

Thesis / Dissertation

2025

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

School of Education

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Abstract

This study investigates Grade 5 natural science teachers', learners and parents' language ideologies and responses towards Mother Tongue Based Bilingual education that has been proposed by the Department of Basic Education starting in 2025. First, it probes teacher's linguistic repertoires, their understandings of bi/multilingual education and their responses to the minister's proposition of Mother Tongue Based Bilingual Education (MTBBE) for 2025. Secondly, it investigates learner's linguistic repertoires and probes how bi/multilingual learners use their linguistic repertoires as resources for meaning making to engage with the curriculum. Lastly, it examines parents' language ideologies and responses to Mother Tongue Based Bi/multilingual education. The study draws on language as a social practice theoretical framework, dominant language ideologies, as well as alternative concepts such as heteroglossia, linguistic repertoires, multilingual repertoires, language as a resource and translanguaging to challenge monoglossic as well as anglonormative ideologies which position learners with multiple language resources as deficient. The research design and methodology comprise of an interpretivist and qualitative approach which involved purposive sampling of participants to gather their linguistic repertoires and language ideologies and responses to the proposed MTBBE. Thus, the research focuses on people's experiences, languages uses and ideologies about the MTBBE phenomenon. The main data collection tools were interviews and questionnaires. The findings of the study reveal that language ideologies such as monoglossia, monolingualism and anglonormativity are imbedded in learning materials provided in school and formal assessments administered by the schools. Furthermore, it shows that colonial ideologies of some teachers and learners continue to be a stumbling block for African language speaking learners who come from linguistically hybrid township environments where language diversity is a norm. However, not all teachers, learners and parents harboured these monoglossic and anglonormative ideologies. There were contrasting views from teachers, learners and parents who believe in the socio-economic emancipation that English provides yet asking for the promotion and resourcing of African languages as languages of teaching and learning alongside English. Teachers admit to teaching bilingually already, though this remains mainly in oral discourse. They welcome MTBBE as a new model for teaching bi/multilingual learners, if training and resources are provided. Furthermore, parents play a huge role in the promotion and preservation of African languages as they continue to speak their home languages with their children. Parents go to great lengths to translate mathematics and natural science contents from English to Setswana/isiXhosa and Afrikaans to their children and see the value of mother tongue based bilingual education (MTBBE). The study shows learners having multilingual repertoires, with the learners speaking between 2-5 languages. However, despite their self-reported multilingualism, the learners show a great preference for English over their first languages/mother tongue and as they have been socialised to believe that their African languages are not valuable enough to be resourced for content subjects such as natural science and that only standard English is acceptable. These ideologies have presented learners with negative perceptions towards African languages and is forcing them to choose English over their most familiar languages. However, there were a few learners who showed excitement about being taught in more than one language. The strength of the study has been in the way that the research questions were posed, not as a binary between African home languages and English as mediums of instruction, but in asking teachers, learners and parents about how they would feel, if education was to be provided in both HLs and English. The response has been overwhelmingly positive towards MTBBE than previous studies that have only focused on presenting the languages in opposition.