The following item from the Johannesburg paper, Business Day, was seen on AllAfrica.com at http://allafrica.com/stories/200706120316.html ... Don
South Africa: English Drowns Out Pandor's African Language Dream Business Day (Johannesburg) http://www.bday.co.za/ 12 June 2007 Posted to the web 12 June 2007 Sue Blaine Johannesburg IF EDUCATION Minister Naledi Pandor's dream of more school pupils studying African languages and being taught in their own language is to come true, more matriculants will have to be enticed to study these languages after school in order to become teachers. While numbers are hard to come by, most African language lecturers agree the number of students studying African languages is low, and often declining. The number of students learning Zulu, SA's most widely spoken language, at the University of SA -- the country's largest and arguably most accessible university -- tells the story. Last year, three students signed up for Applied isiZulu First Language II, and none did this year. There was one student enrolled for isiZulu Third Language last year and none this year. Three signed up for isiZulu Third Language I last year and none this year. There was growth, however, in Practical isiZulu, from 10 last year to 29 this year, but this is a course aimed at non-mother tongue speakers who wish to acquire basic competency -- not enough to teach a language, or teach in a language. Experts say the decline in student numbers is linked to political change, English's dominance in trade and industry, and African language departments' history of presenting their subject in a staid, old-fashioned manner concentrated on grammar, syntax and "pure" forms of the languages. The massive changes in SA's political make-up, and especially the dissolution of the bantustans, has meant that African language departments need to work harder to attract students, says Prof Theo du Plessis, head of the University of the Free State's Unit for Language Management. In the past, students who had an eye on securing themselves a job in a homeland's civil service needed to learn the language, and learn it well, he says. "Now they (African languages) are important languages of socialisation and identity, but they are not seen as important languages for the higher domains (of) government administration, legislation, justice and education," says Du Plessis. Linked to this is the problem created by English's position as the national and international business lingua franca. "Choices around studying languages are influenced mainly by job opportunities. Many prefer to take English, no matter how good their English is," says Prof Sizwe Satyo, head of African languages at the University of Cape Town's School of Languages. Pandor has been outspoken about the importance of the education department's language policy, which wants children to learn in their mother tongue for at least the first three years of school when concept-formation is crucial; to ensure all young people are able to speak and write in a language other than their mother tongue -- for most this will be English -- and to ensure they are able to communicate in a third, indigenous, language. But if the universities cannot secure more enrolments in African language study, Pandor's vision will come to nothing. "Five years from now there will be an absolute shortage of language teachers and it will take 10 years to correct that," says Russell Kaschula, head of Rhodes University's African languages department. Few matriculants view teaching as a first-choice career and Pandor's allocation this year of R700m for teacher bursaries, to be spent over the next three years, is part of a government attempt to renew interest in the profession. African language experts hope their departments will also benefit from the bursaries. "Last year, out of a class of 70 or 80 isiXhosa students whom I asked about going into teaching, only one or two put their hands up. Most were going into journalism, pharmacy or law. I suspect that there will be a change next year. I suspect a lot will be on a teaching bursary," says Kaschula. He says he has noticed renewed interest in African languages, something also picked up by Mhlobo Jadezweni, who has lectured in the University of Stellenbosch's African languages department since 1983, and Tessa Dowling, who has a PhD in Xhosa and runs African Voices, a business which creates learning materials. "I can feel the pendulum swinging again (to interest in African languages). There is a new dynamism ... People are questioning what we are doing and the advertising industry is doing quite a lot (that reflects aspects of African culture)," Kaschula says. Indicative of this is the fact that Educor's Vega School of Brand Advertising Communications introduced compulsory lectures in African languages -- Xhosa in Cape Town, Zulu in Durban and Zulu and Sotho in Johannesburg -- last year. "It's important to have socio-cultural knowledge in the advertising field. It's very important to understand the market's culture and language," says Molli Mbeyiya, librarian and Ulimi Lwami Language Centre "navigator" at Vega's Cape Town school. Universities too need to investigate modern society and use what is happening in society to bring interest to their language courses, says Jadezweni. "Why ignore the contemporary? There's a huge (public sector) strike going on; use that to stimulate discussion in your classes. In your selection of literature there are works that have literary merit and relevance to students' lives," he says. "Also, we always forget to internationalise African languages. I have taught Xhosa in Germany and that experience has been awesome, awesome. They see language as universal and human; you study it like that." Copyright © 2007 Business Day. All rights reserved. P.O. Box 1745, Saxonwold 2132, South Africa 27 11 280 3000 [EMAIL PROTECTED] **************************** Disclaimer ****************************** Copyright: In accordance with Title 17, United States Code Section 107, this material is distributed without profit for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material posted to this list for purposes that go beyond "fair use," you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Content: The sender does not vouch for the veracity nor the accuracy of the contents of this message, which are the sole responsibility of the copyright owner. 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