WP346 Relinking with ubuntu multilingualism through bilingual science learning: Parents’ perspectives

This paper contributes to the sparse literature on parents’ views on language in education policy in Southern Africa. The children of the parents interviewed in this study participated in a bilingual learning intervention in their Grade 4 science class in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. A bilingual isiXhosa/English booklet was introduced in 2023 by a team of researchers including the science teacher. After the intervention, parents were called to a feedback meeting and their responses to the bilingual programme were recorded, forming the data set for this study. The parents’ overwhelmingly positive comments are analysed using inductive thematic analysis (Makalela, 2018). The results revealed that parents believed the bilingual programme connected school and home (co-)learning and language practices and fostered curiosity and confidence. No parents reported concerns about the loss of English proficiency or about the undesirability of mixed language use. Viewed through the lens of decolonial theory, the findings demonstrate the interruption of the coloniality of language (Veronelli, 2015) and the foregrounding of ubuntu multilingualism (Makalela, 2018) which was enabled by the bilingual programme. Parents strongly supported the departure from a monolingual approach and highlighted the possibilities of a decolonial “otherwise” in language and learning. Re-linking with the practices of polyglotism and community-based learning enabled both parents and children to be positioned as “knowers” and the gap between home and school to be reduced. Finally, I offer a discussion of the implications of the study for the roll-out of Mother Tongue Based Bilingual Education (MTBBE) in South Africa.

Eli phepha longeza ulwazi kuncwadi olunqongopheleyo olumalunga neembono zabazali ngomgaqonkqubo wolwimi kwezemfundo eMzantsi Afrika. Abantwana babazali ekuqhutywe udliwanondlebe nabo kolu phandolwazi bathabatha inxaxheba kwinkqubo yongenelelo yokufunda ngalwimimbini kwiklasi yabo yesayensi yeBanga lesi4 eKhayelitsha, eKapa. Incwadana yokufunda elwimimbini, enesiXhosa nesiNgesi, yaziswa ngo2023 liqela labaphandilwazi notitshala wesayensi. Emva kwale nkqubo yongenelelo abazali babizelwa entlanganisweni yokunika ingxelo ngamava abo kwaye izimvo zabo malunga nale nkqubo zarekhodwa, zaza zaba yinxalenye yedatha yolu phandolwazi. Uninzi lwabazali lwayixhasa kakhulu le nkqubo, kwaye iimpendulo zabo zahlalutywa kusetyenziswa indlela yokuhlalutya idatha ngokwemixholo ephumayo, ithematic analysis (Makalela, 2018). Iziphumo ziveze ukuba abazali bakholelwa ukuba inkqubo yalwimimbini ithungelanisa indlela yokufunda neendlela zokusebenzisa ulwimi zasekhaya nezesikolo, kwaye idala umdla kunye nokuzithemba ebantwaneni. Akukho mzali ukhankanye inkxalabo malunga nokuphulukana nobuchule bolwimi lwesiNgesi okanye ukuba gwenxa kolwimi oluxubeneyo. Xa zivelelwa ngenkalo yethiyori yogutyulobukoloniyali, idecolonial theory, ezi ziphumo zibonakalisa ukuphazanyiswa kobukoloniyali bolwimi (Veronelli, 2015), kwaye zibeka phambili ubulwimininzi obusekelwe kubuntu, i-ubuntu multilingualism (Makalela, 2018) efezekiswe yile nkqubo yokufunda ngalwimimbini. Abazali baxhase ngamandla ukushenxiswa kweenkqubo zokufundisa ezixhomekeke kulwimi olunye ze bagqamisa into enokwenziwa lugutyulobukoloniyali “olulolunye” kwezolwimi nezemfundo. Ukubuyela kwiindlela zokusebenzisa iilwimi ezininzi nendlela yokufunda esekelwe kwiindlela zoluntu kukhokelele ekubeni abazali nabantwana babonwe njengabantu “abaziyo” ze umsantsa phakathi kwekhaya nesikolo ucutheke. Iimpembelelo zophononongo lokuqaliswa kweMfundo eLwimimbini eSekelwe kuLwimi lwaseKhaya (MTBBE) eMzantsi Afrika kuxoxiwe ngazo.