THIRD-LANGUAGE PLAN FOR CAPE PUPILS
Candes Keating

The Cape Argus - online
August 22 2007

If the Western Cape Education Department's new language plan is effectively implemented, then pupils who have just started school should be able to speak the province's three main languages by Grade 9.

This is according to the department's Language Transformation Plan.

Education MEC Cameron Dugmore said for this to happen, all pupils would have to be taught in their mother tongue until Grade 6, while at the same time develop skills in an additional language.

In Grade 7, pupils would be introduced to a third language, and by Grade 9, all pupils would be able to speak English, Xhosa and Afrikaans, he said.

The plan was being implemented to improve the low literacy and numeracy results in schools.

Last year results of the systemic evaluation of Grade 3 and 6 pupils showed the majority of pupils could not write, read, or count to the required educational standards.

Results in township schools, where Xhosa pupils were being taught in English, were the lowest.

Researchers said the bad results were because pupils were not being taught in their mother tongue language.

Dugmore said: "There is clear evidence that learners need a minimum of six years of tuition in their mother tongue in order to achieve enough language skills to cope with the linguistic challenge of learning through the medium of a second language."

Although national legislative required pupils only to be taught in their mother tongue for the first three years of schools, Dugmore said they would implement a six-year programme from next year.

"We looked at all the research. It is very clear that if we don't go this route, then our numeracy and literacy targets will not be achieved," he said.

With the introduction of a third language in Grade 7, Dugmore said: "If English speakers and Afrikaans speakers are all also learning Xhosa and Xhosa-speakers add Afrikaans to their curriculum then some of the barriers that we now experience will fall away."

The plan as being piloted at 16 schools across the province and so far reports had been positive, Dugmore said.

Riza Gwentshula, a teacher at Sakumlandela in Khayelitsha piloting the plan, said: "Language has always been a barrier in the class. Now that I only use Xhosa, they (pupils) respond better."

Gwentshula said since pupils started doing assignments in Xhosa, she had seen a significant improvement in academic performance.

The plan has also been welcomed by teacher unions, governing body associations, language organisations and academics.

Neville Alexander, director of the Project for the study of Alternative Education in South Africa, said only when pupils were in Grade 6, at 12 years old, did they "really grasp" their mother tongue.

He said the plan could not work in isolation and that the department had to focus on family and community literacy.

Government departments must also had to do to promote the status of Xhosa, said Alexander.

Julius Dantile, from the Pan South African Language Board, said: "This is going to play a great role in socio- economic development of our society."

Unions said the plan was a move in the right direction but raised concerns about resources.

Helen Sieborger, from the National Professional Teachers Organisation said: "We are concerned about the availability of trained teachers."

Melinda Zaas, from the South African Democratic Teachers' Union, said the department had to make provision for Xhosa teachers in the new posts for next year.