‘Pupils taught in mother tongue comprehend better, are more confident'
The Eastern Cape provincial government says it is making strides in addressing literacy challenges among schoolchildren through its Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education initiative.
In 2012, the pilot programme was rolled out at 70 schools in the Cofimvaba district, where mathematics, natural science and technology were taught and assessed in both English and isiXhosa.
Education department communications director Vuyiseka Mboxela said within four years, officials noted an improvement in the results of participating schools, and the programme was extended to all 12 education districts.
'The Cofimvaba pilot project reveals that when a home language is used, learners perform better cognitively and in subject content.
'A Xhosa-speaking learner also learns English as a second language easily if the home language skills are maintained,' she said.
Phase one of the MTbBE project, which focuses on extending mother tongue instruction beyond grade 3 into grade 4, initially targeting mathematics and natural science and technology, has been rolled out to grade 4, at 1,455 schools across all 12 districts.
The second phase, which includes classes up to grade 7, has been rolled out at 2,277 schools.
Today, learning isiXhosa or SeSotho as an additional language is compulsory up to grade 4.
In January, basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube said international benchmarking studies (including Trends in International Mathematics and Science and the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality) as well as the department's Systemic Evaluation results showed that pupils in grades 5 to 9 significantly underperformed in relation to their global counterparts in mathematics and science.
'They also show that too many of our learners cannot read for meaning in any language by grade 4,' Gwarube said.
Mboxela said the Eastern Cape was the only province to provide mathematics and natural sciences lessons and teaching plans in isiXhosa and Sesotho for grades 4 to 7, with the aim of improving results. Tool kits are available on the department's website for easy access to teachers.
'Mathematics and natural science and technology workbooks for grades 4 to 7 were versioned and edited in isiXhosa and Sesotho with new orthographic rules [spelling and writing rules] in both languages affected.
'This initiative assisted learners to be able to spell, write and read with meaning in their home languages,' Mboxela said.
She said according to a test done in 2019, grade 6 pupils writing in isiXhosa achieved an average of 78% while their English counterparts averaged 40%.
Other milestones since the inception of the programme 13 years ago include: The mother tongue learning programme has been rolled out in some form at 3,732 schools;
4,214 mathematics, science and technology teachers have received training; and
85,620 grade 12 pupils have had access to bilingual question papers in maths, life science, physical science, agricultural science, history and accounting.
'Furthermore, the department is implementing Incremental Introduction of African Languages in 121 former model C and private schools, with the view to teaching isiXhosa and Sesotho as first additional language or second additional language levels to English and Afrikaans learners, promoting nation-building, social cohesion, multilingualism and multiculturalism,' Mboxela said.
In light of the success of Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education in the Eastern Cape, former basic education minister Angie Motshekga announced last year that the programme would be rolled out to grade 4s at all SA schools.
Addressing a language and literacy workshop, Motshekga said: 'It is time that we pay attention to what is taught in the curriculum and in which languages is it taught; to whom and whether it is making a positive difference to their learning trajectories.
'If it needs to be relooked and strengthened; a curriculum-strengthening process must address such a gap.'
Mvuzo Primary School in Cofimvaba was among the first 70 schools to pilot the MTbBE initiative 13 years ago.
Principal Mphuzi Mqombothi said the programme's rollout did not come without its challenges.
He said there was a significant backlash, with parents opting to move their children to schools with English-only instruction.
'It was not easy; teething problems arose as teachers struggled with the new method.
'The shift from English-only instruction to bilingual teaching in isiXhosa and English posed challenges, particularly with science terminology and resource availability.
'Despite these hurdles, we've persisted. Yet, the preference for English remains strong, especially in public primary schools.
'Though the MTbBE is a beautiful and transformative programme aimed at decolonising education and enhancing literacy and comprehension among learners, many parents in the community still believe in the superiority of English and view the use of Xhosa as a downgrade in educational quality.'
Despite the misperception of mother tongue learning, Mqombothi said, the switch to teaching and learning in English and isiXhosa had borne fruit at Mvuzo Primary.
'We have observed that even within MTbBE, there has been a significant improvement in English proficiency.
'Learners participating in MTbBE not only exhibit better comprehension of the subject matter but also speak better English, show increased innovation, possess greater self-confidence and engage more effectively than many others not enrolled in MTbBE.'
Mqombothi said teachers had observed an improvement in the results of pupils who were previously underperformers.
LF May Primary School in Qonce (formerly King William's Town) introduced isiXhosa learning in natural science and technology for grade 4 pupils last year.
Principal Gcobani Sulo said: 'We were trained last year and had a workshop this year. But we are only doing grade 4.
'Grades 5, 6 and 7 will be introduced to the programme in the coming years. Our learners are improving, but parents still have attitudes towards this method of teaching; they want English.'
University of Fort Hare department of languages and literacy interim head Dr Sive Makeleni said: 'The Eastern Cape has proven that learners who learn through their mother tongue perform exceptionally well, including those who learn in African indigenous languages. Hence, the department of basic education has taken this approach.'
He said teachers in many schools in the province had been 'trans-languaging' and code-switching for years.
'Teachers used mother tongue to explain concepts. The only limitation was that this was not made official; however it worked. This mother tongue-based bilingual education was there when we learnt Izibalo , Ezingcwele , Ezentlalo and Ezempilo .'
He said by using a mother tongue, teachers were able to simplify content.
'It has been published by various scholars that children who learn in their mother tongue understood the content taught better than those who learn the same content in a second language.'
However, Makeleni said parental involvement and participation were important in a child's academic performance.
'... in some schools, teachers are complaining about lack of parental involvement and participation in their children's academics.
'One wonders if we are not indirectly excluding parents through the language used in teaching and learning. What if parents are also struggling in understanding the concepts in a second language? Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education addresses that.'
Makeleni questioned the capacity of the SA economy to absorb a workforce that learnt through mother tongue education, specifically in indigenous languages.
This special report into the state of literacy, a collaborative effort by The Herald, Sowetan and Daily Dispatch, was made possible by the Henry Nxumalo Foundation
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