One nation, eleven languages

Improving literacy and numeracy in South Africa through mother-tongue education

Abstract

Seventeen years after the acceptance of a new Constitution there is still no progress in implementing a language-in-education policy (LiEP) in South Africa. Systemic research shows that the literacy and numeracy skills of South African learners are far below what is required to learn and develop effectively – mainly because the government still believes that the acquisition of basic knowledge is synonymous with learning English as language of instruction. The problem starts in the Foundation Phase, where learners fail to acquire the basic literacy and numeracy skills because very few of them are being taught through their mother tongue, which has a huge impact on learners' ability to master the curriculum. When South Africa became a democracy in 1994, the government accepted a multilingual language policy with 11 official languages: Afrikaans, English, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu, IsiNdebele, Siswati, Setswana, Sesotho, Sepedi, Tshivenda and Xitsonga. Although the Constitution makes provision for the protection of all languages, and declares that where it is reasonably practicable, everyone has the right to receive education in the official language of their choice, language practices in South Africa have not changed since the pre-1994 dispensation. Despite the constitutional principles, South Africa's indigenous lan-guages are still marginalised.