BILINGUAL EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA
The history of bilingual
education in South Africa has been a point of contention amongst its'
people since the time of the apartheid. Therefore, it is important to
recount the political and social climate of this country during the
apartheid. During the apartheid of 1948, South Africa was ruled by
white minority and racial discrimination was institutionalized. Only
two languages ( Afrikaans and English) were recognized as the official
languages of South Africa. School instruction was carried out in
English for White South Africans and black minorities were taught in
Afrikaans. It was believed that this educational structure sought to
marginalized black minorities and keep them from learning English, the
international language of success and social mobility. Black minorities
believed that instructing them in Afrikaans (the rural dialect) was all
part of a greater conspiracy to keep blacks in poverty and minimizing
their access to English, which was considered the language of power.
When South Africa became a
democratic country in 1994, the government changed the two-language
policy that favored white minority. It passed language policy laws that
recognized 11 official languages in South Africa: English, Afrikaans,
Isizulu, Sesotho, Sepedi, Isixhosa, Setswana, Isinedebele, Xitsonga,
Siswati and Tshivenda. The premise of this law was to promote
multilingualism and diversity in South Africa. According to the
language in Education policy of 1997, parents were given the rights to
choose the language their children would be taught in. In addition, the
schools were obligated to promote multilingualism. In lieu of this
law, the department of Education promoted additive bilingualism and the
use of a student's native language as the language of teaching and
learning in the early grades.
Despite these laws, schools
have not had success with their bilingual programs. The majority of
parents are not on board with bilingual education and have chosen not to
have their students instructed in their native language. They believe
that instruction in English from early as possible is the best way to
for their children to become English proficient. They do not trust the
school system and believe that teaching students in their native tongue
will only lessen their chances of a better life. They choose English as
the language of learning and teaching. Yet, the academic performance
of these students have been less than favorable. These students are
failing to develop their literacy skills. Linguists and educators have
tried to convince these parents (to no avail) of the benefits of a
bilingual education in acquiring the new language. Using studies to
demonstrate how students who are literate in their native tongue have an
easier time becoming proficient in the target language. Despite these
findings, parents continue to frown upon bilingual education, opting to
place their children in English only classes.
