Attitudes of Xhosa-speaking students at the University of Fort Hare towards the use of Xhosa as a language of learning and teaching (LOLT)
- Dalvit, Lorenzo, De Klerk, Vivian A
- Authors: Dalvit, Lorenzo , De Klerk, Vivian A
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6100 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008664
- Description: This article presents and discusses the results of a survey of a sample of Xhosa-speaking students at the University of Fort Hare regarding their attitudes towards the possible introduction of Xhosa as a medium of instruction at this institution. The research takes into account, among other things, the students' attitudes towards English and Xhosa and their opinions and beliefs about the introduction of dual-mediumship and its possible consequences. The survey was conducted with questionnaires and interviews and the results were first analysed as a whole, and then split into different categories according to gender, year of study, subject studied etc. This analysis indicates that while English is recognised as the dominant language in South Africa and, more specifically, in the domain of education, some categories of respondents acknowledge the usefulness of Xhosa as an additional medium of instruction. This survey clearly shows that it would make little sense to present Xhosa-speaking students at Fort Hare with a rigid choice between the existing English-medium and a dual-medium (English and Xhosa) policy and that more nuanced options would need to be offered. For example, respondents seem to consider the use of Xhosa as a medium of instruction more appropriate in the first years of study, for selected subjects and in some domains within the academic context rather than others. This study can be fruitfully compared with similar research carried out at other South African institutions. Moreover, the results of the present research can be used to inform future decisions regarding language policy at the University of Fort Hare.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Dalvit, Lorenzo , De Klerk, Vivian A
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6100 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008664
- Description: This article presents and discusses the results of a survey of a sample of Xhosa-speaking students at the University of Fort Hare regarding their attitudes towards the possible introduction of Xhosa as a medium of instruction at this institution. The research takes into account, among other things, the students' attitudes towards English and Xhosa and their opinions and beliefs about the introduction of dual-mediumship and its possible consequences. The survey was conducted with questionnaires and interviews and the results were first analysed as a whole, and then split into different categories according to gender, year of study, subject studied etc. This analysis indicates that while English is recognised as the dominant language in South Africa and, more specifically, in the domain of education, some categories of respondents acknowledge the usefulness of Xhosa as an additional medium of instruction. This survey clearly shows that it would make little sense to present Xhosa-speaking students at Fort Hare with a rigid choice between the existing English-medium and a dual-medium (English and Xhosa) policy and that more nuanced options would need to be offered. For example, respondents seem to consider the use of Xhosa as a medium of instruction more appropriate in the first years of study, for selected subjects and in some domains within the academic context rather than others. This study can be fruitfully compared with similar research carried out at other South African institutions. Moreover, the results of the present research can be used to inform future decisions regarding language policy at the University of Fort Hare.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Computers and African languages in education: an ICT tool for the promotion of multilingualism at a South African university: conversations
- Dalvit, Lorenzo, Murray, Sarah, Mini, Buyiswa, Terzoli, Alfredo, Zhao, Xiaogeng
- Authors: Dalvit, Lorenzo , Murray, Sarah , Mini, Buyiswa , Terzoli, Alfredo , Zhao, Xiaogeng
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/428911 , vital:72545 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC87340
- Description: This article describes a web-based application designed to provide meaningful access to the study of Computer Science to speakers of an African language who have limited experience of using English for ac-ademic purposes. Our research is focused upon students of Computer Skills in the Extended Studies Programme at Rhodes University who have studied English as a second language for the matriculation exam-ination. The intervention involves the cooperative production and shar-ing of multilingual support material in both English and the students' home languages. The article illustrates how the use of computers has the potential to solve some of the problems traditionally associated with the use of African languages as additional media of instruction in ter-tiary education (i.e. lack of terminology and resources in the African languages, stigma attached to their use, etc.). We maintain that learning about computers partly in their stronger language (i.e. their home lan-guage) could give students increased and more meaningful access to an educationally and economically empowering field of study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Dalvit, Lorenzo , Murray, Sarah , Mini, Buyiswa , Terzoli, Alfredo , Zhao, Xiaogeng
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/428911 , vital:72545 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC87340
- Description: This article describes a web-based application designed to provide meaningful access to the study of Computer Science to speakers of an African language who have limited experience of using English for ac-ademic purposes. Our research is focused upon students of Computer Skills in the Extended Studies Programme at Rhodes University who have studied English as a second language for the matriculation exam-ination. The intervention involves the cooperative production and shar-ing of multilingual support material in both English and the students' home languages. The article illustrates how the use of computers has the potential to solve some of the problems traditionally associated with the use of African languages as additional media of instruction in ter-tiary education (i.e. lack of terminology and resources in the African languages, stigma attached to their use, etc.). We maintain that learning about computers partly in their stronger language (i.e. their home lan-guage) could give students increased and more meaningful access to an educationally and economically empowering field of study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Producing and sharing ICT-based knowledge through English and African languages at a South African university
- Terzoli, Alfredo, Dalvit, Lorenzo, Murray, Sarah, Mini, Buyiswa, Zhao, Xiaogeng
- Authors: Terzoli, Alfredo , Dalvit, Lorenzo , Murray, Sarah , Mini, Buyiswa , Zhao, Xiaogeng
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/428531 , vital:72518 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC37193
- Description: This article describes an intervention aimed at providing increased ac-cess to the study of information and communication technology (ICT) and computer literacy in Higher Education in South Africa. Our focus group is speakers of an African language from a previously disadvan-taged background in the extended studies programme at Rhodes Uni-versity. Preliminary investigation suggests that such students have dif-ficulties becoming computer literate partly because of their lack of Eng-lish proficiency. This might prevent them from furthering their studies of Computer Science (CS) up to the postgraduate level. Shifting away from the dominant approach to academic support in extended studies programmes in South Africa, in our research we focus primarily on the lexical rather than the discourse level. With the help of a web-based application, students collaboratively produce and share additional mate-rial in both English and the African languages. This allows them to inte-grate new concepts and knowledge about computers into their existing knowledge structures. With our intervention, we hope to improve the students' participation in the production and sharing of knowledge in the field of ICT.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Terzoli, Alfredo , Dalvit, Lorenzo , Murray, Sarah , Mini, Buyiswa , Zhao, Xiaogeng
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/428531 , vital:72518 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC37193
- Description: This article describes an intervention aimed at providing increased ac-cess to the study of information and communication technology (ICT) and computer literacy in Higher Education in South Africa. Our focus group is speakers of an African language from a previously disadvan-taged background in the extended studies programme at Rhodes Uni-versity. Preliminary investigation suggests that such students have dif-ficulties becoming computer literate partly because of their lack of Eng-lish proficiency. This might prevent them from furthering their studies of Computer Science (CS) up to the postgraduate level. Shifting away from the dominant approach to academic support in extended studies programmes in South Africa, in our research we focus primarily on the lexical rather than the discourse level. With the help of a web-based application, students collaboratively produce and share additional mate-rial in both English and the African languages. This allows them to inte-grate new concepts and knowledge about computers into their existing knowledge structures. With our intervention, we hope to improve the students' participation in the production and sharing of knowledge in the field of ICT.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
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