Investigating a scaffold to code‐switching as strategy in multilingual classrooms
There is an urgent need to find strategies to assist multilingual learners who are taught by means of English as the language of teaching and learning (LoLT) in coping with subject matter, especially as learners show different levels of English proficiency. One important stra...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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AOSIS
2008-10-01
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| Series: | Pythagoras |
| Online Access: | https://pythagoras.org.za/index.php/pythagoras/article/view/72 |
| Summary: | There is an urgent need to find strategies to assist multilingual learners who are taught by means of English as the language of teaching and learning (LoLT) in coping with subject matter, especially as learners show different levels of English proficiency. One important strategy is code‐switching. The possibility of using a glossary, notes and tests given in English and Setswana as scaffold for the code‐switching, was investigated in a qualitative study. An intervention was launched in a region where the main language is Setswana. Two schools participated in the study, one school in a rural area and the other in a township. The teaching of a geometry unit was undertaken in which notes, a glossary and tests in English and Setswana were used to assist the learners. The teachers used a strategy of code‐switching. Interviews withthe learners and the teachers revealed that learners had a positive attitude towards the use of both languages in written work. In contrast, the teachers had mixed feelings, especially about the use of mathematical terminology in Setswana. Difficulties experienced and positive features regarding the use of new Setswana terminology are discussed. |
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| ISSN: | 1012-2346 2223-7895 |