Earlier this year Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga said that learners have the right to learn in their home languages. This as learners who learn in an additional language, are not tested on their cognitive development or understanding of work but rather their ability to translate.
The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) has increased the use of IsiZulu in teaching and has brought the language closer to parity with English at the institution. This is beginning to yield positive results and students are excelling because of it.
Mawethu Jauza, a PHD candidate at UKZN believes that conducting research in IsiZulu has given him the platform to excel academically, as it has become easier to understand the content of their modules and also fully express ideas and opinions when writing.
Jauza explains that an individual's thoughts occur in their mother tongue. However, requiring them to translate these thoughts into English can be challenges, especially if they struggle with the language.
“Chances are, that person may not be able to articulate their thoughts as accurately. So, introducing IsiZulu as one of the academic languages helped students reach their full potential. I am a testament to that” explained Jauza.
Sthembiso Phoswa a Social Worker at the UKZN-based MA’AT Institute felt like they had a voice within higher education when allowed to speak my mother tongue in academic settings. Learning in IsiZulu also helped them in an academic sense and made learning easier.
Phoswa also observed this while working as a tutor. They say that students were enabled to understand the contents of their work and express themselves when using IsiZulu instead of English.
This motivated Phoswa to join a team of people at UKZN that is developing terminology and glossaries for various disciplines in IsiZulu.
That explained that the development of glossaries will make it easier to produce updated dictionaries in the IsiZulu language.
“These will assist especially the students coming from deep rural areas where we know they were not taught in English at school level, yet they have to transition to such mode of learning at tertiary” explained Phosawa.
They stress that language preserves culture and identity and universities have an important role in ensuring students feel recognised and significant.
