*Please note that these assignments are from the year 2023 and may only be used as a
guideline to answer questions.
*Copying directly from this assignment is prohibited.
1
,Question 1:
Nadima Primary School is a great school in Gauteng, and it is located within the City of
Tshwane, Mamelodi West. It is a public school that caters for the children in the area.
Although the medium of instruction for learners in the Intermediate Phase is English, the
learners speak a diverse range of languages such as isiZulu, Sotho, and Tsonga. A family
member has been hired as the Home Language teacher at the school, what advice would
you give to manage a multicultural school setting like Nadima Primary School?
Your answer should be a minimum of 1000 words
In a multicultural society, it is very likely that teachers will teach in a classroom characterised
by linguistic diversity. By means, that teachers will teach a home language to speakers (in
this scenario, the learners) who do not even speak the language at home at all.
According to (Nieman 2023), multicultural education attempts to provide for the needs of
learners from different cultures and social circumstances. For effective education to take
place in these circumstances, sociocultural factors should be kept in mind. All learners are
unique and come from various cultures, and have their own opinions. Learners come to
school with their own convictions, value systems, and experiential world which influence
their behaviour and way of doing things in the classroom. To promote effective teaching,
teachers should be knowledgeable about their learners’ different backgrounds, be aware of
the influence that culture and social circumstances have on teaching and learning in the
classroom, and be capable to plan their lessons to accommodate the diverse range of
learners.
It is important for teachers to create a learning environment which will help learners to
acquire the necessary skills, knowledge and attitudes which contribute to making it possible
for a meaningful participation in multicultural societies. Rasool and Curtis (2000:94) states
that teachers should provide “culturally responsive teaching” during lessons.
In a multicultural school setting, code switching is going to take place and should be
encouraged by teachers. Code switching is the process where a person changes from one
language to another. When group work and discussions are being done during lessons, it is
important that code switching is allowed. According to Wessels & Van den Berg 1998:7, code
switching helps to promote a shared understanding of a common South African culture. This
can be implemented in class discussions where learners change between their home
language and their first additional language when discussing a certain topic. Learners
develop and improve their thinking skills by learning to read and write in their own
languages. These skills are then used when learning to read, write and speak in an additional
language (Nieman 2023).
Multiculturalism can be a huge benefit in the classroom, where learners learn from their
peers during group work. To acknowledge a learner’s home language during any teaching
activity is important because it will let those learners feel welcomed and motivate learners
to give their best.
2
, Translanguaging should be allowed in a multicultural school setting. Translanguaging is the
process where multilingual speakers use all their languages to communicate, whether it be
giving answers, asking questions, discussing a topic, or participating in any other form of
communication during school. This enables learners to use language practices which they
already possess to perfect the home language that they are busy learning, although it is
actually their first additional language (Nieman 2023).
When teachers are going to use translanguaging, they should create a classroom
atmosphere in which all languages are respected and acknowledged, for example, labelling
certain objectives in the classroom in different languages. This enable bilingual learners to
make connections between their first language and the language they are currently learning
as a home language. We can now say that teachers need to be flexible, adaptive and it is
important for them to become a co-learner.
Teachers should always remember that languages play an inseparable part of culture. As I
mentioned above, in a multicultural school, there will be differences in learners’
backgrounds, believes, favourite learning styles, their behaviour and sense of humour. It is
important for teacher to not ignore these cultural differences or to favour a certain group of
learners as it will have a negative influence on learners learning and his or her self-image
(Nieman 2023).
Van der Walt, Kilfoil and Evans (2009) believes that teachers cannot teach a language
without considering the culture of the speakers of the language. The teaching of a home
language should not only include the culture of the language as it is revealed in texts, but
also be about other cultures in their communities, as seen with other speakers in the
particular language.
In our country, communicative competence involves more than only knowing and speaking a
language well, but the speaker also having intercultural competence (the awareness people
have on other people with different cultures and appropriately describes what is important
in South African schools). Teachers can therefor promote communicative competence and
intercultural competence in their classroom. This can simply be done by peer assessment
where learners interact with one another and learn from each other. They will start to see
differences and learn to respect diversity and other people’s opinions (Nieman 2023).
It is important for teachers to be careful to not make assumptions about learners when they
unintentionally use concepts from their home language when teaching the first or second
additional language. Our study guide, Nieman, 2023 states that African languages do not
differentiate between male and female. Doing this will most possibly confuse learners when
they are doing pronouns in a lesson.
It is also very important for home language teachers to take a look at their learners because
as I mentioned earlier, their home languages will differ. For example, some learners’ home
language will vary from English, isiZulu, Sepedi, Sotho and more, where they will all have a
different perception of the content being taught. Teachers should ask themselves questions
such like; What linguistic phenomena take place in the different languages which are being
3
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller Ruaan77. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $3.04. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.