Language Policies and Practices in Tanzania and South Africa: Problems and Challenges

Autor/inn/en	Brock-Utne, Birgit; Holmarsdottir, Halla B.
Titel	Language Policies and Practices in Tanzania and South Africa: Problems and Challenges
Quelle	In: International Journal of Educational Development, 24 (2004) 1, S.67-83 (17 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0738-0593
DOI	10.1016/j.ijedudev.2003.10.002
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Language of Instruction; African Languages; Official Languages; Coping; English (Second Language); Educational Policy; Translation; Public Policy; Language Usage; South Africa; Tanzania + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Teaching language; Unterrichtssprache; Africa; Language; Languages; Afrika; Sprachen; Afrikanische Sprache; Office language; Amtssprache; Bewältigung; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Öffentliche Ordnung; Sprachgebrauch; Südafrika; Süd-Afrika; Republik Südafrika; Südafrikanische Republik; Tansania
Abstract	The authors of the present article are engaged in a research project funded by the Norwegian Research Council. In this project the language policies of Tanzania and South Africa, as well as the practices of these policies in the classroom are analyzed. The article gives some preliminary results from the project. While the language policies of Tanzania are described as confusing, contradictory, and ambiguous, the language policies of South Africa seem clearer and more progressive. In Tanzania, Kiswahili is seen as the national language, while both Kiswahili and English are official languages. The issue of language has, however, disappeared from the constitution in Tanzania. In the constitution of South Africa, 11 languages are official and seen as equal. But when it comes to practice in the classroom in both countries, the majority of the learners struggle to learn academic content because of the foreign medium that is used as the language of instruction from secondary school onwards in Tanzania and already from the fourth grade in primary school in South Africa. The research reported here shows that whatever the official policies may be the teachers in the classrooms will use whatever language they and their students feel most comfortable with. Examples are given here of the coping strategies teachers and learners use in both countries like translations, code-mixing and code-switching. At the end of the day the learners have to write their exams in English however. The language in education policy in most African countries lead many African pupils to fall even further behind. What seems to be a learning problem or a matter of bad grade, drop out and repetition is really a language problem. (Author).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10