Pedagogical and political encounters in linguistically and culturally diverse primary classrooms: examples from Quebec,Canada, and Gauteng,South Africa

Comparative research in multilingual urban primary schools indicates that the pedagogical and political goals of schooling may operate at cross-purposes. Classroom observations and teacher interview-discussions were conducted in classes for immigrant children in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the language of instruction is French, and in classes in Pretoria, Gauteng Province, South Africa, where children from many different language backgrounds are taught in English. Two main themes emerged: (1) pedagogically, effective teacher–learner communication can break down when teachers are unaware of the roles that language and culture play in second language classrooms; (2) politically, efforts to assimilate learners into new socio-cultural/political contexts sometimes take precedence over sound pedagogical practice, such as drawing on the linguistic and cultural repertoire that learners bring to the classroom. This ongoing qualitative research underlines the importance of preparing pre-service and in-service teachers for the linguistic and cultural diversity they are bound to encounter in their classrooms, and of deepening their understanding of the influence of such diversity on the teaching–learning process.     

Local language a medium of instruction: challenges and way forward

The paper reports on a participatory action research study conducted in six rural primary schools in Uganda in 2013 to establish why children taught in the local language had difficulties in reading and writing. Findings through interviews, focus group discussions, reviews of exercise books and lesson observations indicated that though it was easier for pupils to learn the concepts in the local language; challenges ranging from poor translation, inadequate teachers’ language proficiency, lack of instructional materials, high pupils’ enrolment, lack of administrative support and teacher-centred approach of teaching, affected pupils’ learning to read and write. Participants recommended adopting the child-centred pedagogy, incorporating instructional materials, conducting continuous assessment and recording pupils’ competencies attained in reading and writing. Teachers need to engage more in Participatory action research in order to reflect on their practices and pupils’ learning, and collaboratively decide what works best and what needs improvement in their classrooms.     

Teachers’ strategies of teaching primary school mathematics in a second language: A case of Botswana

This paper reports the results of a study of primary school mathematics teaching in northern Botswana in order to highlight the strategies teachers use in bi/multilingual classrooms. Questionnaire and interview data collection procedures were used. The findings, which are based on responses of randomly selected primary school teachers, confirmed that monolingual classes were fewer than bilingual and multilingual classes in those parts of Botswana. Furthermore, syllabus analysis confirmed the abstract nature of mathematical concepts. Teachers report to have devised strategies to overcome the difficulties imposed by this classroom situation.     

Public perception of early childhood language policy in Ghana: an exploratory study

This article explores current public perceptions in Ghana about the National Literacy Acceleration Programme (NALAP), a mother tongue-based bilingual medium of instruction (MTB-BMoI) policy for early childhood education. The researchers conducted an exploratory study of public reactions towards the Minister for Education’s statement on revamping the program made at the Shared Prosperity Forum held in Accra, Ghana. The article includes an overview of the history of early childhood education language of instruction (LoI) in Ghana and the rationale for the NALAP. Conversations with education officers and parents about their views on the NALAP were analyzed. The findings reflect strong negative feelings about the program among many Ghanaians who express a preference for English-only LoI. The paper discusses the importance of bilingual LoI in early childhood as well as the need to obtain public support, especially among parents, to facilitate full implementation of the program in Ghana. Recommendations for public engagement are proposed.     

Research and policy on the language of instruction issue in Africa

Since 1995 I have been engaged in consultancies and since 2001 in research dealing with the language of instruction policies in Africa. To what extent are the policies being implemented? What is the role of research and consultancy when it comes to language policy? What happens when researchers or consultants come up with recommendations which do not please donors or the people of power? My paper builds on a consultancy on the language policy of Namibia from 1995, the stock-taking exercise of ADEA/GTZ/UIL of 2006, as well as on research results and experiences gathered within the LOITASA (Language of Instruction in Tanzania and South Africa) project. In the first part of the article I give two examples where the policy recommendations by the consultants/researchers have not been followed up. I give an example of a consultancy that has had some impact on the policy formulation in some African countries. Recommendations from only one of the four studies/consultancies looked at have been thoroughly followed up. These recommendations were in line with what the donors wanted, but did not logically follow from the research done. In the second part of the article I deal with the challenge of making policy research relevant for those most greatly affected by the policy. This means working for a paradigm shift in the research and consultancy on language policies in Africa. It also means looking at the power of misconceptions held by lay people. Towards the end of the article I discuss changing a belief system which has become common knowledge. I show examples of how Tanzanian colleagues in the LOITASA project are trying to do this.     

Multilingualism and curriculum: A study of how multilingual learners in rural Kenya use their languages to express emotions

This study is part of a larger project related to multilingualism and education in rural Kenya. We examine how Grade 8 learners use their three languages (Nandi, Swahili, and English) when they discuss experiences elicited by two short video clips representing happiness and sadness as basic emotions. Previous research indicates that use of the mother tongue is preferred for expressing feelings; however, we find that learners neither prefer their indigenous language nor convey the most fluent emotional stories in this language. We problematise this finding, and further discuss the connection between school languages and intention within the national curriculum.     

Meeting linguistic challenges in the science classroom: pre-service ESL teachers' strategies

This study explores the perceptions and challenges of Malaysian pre-service teachers teaching science in a second language. A qualitative case study method was used with multiple sources of data to provide insights into the challenges that a group of pre-service teachers faced during their teaching practicum. The pre-service teachers had to overcome various challenges that arose due to factors such as lack of competency in the medium of instruction and the students' varying levels of language ability. In addressing the challenges faced, they employed various strategies, including code switching and mixing, teacher-student collaboration, rephrasing and re-emphasizing, the use of instructional aids, and the use of analogies. The evidence presented in this study suggests that attention should be given to addressing the English language policy in the science teacher education programme.     

Teaching the language of mathematics at three levels of an English-medium primary school

This study, situated in a multilingual, English-medium educational context, draws on theory from mathematics and language education to capture teachers’ perspectives on the place of language in their mathematics pedagogy. The benchmark study explored this topic through surveying and interviewing teachers. Additionally, it sought to relate teachers’ views to their practice by focusing on observing three teachers’ mathematics lessons at primary one, three, and five. Findings are that mathematics teachers placed importance on teaching language, being specifically concerned with language as input and comprehension. They taught vocabulary and reading skills in supportive ways explicitly yet differently at the three grade levels. Particularly at the lower levels, teachers contextualised language in the concrete examples employed for mathematics teaching. At all three levels, prominence was given to teaching pupils how to read word problems as well as how to solve them. However, at primary three, a tension was observed between the two aims of teaching mathematical vocabulary and teaching the reading skills for word problems. This paper illustrates the tension and discusses its possible causes.     

二语习得中母语负迁移现象及教学对策

语言负迁移是二语习得中的一种常见现象,是影响学习者学习的一个重要因素。文章从语音、词汇、语法、语用四个方面对二语习得中母语负迁移现象进行探讨并提出了几点相应的对策。     

外语教学视角下的“中国文化失语症”现象

外语教学不仅是语言教学,而且也是文化教学。中国外语学习者中普遍存在中国文化失语现象。本文拟从外语教学的角度分析产生中国文化失语症的根源,阐释加强中国文化教育的必要性,同时探讨在外语教学中实现母语文化和目的语文化并重的途径和手段。     

Observations of teacher-child interactions in classrooms serving Latinos and dual language learners: Applicability of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System in diverse settings

With the rising number of Latino and dual language learner (DLL) children attending pre-k and the importance of assessing the quality of their experiences in those settings, this study examined the extent to which a commonly used assessment of teacher-child interactions, the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), demonstrated similar psychometric properties in classrooms serving ethnically and linguistically diverse children as it does in other classrooms. Specifically, this study investigated: (1) whether CLASS observations of teacher-child interactions are organized in three domains across classrooms with varying ethnic and language compositions (measurement invariance) and (2) the extent to which CLASS-assessed teacher-child interactions (emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support) predict children's social, math, and literacy outcomes equally well for Latino and DLL children (predictive validity). CLASS observations of teacher-child interactions were conducted in 721 state-funded pre-k classrooms across 11 states. Direct assessments and teacher ratings of social, math, and literacy outcomes were collected for four randomly selected children in each classroom. CLASS observations factored similarly across pre-k classrooms with different Latino and DLL compositions and predicted improvements in school readiness regardless of a child's Latino or DLL status. Results suggest CLASS functions equally well as an assessment of the quality of teacher-child interactions in pre-k settings regardless of the proportion of Latino children and/or the language diversity of the children in that setting.     

Working within and against the grain of policy in an alternative school

This paper investigates the ways that teachers in one alternative school blur the boundaries of the political, personal, and philosophical in their efforts to re-engage marginalised and disenfranchised young people. The labours of the school staff at Harmony High offer an intriguing narrative of working both within and against the grain of policy mandates, curriculum narrowing, and the pervasive effects of neoliberalism. Through the physical and social spatiality, critical pedagogical and affective engagement of learners, new schooling assemblages might be formed. The work being done by teachers in alternative schooling contexts such as that of Harmony High – while situated, meaningful and deeply contextualised – offers hope for reconstituting mainstream education in more socially just ways that serve the needs and interests of everybody.     

Language and Student Performance in Junior Secondary Science Examinations: The Case of Second Language Learners in Botswana

Teaching and testing in science in junior secondary schools in Botswana, takes place in English which is a second language for the majority of Batswana (Citizens of Botswana are called Batswana [sing. Motswana] and the national language is Setswana.) students and a third language for many. The understanding of textual material in science has been shown to be problematic for first language speakers, which means that difficulties in comprehension are likely to be even greater for second language readers. This study set out to test the hypothesis that improving the readability of junior certificate science examination questions would improve student achievement. Results show that changing certain readability factors, such as sentence length, simplified vocabulary and the removal of obscure information, brought about an improvement in achievement. The conclusion considers the implications of the study for the writers of examinations and other texts in science.     

Blaming the poor: constructions of marginality and poverty in the Kenyan education sector

The article examines how blame and disconnection from the lives of the poor feature in a nexus of ideas about implementing education policy articulated by education officials and teachers in Kenya. Three different approaches to understanding marginality are distinguished, each associated with a different process of setting a boundary concerning the marginalised. This differentiation is used to analyse qualitative data collected between 2007 and 2011 in three sites – a school, a provincial education department, and the national education ministry. Analysis shows how work practices in all sites entail processes of distancing and exclusion which confirm the boundaries associated with marginalisation, rather than overcoming them. We conclude on the need to pay attention to shifting cultural perceptions concerning the marginalised, opening educational opportunities for officials and teachers to examine their presuppositions, and making space for the poor and the marginal to engage politically and culturally in developing inclusion and social justice in schools.     

从二语习得理论看母语在教学中的应用

19世纪后半叶,直接教学法(Direct Method)作为语法-翻译法的对立物在西欧出现。直接法强调通过外语本身进行会话、交谈扣阅读实施外语教学,明确提出外语教学不应使用学生的母语,不用翻译,也不用形式语法,虽然之后又出现了许多教学法,但它的影响却相当广泛。在大学英语课堂教学中,全英语教学似乎成了默守的常规,然而在外语教学中是否应该使用母语?如何使母语在英语课堂中发挥画龙点睛的作用?这些问题历来受到外语教师们的关注。本文就在英语教学中使用母语的问题谈一谈自己的拙见。     

高职英语课堂教学媒介语实证研究

对浙江省六所具有代表性的高职院校的学生及教师进行的调查显示,绝大部分教师和学生都支持在英语课堂教学中适时、适量的使用汉语;“把英语作为主要课堂教学媒介语”是优秀教师的一个共同特点。教学对比试验的结果显示,不同教学媒介语的使用对高职学生英语学习成绩、学习动机、自信心及焦虑程度等均有较大程度的影响。     

柬埔寨华文教育中语言定性问题的实证分析

华文的语言定性问题在海外华文教育中是一个事关全局的基础性问题。根据语言的学习规律和教学规律，从增强华文教育的实际效果出发，华文教育在海外的语言定性应以华裔学生个体的言语习得方式为基本判定标准。从对柬埔寨金边市3所华校所做的实际调查可以看出，华文实际上是柬华学生的第二语言；将华文作为第二语言进行教学，已是一种不可逆转的发展趋势，这不仅是柬埔寨华校确立办学方向的基本依据，而且对其他地区华校的办学也具有广泛的借鉴意义。     

Trusting the method: an ethnographic search for policy in practice in an Australian primary school

The apparent simplicity of ethnographic methods – studying people in their normal life setting, going beyond what might be said in surveys and interviews to observe everyday practices – is deceptive. Anthropological knowledge is gained through fieldwork and through pursuing a reflexive flexible approach. This study carried out in a non-government primary school in Perth, Western Australia focused on the processes used by the teachers to implement reporting policy. The focus of this paper is not on the data of the research, but on the experiences of a researcher in the field for the first time. Despite being aware of what Schweder (1997) describes as the need to be open to the surprise of ethnography, the events which followed my first hours in the field still managed to disturb my equilibrium as they proceeded to unfold in unexpected ways. The factors which influenced the outcome of the research were serendipitous and for the researcher were vital in my initiation into ethnographic methods.     

英语教学中应注意母语负迁移对汉英翻译中多余词汇现象的影响

母语负迁移现象是二语学习者的障碍和二语习得研究的对象.以汉语为母语的英语学习者在翻译中出现的错译、误译大都是由于受到母语负迁移的影响.特别是汉英翻译中多余词汇的现象,是母语负迁移的明显表现形式.文章通过分析汉英翻译中出现的多余词汇现象,提出了相关的翻译方法、对策以及对大学英语教学的启示.