English lingua franca as a language of learning and teaching in northern Namibia: A report on Oshiwambo teachers' experiences

Abstract

At independence, Namibia chose English as its official language and therefore its language of learning and teaching (LoLT). Since then, both government reports and scholarly research have highlighted the poor performance of learners and the apparentfailing standards of teaching. The study reported on in this article explores Oshiwambo-speaking teachers' perceptions of the advantages of using English as a lingua franca (ELF) as LoLT in an educational setting in Namibia, and the challenges they face. The findings suggest that, for teachers, the primary perceived advantage is that learners will need this language if they are to further their studies abroad. Furthermore, teachers overcome the challenges of using ELF as LoLT by resorting to code-switching to ensure that their learners understand the concepts that they are being taught. In this article, we frame this from a translanguaging pedagogy perspective, recommending that teachers be supported and encouraged to use both languages in an integrated and coherent way to overcome the challenges of using ELF as LoLT. This requires the Namibian Language-in-Education Policy (NLiEP) to be adapted in such a way that it allows English to be used as LoLT alongside Namibia's indigenous languages, acknowledging the bilingual/heteroglossic nature of classrooms in Namibia.