Preserving cultural heritage by teaching idioms to young learners as part of imaginative language in Setswana

Refilwe Ramagoshi,Ina Joubert

doi:10.4102/sajce.v6i1.279

Abstract

Teachers need creative strategies and techniques when teaching idioms in Setswana. However, they do not know what idioms are nor are they aware that through idioms cultural heritage can be preserved and that idioms can be taught as part of imaginative language, especially in Grade 3. As a result, teachers and learners in Grade 3 Setswana classes lack the understanding of the role of idioms and language proficiency in using and writing idioms. The aim of this paper was to show how intervention could help teachers with new strategies for teaching idioms. Constructivism and the five subtheories of decoding idioms were used (Liu 2008). The project consisted of two research-based phases and the findings showed that teachers can now use their own initiative and creativity in language teaching and the learners learned and retained the idioms they have learnt.

Highlights

Idioms are categorised as imaginative language and as ‘devices used to add spice to a language and instil appreciation of the beauty of one’s language’ (Seboni 1980:iv)
The challenges of this research project were found in the Foundation Phase teachers who lacked the knowledge of Setswana idioms and the use of these idioms, which inevitably resulted in the absence in teaching them
In reviewing the relevant literature, we adopted a threefold analysis in a Grade 3 classroom when asking the following pertinent questions: What are idioms? How are idioms taught and learnt? What are the sociolinguistic impediments to the teaching of idioms? And what are the challenges teachers could experience when teaching Setswana idioms as imaginative language? In addition, we reviewed the literature when designing the content of a programme that could assist teachers to teach Setswana idioms to Grade 3 learners

Summary

Introduction

Idioms are categorised as imaginative language and as ‘devices used to add spice to a language and instil appreciation of the beauty of one’s language’ (Seboni 1980:iv). Idiomatic language often challenges one to use one’s imagination fully in order to grasp the meaning of sentences or statements used in everyday communication. The challenges of this research project were found in the Foundation Phase teachers who lacked the knowledge of Setswana idioms and the use of these idioms, which inevitably resulted in the absence in teaching them. As a result, they did not show any creative strategies and techniques for teaching idioms in Foundation Phase. After the demonstration of teaching idioms by the researcher and the teachers’ practice lessons, the Setswana idioms in picture form programme was introduced by the teachers. In The Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria, Pretoria FIGURE 3: Toro ya Pule School 1 (Pooe 2011)

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Conclusion