Striving for educational equity in South Africa: L2 Chinese instruction under COVID-19

Abstract

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, most governments around the world temporarily closed educational institutions and transitioned all teaching and learning activities to remote online teaching mode. In countries such as South Africa, where equity is a major problem, this further widened educational disparities between students from low socio-economic backgrounds and students living with physical and mental challenges on the one hand, and students who were well-off financially or had adequate support on the other. How to mitigate gaps of education equity caused by restrictions and constraints in relation to internet access, financial capacity, family and career duties, home spaces, and personal mental welfare, became a key issue in the higher education institutions in South Africa. In this paper, we share the pedagogical strategies and practices undertaken in the L2 Chinese language programme at the University of Cape Town in South Africa during the COVID-19 lockdown. We demonstrate how multiple and flexible teaching plans including personalized support helped vulnerable students, enabling them to remain engaged in L2 Chinese education.