Linguistic Equity Research Articles

Equitable language practices in large-scale assessment: Possibilities and limitations in South Africa

This article is based on an HSRC study conducted for the Western Cape Education Department in which 75 000 Grade 8 learners were assessed in mathematics and language in 2006. The country's multilingual education policy is currently misinterpreted to mean that the learning of and use of indigenous African languages should be restricted to learning language as a subject beyond Grade 4. English and Afrikaans continue as the only languages of learning, teaching and assessment after Grade 4. Thus the language policy of the terminal years of apartheid continues in the present, except that African students now receive even fewer years of home language education than before. The HSRC study demonstrates, however, that it is possible to design and implement multilingual large-scale systemwide assessments beyond Grade 4. We discuss the development of the multilingual language and mathematics instruments, the international benchmarking and standard setting processes they were subjected to and the language testing accommodations we employed. We demonstrate how, for the first time, language was assessed as both a subject and a medium of instruction. We are able to demonstrate through multilingual accommodations in the mathematics instruments that it is possible to offer some measure of linguistic equity to students across the curriculum in large-scale testing. The findings show sufficient evidence that student achievement is enhanced where the home language is used as a language of assessment in comparison with when a second language is used as the language of assessment. They further show that where language accommodations are made in mathematics assessment instruments, students make use of these and achievement appears to increase. The study and its findings are contextualised within an international theory of assessment in linguistically diverse contexts and the implications are offered as a contribution towards the quest for improved student achievement in the South African education system.

Bantu languages in education in South Africa: an overview. Ongekho akekho! – the absentee owner

The main argument of this overview article is that the Bantu languages of South Africa should have a far more significant role in education. We contend that the strong preference for English as medium of instruction among black learners is largely responsible for their inadequate educational performance, particularly since most of these learners do not have the required skills in English. This is particularly the case in rural and township schools and in what we term ‘lower ex-model C schools’, given the socio-economic realities of the communities in which these schools are located. Were the Bantu languages used for learning and teaching purposes in an effective way, we suggest the educational outcomes of black learners would be significantly better. We accept, of course, that schools, especially secondary schools, cannot immediately implement a policy of using the Bantu languages as media of instruction. Several research and development challenges need to be addressed for this to happen. These include: transforming the socio-political meanings attached to these languages; their further corpus development as well as their status, prestige, acquisition and usage development; the development and implementation of language-in-education policies which address the basic educational and sociolinguistic realities; and the effective distribution of information to school governing bodies about the issues relevant to the selection of a medium of instruction. In our view, South Africa will not become a developed, effectively multilingual and nationally integrated country if linguistic equity and parity of esteem are not established in a meaningful way for all official languages, which includes provision for their use as media of instruction throughout.

Samina Hadi-Tabassum: Language, Space and Power: A Critical Look at Bilingual Education

Bilingual education is often viewed as a controversial topic. Perceptions range from its validity as an educational program to support linguistic minorities, an opportunity to expand linguistic and cultural capital for all students, to an unnecessary and even harmful ‘‘crutch’’ for marginalized populations. It is among these divergent perceptions that Samina Hadi-Tabassum critically examines one specific type of bilingual program, the dual immersion model. Her book employs an ethnographic critical analysis that considers the various power structures of language, culture and race to examine one fifth-grade dual immersion classroom. While noteworthy for its consideration of the power dynamics between the two languages at play in that classroom, the book is more suited for academics and those interested in the specifics of linguistic equity and critical theory than for practitioners in the field. Following a dual immersion model, this classroom’s goals are to use English and Spanish equally in instruction with a balanced mix of Englishand Spanish-speaking students. The aim is to create students who are fully bilingual, biliterate individuals who have an appreciation for multicultural perspectives (Torres-Guzman 2002; Freeman 1998). Hadi-Tabassum takes this program model and uses it to critically analyze the degree to which true bilingualism, biliteracy and cultural pluralism are able to exist in this New York City classroom. In the six chapters of the book, the issue of equity within this classroom context is examined. The first chapter describes the research setting, paying close attention to the various backgrounds of the students and teachers. She shows that students are mixed ethnically, while linguistically there are more English-dominant students than Spanish-dominant ones. Chapter Two considers how the use of physical space in the classroom can create an unequal division between languages. Because the aim of the program is to create

The promotion of linguistic diversity in multilingual settings

The South African case raises a number of important issues of concern for those interested in language policy and language planning: issues of multilingualism, linguistic diversity, linguistic integration, linguistic equity, and language rights. South Africa is fascinating for those interested in matters of language because it is characterized by elements of both the ‘developed’ and the ‘developing’ worlds, and thus, to some extent, provides us with a microcosm of the broader international issues related to language. In the years since the 1994 election, South Africa has begun seriously and thoughtfully to address many of the challenges related to language and language policy that will face virtually all societies in the next century. Its experiences in this regard are both telling and significant, and have far broader implications for other societies. This article provides a brief discussion of the historical use of language policy and language planning in the South African context, and explores recent developments in South Africa with respect to language policy. Finally, it identifies and discusses possible lessons for efforts to promote linguistic diversity in multilingual settings.