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Challenges faced by Tshivenda-speaking teachers when instructing Grade 4 learners in English

Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2016.

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Other Authors: Evans, Rinelle
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2017
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Evans, Rinelle
author_browse Evans, Rinelle
author_facet Evans, Rinelle
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2017 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2016.
format Thesis
id oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/60971
institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:39:17.781Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2017
publishDateRange 2017
publishDateSort 2017
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
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source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/60971 Challenges faced by Tshivenda-speaking teachers when instructing Grade 4 learners in English Evans, Rinelle inthulana@gmail.com Nthulana, Ipfani UCTD Code switching Language-in-Education Policy English as medium of instruction Monolingual community Education theses SDG-04 Education theses SDG-08 Education theses SDG-10 Education theses SDG-16 Education theses SDG-17 Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2016. The South African Constitution promotes multilingualism while acknowledging the maintenance of home languages. Meanwhile the language-in-education policy (Department of National Education, 1994) declares that every learner has the right to receive education in the language that he/she understands best where this is practicable. According to programme requirements of the Intermediate Phase (Grades 4 6), two official languages must be selected by a learner of which one should be the home language and the other one used as a first additional language. One of these languages will serve as the language of learning (Department of Basic Education: Programme and Promotion Requirements, 2011) This study outlined the challenges that Grade 4 teachers in the monolingual rural area of Niani face when teaching through English. This case study was designed as a qualitative research underpinned by Krashen's theory of second language acquisition (1982), which underlines the importance of interaction. The literature reviewed showed how teachers developed strategies to cope when a second language is used as the medium of instruction in monolingual societies. The participants of the study include six Grade 4 teachers who are mother tongue speakers of Tshivenda and two curriculum advisors of Niani in Limpopo province. Data were collected via classroom observations and interviews in order to establish the challenges teachers face when they switch from using Tshivenda to English once the learners move to Grade 4 and how these teachers cope. The findings indicate that teachers in rural monolingual communities in Niani find it difficult to meet the curriculum demands in terms of the medium of instruction. Grade 3 learners move to Grade 4 with little English vocabulary and this makes teaching problematic. Teachers spend most of their time translating the lessons into Tshivenda, a strategy which further limits both teachers' and learners' English exposure. Teachers too' were found not to be sufficiently proficient in English. The significance of the study relates to the educational issues of rural schools that are ignored by officialdom, including the fact that teachers are not adequately prepared to teach in English. In addition, learners transitioning to the medium of English are not sufficiently supported. Hence, policies need revision and interventions to address linguistic shortcomings of teachers and learners ought to be designed and implemented if English remains the medium of instruction. mi2026 Humanities Education MEd Unrestricted SDG-04: Quality education SDG-08: Decent work and economic growth SDG-10: Reduced inequalities SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions SDG-17: Partnerships for the goals 2017-06-08T13:07:07Z 2017-06-08T13:07:07Z 2017-05-04 2016 Dissertation Nthulana, I 2016, Challenges faced by Tshivenda-speaking teachers when instructing Grade 4 learners in English, MEd Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/60971> A2017 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/60971 en © 2017 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Code switching
Language-in-Education Policy
English as medium of instruction
Monolingual community
Education theses SDG-04
Education theses SDG-08
Education theses SDG-10
Education theses SDG-16
Education theses SDG-17
Challenges faced by Tshivenda-speaking teachers when instructing Grade 4 learners in English
title Challenges faced by Tshivenda-speaking teachers when instructing Grade 4 learners in English
title_full Challenges faced by Tshivenda-speaking teachers when instructing Grade 4 learners in English
title_fullStr Challenges faced by Tshivenda-speaking teachers when instructing Grade 4 learners in English
title_full_unstemmed Challenges faced by Tshivenda-speaking teachers when instructing Grade 4 learners in English
title_short Challenges faced by Tshivenda-speaking teachers when instructing Grade 4 learners in English
title_sort challenges faced by tshivenda speaking teachers when instructing grade 4 learners in english
topic UCTD
Code switching
Language-in-Education Policy
English as medium of instruction
Monolingual community
Education theses SDG-04
Education theses SDG-08
Education theses SDG-10
Education theses SDG-16
Education theses SDG-17
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/60971