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Background: Mother-tongue education in South African primary schools remains a challenge to policymakers. The situation is problematic in multilingual lok'shin (township) schools where the lok'shin lingua is not recognised as 'standard' language. This article raises the controversial possibility of positioning of lok'shin lingua in a formal education langscape. Objectives: The article's first purpose is to highlight recent international and local research which depicts controversies surrounding mother tongue instruction in primary schools. The second purpose is to conceptualise lok'shin lingua as a dialect present in children's everyday vocabulary. Method: Data was gathered through a qualitative approach using interviews. The interviews were conducted with parents and educators at a township in South Africa. Results: Findings show notable differences in school language of instruction and the languages children speak outside school. Conclusion: Mother tongue teaching is problematic as it is incongruent with learners' language repertoires. Therefore, a call is made for the recognition of lok'shin lingua in educational contexts as a way to promote more research into mother-tongue education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2018, Aotearoa/New Zealand increased its annual refugee quota to 1000. When refugees arrive in Aotearoa/New Zealand they spend six weeks in a resettlement programme. During this time, children attend an introduction to schooling. First language (L1) literacy support for children experiencing education in a medium that is not their Home Language has been identified as essential for children’s educational success. This knowledge is reflected in Principle 4 of the International Literacy Association’s Children’s Rights to Read campaign, which states that “children have the right to read texts that mirror their experiences and languages...”. In 2018, the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY)-Yamada Foundation granted funding to IBBY in Aotearoa/New Zealand (IBBYNZ)/Storylines to supply books in the Home Languages of the refugee children in the introduction to school programme. Over 350 books were sourced in a range of languages including Farsi, Arabic, Tamil, Punjabi, Burmese, Karen, Chin, and Spanish. In this article, the sourcing of these books and their introduction to children in a refugee resettlement programme is described. Interviews with five teachers in the resettlement programme concerning the use of the books and how children and their families have been responding are reported. Future programme developments are outlined.

This paper is about the first (L1) and second language (L2) skills of Turkish–German dual language learners (DLLs), the interrelatedness of the L1 and L2 skills, and their relation to other selected child and family variables. The first aim of the study was to examine L1 and L2 performance and the relation between the languages. Second, the study sought to explore the conditions in which functioning dual language development can be achieved, while trying to predict the extent to which child and environmental factors are related to the DLLs’ language competencies. L1 and L2 language skills of N = 69 bilingually developing 3–5 years old Turkish–German children were assessed via standardized tests. In addition, information on the children’s sociodemographic variables and home language environments was obtained by means of parental questionnaires. Correlational analyses were used to examine the interrelations between L1 and L2 skills and multiple regression analyses were conducted in order to predict the children’s language competencies. The children showed age-appropriate language skills in L1 (Turkish) and lower language skills in L2 (German). Whereas their phonological memory abilities were positively correlated with L1 and L2 skills, their expressive vocabulary in L1 was negatively correlated with L2 skills. Our findings also indicated that phonological memory was a strong predictor of language abilities. Concerning family variables, both early daycare entry and stimulating home language environment were significant predictors of better L2 skills. Lastly, balanced use of both languages at home had no negative consequences on language competencies. Although more research is needed, this study shows the benefits of using a combined language measure including both L1 and L2 skills to predict DLLs’ language competencies without disregarding either of their languages.

The aim of the study is to investigate whether 33-month-old (toddlers) monolinguals (N = 902) and different groups of dual language learners (DLL) (N = 161) differ in majority language comprehension, Norwegian (L2). The three DLL groups vary regarding the amount of parental exposure to Norwegian. Language comprehension was assessed by authentic assessment in ECEC institutions with the systematic observation material TRAS. A parent questionnaire measured the amount of Norwegian exposure at home. The DLL’s comprehension in Norwegian were significantly lower than the monolingual’s. There was no difference in L2 skills between DLL toddlers from majority-speaking households (N = 30) and toddlers from households speaking a combination of the majority and minority language (N = 82), while toddlers from minority-speaking households (N = 49) scored significantly lower. Rather than the amount of L2 exposure, the results indicate that there might exist a threshold value of parental L2 input necessary to obtain good L2 skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the nexus between parents' language ideologies and children's language practices in the home. It focuses on the perspectives of 34 L1 Kalanga-speaking parents to understand the extent to which their language ideologies impact on children's language choices, in light of the diminished use of Kalanga in Zimbabwe generally. Drawing on insights from Family Language Policy (FLP), we argue that although parents' language ideologies are central in the articulation of family language policy among the Kalanga, parents' attitudes towards maintaining the home language do not always translate to children's conformity to parent-preferred language practices. The mismatch between parents' ideologies and children's practices is mediated by children's language experiences and practices in domains external to the family such as schools, which results in their reproduction at home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate language of instruction and the effect it has on the performance of undergraduate Accounting students at a South African university. Students who have Afrikaans as their home language (Afrikaans students) are faced with the choice of receiving instruction in their home language or in English - the language of the business world. The research design was empirical in nature. Questionnaires were distributed to obtain students' school and university results, and to gather student and lecturer opinions on matters affecting language of instruction. The benefit that English might have in the workplace was ranked among lecturers as the most popular reason contributing towards Afrikaans students' choice for receiving instruction in English. It was found that, among Afrikaans students, home-language instruction leads to marginally better mid-year results at tertiary level. It was also interesting to discover that more than a third of student participants who are receiving instruction in Afrikaans indicated that they would consider a switch to English. This study proves that the choice of language of instruction in the undergraduate Accounting course would not necessarily be detrimental to student performance given that a student obtained an A or B symbol for their home-language subject in grade 12. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South African learner achievement remains poor, despite large investment in schooling over the last two decades. Literature and research findings offer no single explanation or solution. In this article, the authors explored the relative contribution of specific language factors such as the role of home- and school-language equivalence, cultural and economic capital, and other school and classroom factors to Science achievement. The analysis identified specific language and/or contextual factors having the biggest influence on learner achievement. This was achieved through secondary analysis of South African Grade Nine (N = 12,000) data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2011. Multipleregression modelling using contextual and achievement data suggested that home- and school-language equivalence and how frequently learners used the school language at home were strongly associated with the Science achievement results of Grade Nine learners in South Africa. Several other language factors that could be seen as cultural capital, beyond broader economic capital, some classroom-related contextual conditions and selected school-level factors, also showed strong influences. It is concluded that language, teacher training, and broader economic policy changes and their thorough implementation are required to address these concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]