Using English only in the South African English classroom?

Abstract

Decisions made about language choice in educational settings are not easy to make: teaching contexts throughout the country are very different, and massive changes in the national language and language-in-education policies have taken place. The inherent power of English and attitudes to all South African languages are also determining factors. This article examines the place of home languages other than English in the English classroom in South Africa. Contextual factors for considering the English only/home language issue are presented The attitudes of student English teachers with regard to the use of the home language in their foture English classes are then examined This exploratory study reveals a difforence in attitude towards the acceptability of home language use between teachers who are themselves English speakers and those who are not. Besluite oor taalkeuse in die onderwys is 'n moeilike saak weens die konteksverskille in die land Groat beleidsveranderinge op nasionale vlak en t. o. v. taal in die onderwys het plaasgevind. Die inherente mag van Engels en houdings teenoor a/le Suid-Afrikaanse tale is verdere bepalende faktore. Hierdie artikel ondersoek die plek van 'n ander huistaal as Engels in die Engels-klaskamer in Suid-Afrika. Kontekstuele faktore vir die oorweging van Engels as enigste taal!huistaal word gebied Die houdings van studente-Engelsonderwysers t.o.v. die gebruik van huistaal in hul toekomstige Engels-klasse word ondersoek. Hierdie verkennende studie toon 'n houdingsverskil teenoor die aanneemlikheid van huistaalgebruik tussen onderwysers wat self Engelssprekend is en die wat nie is nie.