[Question] School language policy

[jeriel01]

Can anyone who is conversant with the policies/regulations which governs schools on the issues of language uses please assist me on this matter. I have enrolled my child in Grade 8 this academic year (2013) at school which have a medium of instruction of English and Afrikaans meaning there are two classes for Grade 8. Now the problem I am having with the school is that when they communicate with the learners outside class they use Afrikaans 95% and 5% in English.
I recently attended parents meeting at the school and even at the parents meeting they apply the same principle. From my observation the English class is 50% and Afrikaans 50%. The school is a public school hence I am convinced it is regulated by the Department of Education policies. By using Afrikaans as a dominating language denies me and my child a right to information as we understand less Afrikaans. Can anyone assist on how can I deal with this matter?

[adrianh]

So why doesn't your child ask them to translate whatever she doesn't understand? I went to an Afrikaans primary school and an English high school - I simply had to adapt or die.

You talk about the parents meeting being in Afrikaans, why don't you stand up and ask them to translate the things you don't understand..

Do you want them to do everything in both Afrikaans and English, what about all 9 other official languages?

Come on, stop whinging and learn a bit of Afrikaans!

[Blurock]

My observation is that whenever there are a group of Afrikaans people and they are joined by an English speaking person, nine times out of ten the Afrikaans guys will switch the conversation to English.

I may be putting my foot in it now, but generally English speakers are too lazy to learn another language. Names and words in other languages are also not pronounced properly.

When one makes a little effort to learn another language, even if it is just a few phrases, the whole mood changes. I have seen how Zulu speakers open up and try to communicate in other languages once you have made an effort to speak some Zulu. The French will refuse to speak English until you speak a few (distorted) French words or any other language to indicate that you are not British.

[tec0]

So you just want to destroy this school because you can? Nah I think you can find a 100% English school if you want. But you would rather destroy this one. I would imagine your ego will get a kick out of it but just remember 1 thing. What goes around comes around.

My brother's oldest is in a English only school because it is the only facility available to us in the private sector. NOW you don't see me running to court now do you?

Get over yourself.

[IanF]

About 4 times a year I get French speaking Africans buying stuff. They are easy to please and don't try and bargain. Also they do appreciate you trying with a "merci boucoup"
I just wander if inter Africa trade is the next big thing.

[adrianh]

My eldest daughter also just started grade 8. She chose to learn French. We met the French teacher on Friday, she is a real French lady who can hardly speak English, the kids simply have to speak French to her. My daughter loves South Korea for some reason and she learning to write and speak Korean with the help of a friend and the net. She started the Korean thing in grade 6 and she's still at it.

[tec0]

I get so angry sometimes. Why do people always force their ways onto others? Why not just live and let live? What possible good can come from complaining about every possible thing? I think people have an inflated self-worth and are too blind to see the upside of things. And then people ask why can’t we all just get along…

I don’t know… Just take it from me there are schools with the exact opposite problem so it does balance out.

[Blurock]

I have been directed to a very useful site where you can learn just about any language, including Mandarin, French and Afrikaans. http://www.memrise.com/home/

It has fun exercises and phrases with audio which should also assist with pronunciations, although I am still of the opinion that the quickest way to learn a new language is to sing it. (O Solo Mio...) I am currently learning Italian so that I am prepared for when I go to fetch my Ferrari.

Once you start singing, you learn the meaning of the phrases and how to pronounce the words. It is then easier to start making your own sentences by linking the phrases that you know. Yes, the home language speakers do laugh at you when you call things by their wrong names, but is that not part of the fun? And they always teach you the swear words first!

[Blurock]

Language is a very interesting subject. Many French and English words have their roots in Latin and can be understood by going back to the roots.

So there we were sitting at a restaurant in Verona to have our first pizza in Italy. I looked at the (Italian) menu and placed my order as I do understand some important Italian words such as salami, pizza, oliveto, mozzarella etc. On the menu they also had a pizza cavalheiro. Cavalheiro - cavalry - horse? On enquiring, my suspicion was confirmed; horse meat!

[tec0]

Well I got a personal message that I am not helping. So lets help. In my area there are 6 private schools with good education value that I am aware off. Less then half of them allows for two languages. Now would it be fair to the students if I come down on there school like a hammer and destroy what little good education they can get? No it would be a horrible crime to take away someone's right to a education.

If I want a one language only school are there schools available? Yes there are many choices all of them very good schools with very high success rate. Why not use them?

That is a question of ego. If you put your child in a school and then expect the whole school to change for your child, Then I am sorry... I cannot accept this as the right or fair decision. Now am I wrong in this regard?

That question is one you need to answer. The simple truth is there where other options available... So why this school why force this restriction why take this type of action?

You can answer those questions for yourself.

[eleanorj]

Gosh, is anyone actually interested in posting a respectful reply to this? It seems to me like jeriel01 just wants the best possible education for their child, and doesn't feel like they are getting it.

It is the right of every learner in South Africa to learn through the medium of instruction of their choice, as long as it is an official language of South Africa (according to Chapter 2, section 29 of the SA Constitution). The learner (or their parent/s) must choose their preferred language of teaching when they apply for a place at a school, and as long as the school offers that language option and has space available, it has to admit the student (you can read the 1997 Language in Education Policy for more info). However, from the side of the school, as far as I can tell the only regulation relating to language is that they need to offer a second official language as a subject in addition to the language used as medium of instruction. So it is not even a requirement for them to offer two different options for medium of instruction, as your child's school does. And as far as I can tell, there are no rules governing what language is used outside of the classroom, e.g. in assemblies, announcements etc., although I understand that all public schools are supposed to develop their own language policies, which I'm sure you must have a right to see. Perhaps you could ask to see a copy of the school language policy? It might be interesting to see what they say they will do, compared to what they actually do. And if it turns out that they haven't developed a language policy, this might be what they need to get them thinking about the language issue.

I would say that the one area you would definitely be justified in questioning is the use of Afrikaans in the English class. If it is supposed to be an English-medium class, the teachers have to teach in English, and you're right, it's not at all fair that your child should be disadvantaged because he/she doesn't speak Afrikaans, when you sent them to the school so that they could learn in English.

Have you spoken to any other parents of children in the English class? Maybe if there are a few of you who feel the same way, you could present your concerns to the school, and it might bear a bit more weight than if it was just you.

In terms of the access to information aspect, a 'Use of Official Languages' Act was passed last year which deals with that; you can see it here. It states that each national government department has to establish a language unit which is supposed to facilitate equitable access to information and services of the department. So the Department of Basic Education would have to do this, but the problem is that I don't think these regulations filter down to individual schools. The Constitution says that everybody has a right to equality, and that the state may not unfairly discriminate against anyone on the grounds of language (chapter 2, section 9.3). So I suppose that in so far as the school is a state entity, you could argue that it is denying your right to equality. But, as other people in this thread have said, you could always send your child to an English-only school if you want to have access to information etc. from the school.

Basically it seems to me that the school hasn't really thought through its language practices very well - it has tried to go some way to making itself more accessible to non-Afrikaans-speaking students, but hasn't gone far enough, leaving the English-speaking school population at a disadvantage. It is really hard to create an environment where two languages are completely equal, especially if there is a lack of resources, so I don't think you can really blame the school, but at the very least, your child should be able to be taught in English in his/her 'English-medium' classes.

Whew, that was a bit of an essay, sorry! Hope it helps...