The focus of this study is on language maintenance and shift in Maale, a minority language spoken in Ethiopia. The main aims of the study are to give an account of the underlying social factors that have contributed to language maintenance in the Maale speech community, and to investigate whether the mother-tongue literacy programme in the Maale region is going to facilitate language maintenance or contribute to language shift. The findings suggest that regional nationalism, which corresponds to ethnic nationalism in Paulston's theory of social mobilisation, is the reason why the Maale language has been maintained as a viable language in spite of centuries of political repression. The findings also indicate that the mother-tongue literacy programme currently contributes to language maintenance but it is a stepping stone to further education, which favours the learning of a second language, which could lead to possible attrition of the mother tongue. / Linguistics / M.A. (Sociolinguistics)

This study analyses the perspectives of teachers on English as a language of learning and teaching in the context of government recommendations that Shona and Ndebele be used alongside English as languages of learning and teaching in Zimbabwean secondary schools. Through a questionnaire survey, open interviews and classroom observation, it was found that the teachers regard English as a language of learning and teaching in a positive way though they are aware of the difficulties associated with its use. There was a high consensus on the desirability of English among teachers as informants with various attributes obtained attitude, pedagogical beliefs and perceived difficulties scores that were, in the main, not statistically significant. It also emerged that government recommendations for the use of endoglossic languages as languages of learning and teaching (LoLT) have not been complemented by concrete measures and that the subsequent efforts to change the language-in-education policy have so far seemed insincere. / Linguistics / M.A. (With specialisation in Applied Linguistics)

In South African universities where the medium of instruction is English, writing and conceptualisation in English Second Language in Life Sciences are problematic for first year learners. This study focused on the extent to which Afrikaans – and Xhosa mother tongue speakers employ strategies in order to cope with the demands of scientific writing and how it affects their academic performance. The Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) and the Cognitive and Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) theories of Cummins as well as the model of Collier provided a theoretical framework for this study. Tests and tutorials were analysed by means of content analysis. Writing strategies such as coherence has an impact on academic performance but there is no set pattern or degree in which different mother tongue speakers employ them. A collaborative approach that sensitises learners to the meaningful use of strategies to enhance their competency in scientific writing is recommended. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Natural Science Education)

The study sought to explore possibilities of using ChiShona as a medium of instruction in the teaching of Mathematics in primary schools. The aim was to compare the use of English as a medium of instruction with ChiShona as medium of instruction in the teaching and learning of Mathematics to Grade 4 class. The other objective was to examine the people’s attitudes towards the use of mother tongue instruction in the teaching and learning of Mathematics in Zimbabwe primary schools. A practical teaching experiment was used to investigate the feasibility of using ChiShona as medium of instruction in the teaching and learning of Mathematics to Grade 4 class. In addition a descriptive survey research design which used questionnaires and interviews as data collection methods was employed for its usefulness in exploratory studies. A total of 750 people participated in the research and these were 40 Grade 4 learners (used for teaching experiment) 260 teachers/lecturers, 250 parents and 200 college/university learners. Data gathered was subjected to both quantitative and qualitative analysis resulting in data triangulation for validation. Major findings of the research indicated that the use of ChiShona as a medium of instruction in the teaching of Mathematics to primary school children is possible and that the use of the mother tongue instruction (ChiShona) impacted positively in the teaching of Mathematics to Grade 4 learners. The use of ChiShona as a medium of instruction in teaching Mathematics was effective and comparatively the learners who used ChiShona performed better than those who used English as a medium of instruction. However the research further concluded that people preferred that English remain the only medium of instruction from primary up to university level as English offers them better opportunities for employment compared to ChiShona. The study concludes that the continued use of English as medium of instruction means that African languages such as ChiShona will remain underdeveloped and fail to find their way in the classrooms as languages of instruction in education. The study finally recommends the need for an all-inclusive multi-lingual policy that uplifts the status of indigenous languages and their literature without annihilating English. / African Languages / D. Litt et Phil.

The study sought to explore perception and attitude towards the study of African languages in high schools and the resultant implications on human resources development and management. The research basically explored the diverse perception and attitude that prevail towards African languages in African countries in general and Zimbabwe in particular. The descriptive survey research design was used mainly for its effectiveness in exploratory research. Participants were drawn from selected high schools and universities in Zimbabwe. Questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions and documentary analyses were used to collect data. Data gathered were then subjected to both qualitative and quantitative analyses for triangulation purposes. Major findings indicated that the perception and attitude towards the study of African languages in Zimbabwean high schools is generally negative. English language is preferred to and valued more than African languages. Such perception and attitude determine choices of programmes of study at tertiary level and the selective channeling of people into specific professional fields. Consequently, that impact on the development and management of potential human resources in professions related to African languages. The current language policy in Zimbabwe has no clear instrument that defines the place of African languages in the curriculum and work place as is the case with English. The choice of language to study at high school is thus determined by fossilised perception and attitude towards languages in general, coupled with lack of career guidance on the link between African languages and related career opportunities, in the belief that English is the gateway to success. The study clearly reveals that it is the Zimbabwean education system that should realize the potential of schools as agents of change in improving the status of African languages. Hence the study advocates restructuring of the curriculum. Proposals and recommendations to re-engineer the Zimbabwean curriculum so that indigenous African languages are made compulsory up to ‘A’ level were made. Such a bold move would uplift the status of African languages and at the same time improve perception and attitude towards their study as well as indirectly, but positively, impacting on human resources development and management in related disciplines. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

The influx of Black pupils seeking admission to Indian schools began in 1990 after the Democratic Movement's "all schools for all people" campaign was announced. The medium of instruction in Indian schools is English which is also the mother tongue. Therefore Black pupils who come on transfer from schools in the KwaZulu township are immediately faced with a language problem as they are taught in the mother tongue untii standard three, when they switch to English. This research project arose as a result of the researcher's experience with Black pupils, whom he - felt were severely linguistically underprepared for academic study in the senior primary phase. Furthermore, most present day teachers were trained for monocultural schools and have little or no experience of multicultural education. The main problem that this research focuses on includes the learning problems encountered by Black pupils in Indian primary schools and the concomitant teaching problems their teachers experience. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Didactics)

Le nombre d'unions où les deux conjoints n'ont pas la même langue maternelle est en augmentation depuis les dernières décennies au Québec. Sachant que les enfants issus de ces unions gravitent dans un univers familial plurilingue, l'objectif de ce mémoire est de connaître les langues qui leur sont transmises. En utilisant les données du questionnaire long du recensement canadien de 2006, nous avons procédé à différentes analyses descriptives nous permettant de cerner les langues maternelles véhiculées aux enfants issus d'une union mixte, de vérifier si ces enfants héritent davantage de la langue maternelle de leur mère ou de leur père et s'ils opèrent des substitutions linguistiques avant l'âge de 18 ans, c'est-à-dire si leur langue maternelle diffère de leur langue d'usage. De plus, par le biais de régressions logistiques, nous avons étudié les déterminants contextuel, ethno-culturel et socio-économique les plus susceptibles d'expliquer le choix de la langue transmise aux enfants. Les résultats obtenus démontrent la place prédominante des langues officielles canadiennes, au détriment des langues non officielles, chez les familles exogames. De plus, le choix de la langue maternelle transmise s'avère principalement conditionné par le lieu de résidence, le parcours migratoire des parents et le pays de naissance des enfants. / The number of unions where both partners do not share the same mother tongue has grown substantially over the last decades in Quebec. Given that children born to these unions live in a multilingual family setting, the purpose of this research is to study the mother tongue transmitted to these children. Using the 2006 Canadian census long-form questionnaire, we first conducted various descriptive analyses. These were intended to identify the mother tongue transmitted to children born to mixed-language unions, to ascertain whether children inherit either their mother or father's mother tongue, and to determine if a language shift occurs before the age of 18 years old, in other words whether their mother tongue differs from the principal language they use at home. In addition, through logistic regressions, we examined the contextual, ethnocultural and socioeconomic determinants explaining the choice of the language transmitted to children. The results show the predominance of the two official Canadian languages in mixed-language families, at the expense of non-official languages. Furthermore, the choice of the mother tongue transmitted is mainly conditioned by the place of residence, the parent's migration path and the children's birthplace.

This thesis focuses on the use of the mother tongue in foreign language teaching and learning. Recently there has been a notable shift towards promoting the use of the mother tongue. The theoretical part of the thesis maps the attitudes to the mother tongue in current literature as well as the suggested ways of its use in the classroom. The practical part attempts to analyse the students' attitudes towards the incorporation of Czech into English learning and teaching and their experience with its use from their secondary schools. To obtain the data, an online questionnaire was employed. The respondents are first- and second-year students of English and American studies who are expected to be able to analyse both the advantages and disadvantages of using Czech. The practical part focuses on the efficiency of Czech in comparison with English, ways of presenting grammar and vocabulary, the relation between the mother tongue use and the proficiency of students, and learning strategies of the respondents. Based on the analysis, suggestions regarding the mother tongue use are presented in the conclusion.

A n o t a t i o n This thesis deals with the development of speech in children growing up in a bilingual environment. The aim is to explain the basic concepts related to bilingualism, describe in detail strategies of bilingual education and describe the specifics of speech development of children growing up in a bilingual environment. I would like to broaden the community understanding about bilingualism and summarize new ideas and information for parents who are considering a bilingual or multilingual education. Theoretical knowledge is used in the practical part of this thesis, which examines and compares the differences in the speech development of children growing up with two or more languages against children who grow up with only one mother tongue.

The diploma thesis deals with the topic of education of pupils with a different mother tongue in the Czech Republic; the target group are children in the age of compulsory education (approx. age 6 to 15), the target location is Prague. The topic is elaborated from the perspective of the actors of language management - state institutions, elementary schools and non-profit organizations. In the theoretic part, those subjects are characterized; the focus concentrates on the current legislation, the possibilities of funding of teaching Czech as a second language, the methodical support from the state. Non-profit organizations are characterized more in detail and their general role in civil society is explained. The practical part of the thesis describes and analyses the current situation: it identifies problems each actor is dealing with and mostly it captures their positions in the system and mutual interaction. The structure of this part is based on the activities of the non-profit organizations - their offer of the extracurricular, language-education courses for pupils with a different mother tongue, support of elementary schools and people working with this target group as well as communication with the Ministry of Education and active effort to improve the current support. The semi-structured...