This thesis looks at language as the medium of all our ideas and sentiments. The thesis represents a position statement regarding the development of isiZulu as an academic language. The field of Economics is used to merely illustrate and support the points that are being made in this work. It is argued that each language is viewed as the means of expression of the cultural heritage of its people, and it remains a reflection of cultural groups who speak that particular language. It is a fact that indigenous African Languages have been, for obvious reasons, blatantly understudied during the apartheid years in South Africa (Rudwick 2004). Languages have market value and the desirability of English as the most important global language today has an effect in most Black learners in South Africa. The study examined the development of indigenous African languages, isiZulu in particular, in Zululand University where ninety percent of students and lecturers are isiZulu first language speakers, and came to a conclusion that there is an urgent need for Black South African students to learn academic subjects through their mother tongues. This would help them in thorough understanding and interpretation of analytic text presented in a foreign language such as English. The study advocates that isiZulu, which is the mother-tongue of many students at the University of Zululand, should be a language for upward mobility to these students, but as the situation stands, isiZulu becomes a neglected or marginalised language since it is not the normal medium of instruction and it is not used for effective communication in their education system.

This thesis looks at language as the medium of all our ideas and sentiments. The thesis represents a position statement regarding the development of isiZulu as an academic language. The field of Economics is used to merely illustrate and support the points that are being made in this work. It is argued that each language is viewed as the means of expression of the cultural heritage of its people, and it remains a reflection of cultural groups who speak that particular language. It is a fact that indigenous African Languages have been, for obvious reasons, blatantly understudied during the apartheid years in South Africa (Rudwick 2004). Languages have market value and the desirability of English as the most important global language today has an effect in most Black learners in South Africa. The study examined the development of indigenous African languages, isiZulu in particular, in Zululand University where ninety percent of students and lecturers are isiZulu first language speakers, and came to a conclusion that there is an urgent need for Black South African students to learn academic subjects through their mother tongues. This would help them in thorough understanding and interpretation of analytic text presented in a foreign language such as English. The study advocates that isiZulu, which is the mother-tongue of many students at the University of Zululand, should be a language for upward mobility to these students, but as the situation stands, isiZulu becomes a neglected or marginalised language since it is not the normal medium of instruction and it is not used for effective communication in their education system.

This study investigates Outcomes-based assessment of reading isiZulu at the end of the foundation phase. Teachers are required to employ a variety of assessment methods to establish learners' strengths and weaknesses. This will ensure that teaching is organised in a way that will suit learners’ needs. It is through assessment that a teacher is able to establish whether learning is taking place or not and this helps to provide support, where necessary. Six primary schools were chosen as settings within which qualitative research was conducted. Observations and informal interviews were the main method of collecting data. Six Grade 3 teachers were observed teaching and assessing reading of isiZulu in their classrooms. The findings were divided into five themes that emerged from the data analysis, namely the language policy document, teaching of reading, assessment of reading, lack of facilities and essential support. The findings indicated that some teachers still struggled with teaching and assessment of reading in the outcomes-based approach. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Didactics)

Thesis in compliance with the requirements for the Doctor's Degree in Technology: Language Practice, Durban University of Technology, 2012. / This autoethnographic self study tracks my new ways of knowing in the various roles I play from daughter (passive recipient) to curriculum designer (active analytical composer). It retells my journey in the teaching profession at a school in Durban, in South Africa. The story occurs during a period when schools were racially desegregated in order to address the anti-apartheid policies that were prevalent prior to the first democratic elections in 1994. The story captures the challenges I faced during the transformation era in education and how I went about addressing two of the main challenges I faced: 1. Cultural diversity in racially desegregated schools. 2. Teaching isiZulu as an additional language as a pioneer, non- mother tongue teacher of learners with mixed abilities in an environment deprived of resources in terms of mentorship, and teacher/learner resource material. This study reveals how the challenges I experienced were, in retrospect, the disguised opportunities that led to my growth from teacher to textbook writer. It gives an account of the “behind the scenes making”, of the Maye babo! series, with a view to offer an exemplar for curriculum development. The study uses autoethnography (Ellis 2004) as a method to bring to life the teaching of isiZulu as an additional language in South Africa. It defines some of the difficulties experienced by teachers during a transformation era in education. In this study I clarify the relationship between Outcomes Based Education and the National Curriculum Statement (NCS), as well as where the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) is located within the NCS. More importantly, I use the tacit knowledge gained from intuition and experience to demonstrate how these policies can be applied in the classroom to achieve effective learning, an aspect often ignored in in-service teacher education. Readers (particularly teachers) will resonate with the experiences described in the stories, and, in so doing, gain a better understanding of themselves and their teaching practices; this might provide the much needed optimism amongst teachers, and might motivate and inspire them to grow professionally. The personal benefit in writing this thesis is that it renewed my place in the academic world, and more importantly, it has satisfied my quest for self realisation. Through personal exploration, questions such as who am I? and how did I become? reveal my evolvement. This project has been a soul satisfying and enriching journey. It is hoped that this study will in some way contribute to the transformation in education process in post liberation South Africa.

This study investigates Outcomes-based assessment of reading isiZulu at the end of the foundation phase. Teachers are required to employ a variety of assessment methods to establish learners' strengths and weaknesses. This will ensure that teaching is organised in a way that will suit learners’ needs. It is through assessment that a teacher is able to establish whether learning is taking place or not and this helps to provide support, where necessary. Six primary schools were chosen as settings within which qualitative research was conducted. Observations and informal interviews were the main method of collecting data. Six Grade 3 teachers were observed teaching and assessing reading of isiZulu in their classrooms. The findings were divided into five themes that emerged from the data analysis, namely the language policy document, teaching of reading, assessment of reading, lack of facilities and essential support. The findings indicated that some teachers still struggled with teaching and assessment of reading in the outcomes-based approach. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Didactics)

Introduction Being an effective communicator is a core competency required of all health care practitioners. Some undergraduate medical students at the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine (NRMSM), University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, are unable to communicate in isiZulu, the mother tongue of nearly 80% of the 10.2 million people in the province, and the most common home language spoken in South Africa. A one-year isiZulu course to teach communicative competence in the language, and assessed in the first three years of the 6-year MBChB programme, is currently offered at the first year level to medical students. Aim This study was conducted in 2012 to assess how isiZulu clinical communication was perceived by a third year cohort of medical students, and whether current teaching in the period 2010-2012 had prepared them to communicate with their patients. Methods An observational, cross-sectional study design was used to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of the study group through a self-completed questionnaire. Their knowledge of isiZulu was assessed in a written test, and the students’ marks were compared with their marks in 2010. Oral competence was assessed in an isiZulu history-taking station in the objective structured clinical examination. Students’ comments on their experiences and their recommendations were recorded. Ethics approval was obtained to conduct the study, and informed consent was obtained from participants. Results & Discussion Medical students’ competence in isiZulu had improved. They were largely positive about learning the language of their patients but seldom used the language in the clinical setting. Many students indicated that the current teaching of isiZulu in the programme was inadequate for their needs. Conclusion & Recommendations Although isiZulu is taught to non-isiZulu students, this does not convert into an ability to use the language in the clinical setting. In order for medical students to acquire a satisfactory and safe level of communicative competence in isiZulu, and in line with the UKZN Language Plan to emphasize language training specific to various vocational groups, it is recommended that the teaching, learning and assessment of isiZulu language and culture be integrated into all levels of the undergraduate medical programme in the form of vocation-specific isiZulu for medical students. / Thesis (M.Med.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

Text in English / One of the critical challenges associated with migration is a need to acquire a destination language, which has never been an easy experience for immigrants. This study aims at exploring and analysing experiences of Malawian immigrant labourers in their process of acquiring spoken skills of isiZulu in Durban. In order to understand the phenomenon under investigation better, this study used a qualitative research approach and adopted a phenomenological research design. The data for this study was collected using semi structured one-to-one interviews. The data were analysed using content analysis method and was approached and discussed in light of Schumann‟s (1986) Acculturation Model and frame works and a destination–language acquisition model of Chiswick and Miller (2001). Empirical findings from this study have shown that adults; just like children, are also capable of mastering a second language if they can manage both social and psychological factors that impede acquisition. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (Linguistics)

Text in English / One of the critical challenges associated with migration is a need to acquire a destination language, which has never been an easy experience for immigrants. This study aims at exploring and analysing experiences of Malawian immigrant labourers in their process of acquiring spoken skills of isiZulu in Durban. In order to understand the phenomenon under investigation better, this study used a qualitative research approach and adopted a phenomenological research design. The data for this study was collected using semi structured one-to-one interviews. The data were analysed using content analysis method and was approached and discussed in light of Schumann‟s (1986) Acculturation Model and frame works and a destination–language acquisition model of Chiswick and Miller (2001). Empirical findings from this study have shown that adults; just like children, are also capable of mastering a second language if they can manage both social and psychological factors that impede acquisition. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M. A. (Linguistics)

According to the South African Schools Act no 86 or 1994, school governing bodies determine the official language used as Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) in public schools. Black community primary schools use home language in the Foundation Phase, and switch to English from the fourth grade. This study investigates Zulu as LoLT in the Foundation Phase in selected township primary schools in Gauteng East District. A qualitative inquiry used semi-structured interviews to collect data from Grade Three teachers. Findings were that educators welcomed use of learner’s Home Language as LoLT; due to diverse linguistic backgrounds of teachers and learners, Zulu was not used effectively in classrooms; code switching to English was prevalent; parent involvement was poor due to parents’ lack of Zulu proficiency and learning and teaching materials were mainly in English. The review of school language policies and the provision of multiple medium classes to accommodate language diversity were recommended. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Early Childhood Development)

According to the South African Schools Act no 86 or 1994, school governing bodies determine the official language used as Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) in public schools. Black community primary schools use home language in the Foundation Phase, and switch to English from the fourth grade. This study investigates Zulu as LoLT in the Foundation Phase in selected township primary schools in Gauteng East District. A qualitative inquiry used semi-structured interviews to collect data from Grade Three teachers. Findings were that educators welcomed use of learner’s Home Language as LoLT; due to diverse linguistic backgrounds of teachers and learners, Zulu was not used effectively in classrooms; code switching to English was prevalent; parent involvement was poor due to parents’ lack of Zulu proficiency and learning and teaching materials were mainly in English. The review of school language policies and the provision of multiple medium classes to accommodate language diversity were recommended. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Early Childhood Development)