EPS10A3 English For the Primary School

Introduction

Language is an essential part of human life and community. It serves as the basis of all communication all over the world. The prevalence of language has been seen since the time of the caveman, and over the centuries has developed to what it is today. Due to the vast diversity of human, there are many languages that are spoken across the globe. This is the result of the diversity in cultures and communities that have their own history and tradition. Currently, there are roughly 6,500 languages that are spoken all across the globe, each with its own uniqueness and cultural context. Although, many languages are spoken more than others. These are the more widespread languages that the global population recognise. A large number of languages are less widely spoken than others. Out of them the most popular language and the most widely spoken one is English. English is by far, the most recognised language and most spoken all over the globe. Due to this fact, English is considered the universal language. The universality of English has warranted the teaching of the languages in all education systems so that children and students may have the ability to better communicate with people. South Africa is one such place that has 11 languages that are spoken but English still remain the default language that is preferred. Although English is the preferred language, the proficiency of teaching is not at par with the rest of the world in term of academic language and writing (Pretorius & Spaull, 2016). In light of this, there needs to be proper education and teaching of academic language in South African primary schools to aid children to understand and apply the proper academic language.

Discussion

Academic language is understood as the form of language that is employed in a context like the exposition of topics in an educational curriculum. It is the language generally used when defending propositions, making arguments and processing and analysing information. There is not set country in which academic language can be defied. Rather it can be understood as the extreme opposite to informal communication and language. In primary schools of South Africa, the proficiency of English is not matched in terms of written English and spoken English, as a matter of fact, children in English based schools still have difficulty in learning academic English and similar writing conventions. The population of South Africa only consists of 8.2 per cent of people who have English as their first language. The rest 91.8 per cent actively speak the remaining traditional African languages as their first language (UNESCO., 2017). As a result, the learning of academic language at the primary school level becomes more and more important as it will allow South African children to better communicate with international peers on an academic level and be able to present a better argument and proposition during any academic discourse in the future.

Students who do not have proper learning of academic language at the primary school level have shown to experience difficulty in comprehension and understanding when they reach university. During higher learning discourse learning practises, students have a much more difficult time comprehending and keeping up with their peers who are from a much more English oriented education system. Black students find it difficult to translate words from their traditional language to English as such translation is not simply a one-to-one translation. The South African community have little contact with those individuals who have English as their first language. At the same time, such individuals themselves have little access to the materials that will allow them to improve their English communication and skills relating to academic language (Uccelli & Phillips Galloway, 2017). The incorporation of proper academic language in primary schools in South Africa, will not only aid in the increases of the number of individuals with English as their first language but will also aid in providing the proper learning material and understanding that will allow black students to have a better opportunity in diversifying their education when entering higher learning curriculum which employs advance English as the basis of communication and writing.

Teachers in the South African primary schools do not employ the proper means by which students get the opportunity to communicate in English. The importance of second language learning has great importance in the South African education system (Lenyai, 2011). With the majority of the population having one of the traditional African languages as their first language, the learning of English as a second language become very important. The issue lies in the fact that the teachers, most often than not, do not have the capability and skills to teach the students the nuances and competence in second language education (Banda, 2009). Being lacking in English academic language themselves. The teacher is unable to provide the opportunity to the students to communicate in English. The methods that are applied do not improve the student’s comprehension and skill in the language. This results in the students falling and lagging behind in future educational courses with a more diverse pedigree of students. Educational policies need to be implemented in order to improve the proficiency of the academic language of South African students through the employment of able teachers and educators.

English is one of the most spoken languages all over the world. As a result, academic discourse and research are primarily down in English. The same is applicable for the development and progress of the South African community. For the understanding of science and development. Students will need to understand the words with which such concepts are described. Without proper understanding, students will not be able to effectively reflect on the ideas and build upon them for the formulation of effective strategies that can help in the uplifting of social quality (Snow, 2010). Without proper learning of academic language, primary school students in South Africa lose the foundation of academic discourse, understanding and communication. Without this, it becomes extremely difficult for the students to contend with students of other countries that have a more structurally sound approach to the teaching of academic language. For the development of communities and the country as a whole, it is quintessential for formally communicating with different countries and nations and understanding their way of life. With English being the most common language, learning the formal approach becomes important. The traditional languages of Africa are not well known outside the geographical boundaries of the country. This makes it difficult in terms of international communication as there will exist a language barrier that impedes effective communication. The teaching of academic language early on, like inform primary school level of education, will allow the populace of South Africa to be able to better respect and respond to arguments and propositions.

Conclusion

The teaching and subsequent learning of academic language in primary schools will allow students and children to be better developed and more proficient in presenting their arguments and propositions in a more structured and formal manner. This will also increase their areas of relevance through the learning of a second language which grants them the versatility of being bi-lingual (Snow, 2014). Whether English is a first language or an additional second language for the children in South Africa, learning academic language will allow them to have equal opportunity to participate in discussions in future educational discourse without the drawback of lack of comprehension. To this end, policies need to be implemented that are focused on the learning and application of academic learning in primary schools through the employment of teachers who will be able to provide opportunities for communication in English and correlate the English languages to the African traditional languages.  

Reference List

Banda, F. (2009). Challenges of teaching academic writing skills to students with limited exposure to English (South Africa). Language Teacher Research in Africa. TESOL, 1, 1-26

Lenyai, E. (2011). First Additional Language Teaching in the Foundation Phase of Schools in Disadvantaged Areas. South African Journal of Childhood Education, 1(1), 68-81

Pretorius, E. J., & Spaull, N. (2016). Exploring relationships between oral reading fluency and reading comprehension amongst English second language readers in South Africa. Reading and Writing, 29(7), 1449-1471.

Snow, C. E. (2010). Academic language and the challenge of reading for learning about science. science, 328(5977), 450-452.

Snow, C. E. (2014). Language, literacy, and the needs of the multilingual child. Perspectives in Education, 32(1), 11-20.

Uccelli, P., & Phillips Galloway, E. (2017). Academic language across content areas: Lessons from an innovative assessment and from students’ reflections about language. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 60(4), 395-404.

UNESCO. (2017). More than one‐half of children and adolescents are not learning worldwide. UIS Fact Sheet No. 46.

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