Student multilingualism in office consultations: Implications for tertiary institutions in South Africa

Abstract

The debate on the use of African languages in education in South Africa is not new but has been going on for decades (Madiba, 2014; Heugh, 2013; Probyn, 2009; Desai, 2001). Even in higher education, the use of students' languages remains a contentious issue (Maseko, 2014; Kaschula, 2016; Hlatswayo & Siziba, 2013, Khumalo, 2016). The contentious matter is the issue of implementing the language policies of the different universities in South Africa, which all acknowledge multilingualism as a given in the country. Implementation of policy has thus also been keenly discussed because it seems hard to achieve (Heugh, 2015). The study investigated the way in which participants used the languages in their repertoires to deepen their understanding of tasks that they had to perform in an academic literacy module that was taught in English. This study was conducted at the North-West University Potchefstroom Campus (NWU-PC). The North-West University (NWU) has a language policy (2022) that acknowledges and aims to promote Setswana and Sesotho as academic languages (alongside English and Afrikaans) while simultaneously allowing other South African languages to be used through functional multilingualism. The study was undertaken among first year Academic Literacy modul(ALDE) students who mostly had just entered university from high school. This study was a mixed method study that used recorded consultations, questionnaires, interviews and a focus group. The main data set was the recorded consultations, and all the rest of the data sets were used to ask students about their use of language and how it makes them feel. The other datasets were also used to investigate their attitudes towards multilingualism. Therefore, in general, the study was conducted by answering the following questions 1) What is the language repertoire of participants, b) How do students use their languages to make meaning and deepen understanding and c) What are the attitudes of participants towards multilingual education. The findings of the study are that the participants are highly multilingual, reflecting the landscape of South African universities. Furthermore, the study proves that the participants used their languages when they came to consult either in the office or in class to deepen understanding and make meaning. To analyse the use other student's language during consultations, firstly, the language repertoire of the students was established, and the participants were highly multilingual. Setswana and Sesotho were the main languages that the students used during consultation. The reasons why students switched during consultations were analysed, and it seems that indeed students use their languages to deepen understanding by asking relevant questions, constructing arguments and making a point while not making mistakes. The use of African languages supports students learning and it helps them to achieve higher order thinking skills (HOTS) and support for Lower Order Thinking Skills (LOTS) as explained in Bloom's (1956) taxonomy. With the above established, participants' attitudes towards the use of African languages were investigated and some of them were welcoming. Some were more open to the idea, especially those participants who had come for consultations using their languages as opposed to those who only filled in a questionnaire but did not consult in their languages. The study also found that although the participants were welcoming the idea of multilingualism in higher education, they were also conflicted about the use of their languages in higher education. Participants who came to consult using their languages were more inclined to the idea of multilingualism in higher education, but they also voiced out the negative side of doing such. They therefore presented ambivalent attitudes towards the use of their languages in higher education. In summary, students use their languages effectively in higher education in some settings more than others. If the intellectualization of African languages is to be achieved, the languages need to be brought more into academic settings. Students' language attitudes have not changed much, even when they see the benefits of multilingual education and more needs to be done to address this.