D. F.Malherbe
4.7 Attitudes of learners towards Afrikaans FAL
Linked to the choice of Afrikaans is the subject of attitudes because attitudes towards a subject will determine whether one would choose that subject. However it was established that choice did not exist in these schools. The learners were forced into language choices based on the subject choices that they had made.
This is one of the reasons why learners developed a negative attitude towards Afrikaans.
During the interview with the educators, the researcher also learnt of the attitudes of the learners toward Afrikaans. The educators complained of their negative attitude, citing the unimportance of Afrikaans in today's society and how the language of the "oppressor" was not part of their lives. This was prevalent in the two schools, Mnandi High and Nomfundo High that were situated in the urban
areas. The educator from the rural school, Pezulu High, did not have any problems regarding the attitudes of the learners toward Afrikaans. The researcher ascribes this to the lack of politicization of Afrikaans amongst the rural youth.
"Most of the educators feel that Afrikaans is the language of the oppressor and not important in the lives of the students." [Appendix 4: 129]
"Many educators feel that Afrikaans is the language of the oppressor. Students have said that their teachers have told them not to worry about Afrikaans."[Appendix 5: 134]
"The teachers feel that because only a few pass Afrikaans it should be removed from the school." [Appendix 6: 139]
Question 14 required information as to what learners wanted to do after they had finished grade twelve. Sixty five percent indicated that they wanted to work, thirty percent wanted to study while working and only five percent wanted to study full time. If this is an indication of what they wanted, then it is understandable that Afrikaans FAL is not going to play an integral role in the lives of these grade twelve learners when they leave school. Only those that wanted to study after leaving school needed Afrikaans to gain entry into universities. From the interviews with the educators it became apparent that the educators had to grapple with this stumbling block every day at school. The learners were not motivated enough to learn a second language. The learners are not motivated enough to acquire a second language. Only 5 % are motivated enough because the acquisition of the second language will determine whether they can study or not.
Krashen's theory states that the more highly motivated people are, the more likely they are to acquire a second language more effectively and quickly than people with low motivation.
When asked whether Afrikaans was done just to pass the examinations, eighty percent stated that this was the primary reason why they were studying Afrikaans.
In order to pass the grade twelve examinations, a learner must pass one first language and one additional language. If a learner fails any one of these two, then the learner does not meet the requirements to attain a grade twelve certificate.
This attitude of learners where they purely want to use Afrikaans as a means to an end, is linked to Krashen's Affective Filter Hypothesis with specific reference to extrinsic motivation. This type of motivation is referred to when one does not enjoy any internal gratification. Linked to this research, the learners only want to pass Afrikaans as a means of obtaining a pass in grade twelve and not to acquire the language. As explained earlier, students are forced to study Afrikaans FAL because of the subjects that they choose. The possibility in this case is that certain students that do want to study Afrikaans FAL may get the chance to do so because of the subjects that choose.
Titone (1981) addresses the issue of reinforcers when it comes to learning a second language. The need to communicate in a second language is a strong reinforcer. If a learner wants to learn a second language in order to communicate wants and needs, then s/he will endeavour to learn that language. On the other hand if the primary aim is just to use the language in order to pass the examinations, this becomes a weak reinforcer, conditioning the learner to gain basic knowledge to pass the examinations.
The following table summarizes the responses of the learners from question 23 - 36. These responses shed more light on the attitudes of learners towards Afrikaans.
23. Enjoy studying Afrikaans
24. Chose to study Afrikaans because I enjoy it.
25. Chose Afrikaans because friends chose it 26. Want to learn Afrikaans to pass the exam 27. Want to learn Afrikaans as another language
28. Having Afrikaans on certificate is important 29. Talk Afrikaans outside the classroom 30. Read Afrikaans books, magazines etc.
31. Watch Afrikaans television programmes 32. Listen to Afrikaans radio programmes 33.1 was not forced to study Afrikaans 34. Look forward to Afrikaans lessons.
Agree 45%
38%
14%
72%
25%
70%
18%
30%
30%
10%
25%
65%
Disagree 55%
62%
86%
38%
75%
30%
82%
70%
70%
90%
75%
35%
Table 4.5: Summary of responses
One factor that does not seem to correlate is the variable of enjoying Afrikaans.
Although 45% of the respondents indicated that they enjoy Afrikaans, the percentage of the variables that support this is low. The table below indicates this:
Percentage of respondents that stated
that they enjoyed Afrikaans in class 45%
Indicator
29. Talk Afrikaans outside the classroom.
30. Read Afrikaans books, etc.
31. Watch Afrikaans television programmes.
32. Listen to Afrikaans radio programmes.
Percentage 15%
25%
26%
14%
From the table above the percentages that indicate that learners enjoy Afrikaans does not correlate with the percentages from 31-34. It is expected that if the learners enjoyed Afrikaans then they would make an attempt to focus on Afrikaans outside the classroom.
Response 34 shows that 65% of the learners looked forward to the Afrikaans lesson, yet this does not corroborate with responses that indicates the attitudes of learners towards Afrikaans. The researcher expected that the percentages that reflected attitudes of learners should be within range of response percentages that indicated that they looked forward to their Afrikaans lessons.
The limitations of the learner questionnaire were only realized when the data was being coded and analysed. There was no method to elaborate on the anomalies that were discovered in the responses. The other research tool that would have made a difference in the data collection is group interviews with learners.