Teachers' home language
4.2.2 Language mostly used
Figure 4.2 Language mostly spoken by learners outside the classroom
According to this survey, the teachers responded that for most of the schools in the Ohangwena region learners speaks Oshiwambo outside the classroom. This happens when they are interacting with each other informally and when they play. The figure shows that 95% of the teachers say that learners use Oshiwambo, while only 5% say that English is used in the school play ground or outside the classroom. This could be simply because learners in these schools are from the same communities where Oshiwambo is their home language. In my experience it is rare to find a mixed cultural school in the Ohangwena region. In the schools where English is spoken outside the classroom, this occurs where the language policy explicitly states that only English should be spoken on school premises. This is prevalent mainly in some private schools and/or some secondary schools.
0 20 40 60 80 100
Oshiwambo English
Number of teachers
Language spoken
Teachers' responses to questions about language spoken most frequently by learners when outside the classroom (in the play
ground)
frequency
48
Figure 4.3 language learners mostly use inside the classroom
Figure 4.3 shows the teachers’ responses that inside the classroom learners mostly speak Oshiwambo. This is probably because learners are discussing subject tasks and activities which are mostly given in the medium of instruction. The graph indicates that 77% of teachers in the Ohangwena region learners say that learners speak Oshiwambo in the classroom to communicate with each other, while 23% of the teachers say that English is used.
Figure 4.4 Language teachers mostly use outside the classroom
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Oshiwambo English
Number of teachers
Language
Teachers' responses to the question about the language commonly used by learners inside the classroom when talking to each other
frequency
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Oshiwambo English
Number of teachers
Language
Language teachers' mostly use outside the classroom
frequency
49
The graph shows that Oshiwambo is the most commonly spoken language used at school by teachers. This is consistent with the data for the learners. 70% of the teachers responded that the language that is commonly spoken by them at their schools is Oshiwambo. On the other hand, the other 30% of teachers responded that they mostly use English on the school premises. If the teachers generally speak Oshiwambo on the school premises, it is reasonable to assume that this is also the language that they use to communicate with their learners outside the classroom. This graph and the previous graph show that there is probably very little exposure to English outside the classroom for both the learners and teachers.
Figure 4.5 Language teachers mostly use inside the classroom
The graph in figure 4.5 shows that teachers mostly use English in their classrooms. 95% of the teachers indicated that they mostly use English inside their classrooms and only 5% teachers indicated that they mostly use Oshiwambo in their lessons. This is an interesting and perhaps unexpected result, and can be ascribed to the official language policy, which clearly states that the medium of instruction is English and the teacher is expected to teach in that language.
Comparing this graph with the one in figure 4.4 suggests that most of the learners in the Ohangwena region are therefore only exposed to English in their classrooms.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Oshiwambo English
Number of teachers
Language
Language teachers' mostly use inside the classroom
frequency
50 4.2.3 Code switching practice
Figures 4.6 to figure 4.12 provide an overview of the code switching practices in mathematics classrooms in the Ohangwena region. Most of the teachers indicated that they use code switching in their classrooms for different reasons. Although most grade 8 mathematics teachers use code switching in their classes, there are a few teachers that indicated that they do not use code switching in their lessons. These same teachers mostly disagreed with any of the statements given below. The question that was posted was: when do you code switch?
I code switch when I want to explain concepts;
I code switch when I clarify statements or questions;
I code switch when I emphasize points;
I code-switch when I connect with the learners’ own context;
I code switch when I maintain the learners’ attention with questions;
I code switch for classroom management and discipline; and
I code switch to connect with learners so they feel liked and appreciated.
The respondents were asked to indicate if they strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree with the statement. The findings for each statement are shown below.
Posed question: I code-switch when I want to explain concepts
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Strongly agree
Agree Disagree Strongly disagree
Number of teachers
Teachers's responses to the use of code switching for explaining concepts
frequency
51 Figure 4.6: Code switch to explain concepts
According to the graph in figure 4.6 a high number of teachers agreed that they use code switching for explaining concepts. Up to 64% teachers strongly agreed and agreed that they used code switching for explaining concepts. The other 36% disagreed and strongly disagreed that they used code switching for this purpose. Explaining concepts refers to a teacher making clear mathematical concepts and clarifying these concepts. It can also refer to describing and defining concepts. Code switching makes it easy for new concepts to be accommodated and understood in the mind of the learners.
Posed question: I code switch when I clarify statements or questions Figure 4.7: Code switch to clarify statements or questions
The graph in figure 4.7 shows the responses of teachers to the use of code switching to clarify statements and questions. The survey shows that most of the teachers agreed that they used code switching for this purpose. 63% of the teachers strongly agreed and agreed and 37% of the teachers strongly disagreed and disagreed about using code switching for this purpose. A teacher may make use of code switching when clarifying statements or questions when he or she thinks that the learners will understand more clearly. In some cases a teacher may code switch when asked a question by learners to give clarity or explain a statement or question in more detail. To clarify in this instance means to make clear and spell out statements. It can also refer to shedding light on a mathematical statement or providing a simpler explanation.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree
Number of teachers
Teachers' responses to the use of code switching to clarify statements or questions
frequency
52
Posed question: I code-switch when I emphasize points Figure 4.8: code switch to emphasize points
Another purpose of code switching could be to emphasize points in the lesson. In the survey 56% of teachers agreed on using code switching specifically for this purpose in their grade 8 mathematics lessons. The others, 44% of the teachers disagreed and strongly disagreed on using code switching for emphasizing points. Emphasizing points in this context refers to highlighting or stressing particular mathematical points or explanations.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree
Number of teachers
Teachers's responses to the use of code switching for emphasizing points
frequency
53
Posed question: I code switch when I connect with the learners’ own context Figure 4.9: Code switch to connect with the learners “own context”
Figure 4.9 shows that 49% of the teachers strongly agreed that they used code switching to connect with the learners “own context”. 51% disagreed and strongly disagreed. Code switching to connect with learners “own context” simply means making a connection to what the learners already know (their prior knowledge) or to the learners own social contexts.
Posed question: I code switch when I maintain the learners’ attention with questions Figure 4.10: Code switch to maintain the learners’ attention with question
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree
Number of teachers
Teachers' reponses to the use of code switching to connect with the learners "own context"
frequency
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree
Number of teachers
Teachers responses to the use of code switching to maintain the learners attention with question
frequency
54
Figure 4.10 shows the responses of teachers to the question if they use code switching to maintain the learners’ attention with questioning. A variety of responses were given, where most of the respondents disagreed on using code switching for this purpose. 46% disagreed and 21%
strongly disagreed compared to 7% who strongly agreed and 25% agreed.
Posed question: I code switch for classroom management and discipline Figure 4.11: Code switch for classroom management and discipline
The graph in figure 4.11 shows that most of the teachers disagreed about using code switching for classroom management. A total of 61% responses revealed that they disagreed and or strongly disagreed with the question posted. 39% agreed and strongly agreed that they use code switching for classroom management and discipline in their mathematics classrooms.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree
Number of teachers
Teachers' responses to the use of code switching for classroom management and discipline
frequency
55
Posed question: I code switch to connect with learners so they feel liked and appreciated Figure 4.12: Code switch for affective purposes
Figure 4.12 indicates the teachers’ responses on the use of code switching for affective purposes.
Affective purposes imply a connection with the learners so that they feel liked and appreciated.
42% respondents strongly agreed and agreed, while 58% disagreed and strongly disagreed.
The finding in these 7 graphs shows clearly that the use of code switching is high in most of the mathematics classrooms in the Ohangwena region. More than 50% percent of the teachers agreed that they use code switching for the first 3 purposes outlined above. Less than 50% and under 40% agreed that they used code switching for the last 4 purposes listed.
4.2.4. Average time per lesson spent on using the learners’ mother tongue (Oshiwambo)