This study indicated that even though a majority of Swazi learners struggle to pass English language, they still believed it is reasonable for it to remain the LoTL. One thing they were not hesitant about was the fact that siSwati should not become the LoTL because it is only spoken by a very small fraction of the world’s population. They really did not mind English being the LoTL and were determined to pass it well so that it does not become a hindrance to their brilliant future. The learners therefore saw ESL as that crucial stepping stone that can make them to bounce to the highest academic standards possible. This is in agreement
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with the findings of a study done by Setati (2005) in Ndamba (2008) that generally students have a negative attitude towards their own languages while having a huge appetite for exoglossic languages. Another study by Rudwick and Parmegiani (2013) also came to a similar conclusion that students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal were not necessarily most comfortable using exclusively their mother tongue in any given communicative situation. To cite an example, one participant in Rudwick and Parmegiani’s study was so vocal about the fact that speaking isiZulu made him feel more in touch with his Zuluness and ultimately Africanness but still he had reservations with using isiZulu exclusively. This is what Kamwendo (2010) calls denigrating the local yet glorifying the foreign. So, learners embrace the practice that English is and therefore should remain the LoTL. But the question here is, does gaining competence in this global language depend on whether it is used as a medium of instruction or when it is taught as a subject or both (Kamwendo, 2015a). The fact remains here that if learners gain competence early enough in the language, they stand better chances of doing well in it later on when they begin to use it as the medium of instruction (Kamwendo, 2015a).
This study further concluded that learners feel that English should become the LoTL at the earliest possible grade or better yet, at preschool level. They viewed the EDSEC policy which allows siSwati to be used as the LoTL in the first three grades of primary school as being a malfunction. The learners actually believed that by receiving instruction in English early enough, they would then be in a better position to learn English and be better able to understand it so that it does not hinder their learning as they progress to higher levels of schooling. This is an unfortunate and misinformed standpoint by the learners because they actually believe that knowing English is equal to knowledge which is far from being true.
Their stance is actually contrary to the findings of another study done by Mwelwa and Spencer (2013) whereby it was discovered that learners become more actively involved and answer more questions when a local language is used as the LoTL instead of a second or foreign language. The study by Mwelwa and Spencer (2013) further concluded that the exclusive use of English as the LoTL hinders a child’s intellectual development because the language being used at home which is the one he comprehends better is not the language of the school. According to Kamwendo (2013), there is a distinction between English as a subject of study and English as a medium of teaching and learning. This implies that the learners can be taught English language as a subject of study without it becoming the LoTL.
The learners standpoint discussed above is actually supported by many misinformed parents who also believe that their children need an international language such as English and not the so called good-for-nothing African languages (Kamwendo, 2013). In the same vein, Khosa (2012) argues that many black parents consider their indigenous languages good
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only for social purposes and not for education. This is the reason why some parents will send their children to private schools which are English medium schools so they can learn English better. However, as Rudwick and Parmegiani (2013) claim, there is no research which proves that knowing English automatically makes a learner to become successful in life.
A study by Gandara et. al (2003) established that in the USA, English learner students (migrant students who spoke English as a second language), performed poorly in the high school exit examination when compared to the English speakers (those students who spoke English as their mother tongue). Even so, this does not mean that the English speakers automatically become more successful just because they have passed English since there are other requirements they still have to meet before they can enroll with tertiary institutions.
The study by Gandara et.al (2013) therefore does not hold water because there are learners who pass English but fail the other subjects and this renders them failures. The conceptual framework for this study illustrated this point clearly as it illuminated the fact that there are learners who are quite conversant in English language such that they excel in it. So, English has not become a gatekeeper for those learners. However, passing English does not automatically mean that the learner has qualified for tertiary education. As a result, there are learners who pass English but still fail to meet the requirements which would enable them to be admissible to institutions of higher learning. So, the learners’ belief falls away.
There are countries such as Botswana who have reverted to early exposure to English as a medium of instruction, in standard 1 (Kamwendo, 2015a). The Revised National Policy on Education (RNPE) has limited the use of Setswana only to standard 1 yet prior to this policy, Setswana was used as the LoTL from standard 1 to 4 and then English took over from standard 5 onwards. The argument for the Botswana government for introducing this policy is that it helps learners to be better able to use English if it is introduced early enough in their schooling life. Part of the RNPE is stated as follows:
“There is a concern about the poor performance of primary school children in English and part of the problem is that children do not get used to English early enough in the learning process yet they are required to write their examinations in the language. Using English as the medium of instruction from standard 2 will improve their performance.” (Republic of Botswana 1994:60 in Kamwendo 2015a).
However, as Kamwendo (2015a) argues, there is no empirical evidence which indicates that using English at the earliest possible time will enhance the learners’ proficiency in the language thus resulting to better academic performance. In fact other countries which had gone for early exposure to English such as Zambia are now changing course in the sense
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that indigenous languages are to serve as media of instruction in the first four grades of primary school (Kamwendo, 2015a).
To argue this point further, the learners’ standpoint falls away when one realizes that there are countries that do not use English as the LoTL at all, or in the first years of primary learning such as Tanzania. In Tanzania Kiswahili is used as the LoTL for the whole duration of the primary learning (Babaci-Wilhite and Geo-Jaja, 2014). Their education system is a success story because more primary learners are able to pass because there are no language barriers for them. So, using English at the earliest possible time carries no research-proven advantages for the learners.
The study also established that learners were not opposed to empowering siSwati so that it grows from the level it currently occupies today. They were just not comfortable using it as the LoTL though still arguing that once developed, siSwati would be well capable of being used in all spheres of language use the same way English is used nowadays. This is contrary to the belief perpetrated by proponents of exoglossic language education for Africa that African languages lack the academic discourse to handle higher levels of schooling.
This is in line with the African linguistic renaissance which Kamwendo (2015b) defines as uplifting the status and use of African languages and taking them into domains where their economic value will be uplifted by making them become income generators or job-creating entities. Kamwendo (2015b) further argues that many people look down upon African languages because they have slept for so long that it is safe to now compare them to devalued currencies. However, the reawakening of African languages can lead to a thriving African languages industry just like the flourishing English language teaching industry (Kamwendo, 2015b).