The purpose of this study was to describe South African grade 8 students' performance in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003 science test, to explore the translatability of TIMSS 2003 science topics into isiZulu without significant loss of meaning, and to explore the strategies used by isiZulu-speaking students when answering questions in the TIMSS 2003 test. Thirty-six isiZulu-speaking students were tested using written test questions taken from the science test in TIMSS 2003. CALP C200S DoE EFgnL ESL FET FEW FEW HSRC LEA JET NEPA NQF RSA RNCS SASA SAQA SE TIMSS TIMSS-R TIMSS .
INTRODUCTION
TRENDS IN INTERNATIONAL MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE STUDY
TIMSS IN SOUTH AFRICA
SOUTH AFRICAN TIMSS 2003 SCIENCE RESULTS
Analysis of learner performance by categories reflecting the former race-based education departments indicates that learners in the African schools have the lowest average scale scores, and learners in the former White schools have the highest average scale scores (see Table 1.2). Learners in the former White schools have an average scaled score just below the international average. The wide distribution is a reflection of the ongoing inequalities in education in South African society (RGN, 2004).
REFORM OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN EDUCATION SYSTEM: POST-1994
Under-resourced and often mismanaged in the past, many of the old departments of education provided inadequate and ineffective education to millions of young people, especially those from the African community (Soudien, 2004). Currently, the nine provincial departments of education are directly responsible for the management and administration of education in schools within their provinces. Funding for public schools originates from the provincial administration which derives from a budget that is determined by the national department of education.
OUTCOMES-BASED EDUCATION AND CURRICULUM 2005
It was guided by the principles of outcomes-based education, learner-centred education and the critical outcomes of the NQF. In the second half of 2001, a revised set of National Curriculum Statements for grades R - 9 was released for public consultation. In the RNCS, the 9 learning outcomes were reduced to 3, and the content for 70% of the learning time is set very generally.
LANGUAGE-IN-EDUCATION POLICY AND PRACTICE IN SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOLS
There has been hardly any movement of students in the opposite direction (Soudien & Sayed, 2003). Effective instruction is largely dependent on communication, supported by competence of both teachers and students in the language of instruction (Rollnick, 2000). More than 70% of students who wrote the TIMSS 2003 test in English were English Second Language (ESL) speakers.
INTRODUCTION
However, it is unusual for many native English or Afrikaans speakers to be fluent in African languages (the exceptions are often those who grew up in rural areas). This chapter looks specifically at the challenges second language teachers face in learning science, although some of the work mentioned has been done with first language learners. This chapter examines some recent findings related to learning science through a second language (3.2), followed by a look at the research on the effect of bilingualism on science learning (3.3).
SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING OF SCIENCE
It should also be noted that language problems in science are not limited to second language learners. The most obvious language problem in SCIENCE IS the extensive technical vocabulary with which students must become familiar in order to be able to understand what they hear, read and must use when writing in their lessons. Osborne (2001) notes, concept words present more problems: first, because they are abstract; secondly, because the development of language in science results in the change of some words from nouns to conceptual words; and thirdly, because some may have everyday and scientific meaning.
BILINGUALISM
In a classroom-based study by Barnes, Britton & Rosen (1969), the observation of the lessons revealed that compared to other subjects, science lessons not only contained the highest proportion of specialist words, but that science teachers also drew a lot. on a specialist vocabulary that was not explained to the students - "specialist vocabulary not presented". teacher assuming concepts would be understood by students). 1969) also uses the term "language of secondary education" to describe words one would expect to find in textbooks and other official documents which aim to discuss subjects in an impersonal way, but which would not normally be encountered except in schools. These include the confounding of bilingualism and socioeconomic status, the degree of bilingualism, the degree of difference between two languages, and the age at which the second language is learned (Garden & Livingstone, 1989). Dawe (1983) found that although English as a second language can be a problem in science, reasoning factors such as language distance and culture are also important to bilingual students' performance.
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
This type of learning results, according to Jegede, when duality in thoughts and actions is created in the students' scheme, within a framework of elastic prior or native knowledge. Children draw on an appropriate belief/cognitive system in the school environment and a different system within the social context of the community. If language is indeed the expression of culture, then it is especially important and necessary to look at the strategies used by teachers and students where there is a need to use more than one language in the classroom.
CODE SWITCHING
Officially, the language of instruction in the vast majority of South African schools is still English or Afrikaans from Grade 5 onwards, although it is common for teachers and students to switch between these and Afrikaans languages. English language proficiency has been identified as a contributing factor to the achievement of South African students in TIMSS studies (Howie, 2001, HSRC, 2004). This research examines isiZulu-speaking students who participated in TIMSS 2003 in KwaZulu-Natal province, specifically the difficulties of isiZulu-speaking students when answering science questions in English.
INTRODUCTION
RESEARCH FOCUS
The prediction was that back-translations would differ from the original English in significant and important ways that affect the meaning of the question. Students wrote the isiZulu version of the test and the English version of the test on the same day. The hypothesis tested here was that students would achieve higher scores when tested in isiZulu than in English if the main reason for poor performance in TIMSS 2003 was the language of the test.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
In phase 0, students learn the subject before the exam; then in phase 1 the student reads the question and forms a mental representation of the task. In stages 2, 3, and 4, students search their mental representation of the whole subject, a rather loosely defined subset of their memory, find relevant concepts that match those in their representation of the question, and use these to generate an answer. In stage 5, the student's mental representation of the answer changes in most cases to a string of words (Pollitt & Ahmed, 2001).
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
- PHASE 1: Descriptive research questions
- PHASE 2: Exploratory analysis
The questions translated from isiZulu were translated back into English by three isiZulu-speaking science postgraduates, without any reference to the original English version (“blind” back translation). The second part of this phase was guided by the central research question, namely what are the strategies used by isiZulu-speaking students when answering selected TIMSS 2003 science questions. How did the performance of the isiZulu-speaking research sample compare with the performance of the sample TIMSS equivalents in selected items.
SOME DESIGN ISSUES .1 Sample
- Instruments
- Statistical testing
In the first session, students were randomly selected so that six students completed the English version test first (see Appendix 3) and the other six students completed the isiZulu version test first (see Appendix 4). Similarly, the mean scores obtained by students on the isiZulu version were compared with their scores on the English version using a paired-samples HEST. Comparisons were made between the TIMSS 2003 sample and the research sample on the English version of the test and between the English version and the isiZulu version of the test in the research sample.
RESULTS
INTRODUCTION
PART I: Translations & back-translations
The X2 test (contingency table) indicated that there was no significant difference in the choice pattern between the TIMSS 2003 sample and the research sample who wrote the test in English (X 2 = 3.99, p>0.05). More of the research sample answered this question correctly in the English version (23) compared to the isiZulu (17). The X2 test (contingency table) indicated that there was no significant difference in the choice pattern between the TIMSS 2003 sample and the research sample who wrote the test in English (X2= 1.84, p>0.05).
The X2 test (contingency table) indicated that there was no significant difference in the choice pattern between the research sample writing the test in English and in isiZulu (l . = 2.51, p>0.05). The X2 test (contingency table) indicated that there was no significant difference in the choice pattern between the TIMSS 2003 sample and the research sample who wrote the test in English (X2 = 5.73, p>0.05). The X2 test (contingency table) indicated that there was no significant difference in the choice pattern between the research sample writing the test in English and in isiZulu p>0.05.
The X2 test (contingency table) indicated that there was no significant difference in the choice pattern between the TIMSS 2003 sample and the research sample who wrote the test in English (X 2 = 5.17, p>0.05). The X2 test (contingency table) indicated that there was no significant difference in the choice pattern between the research sample writing the test in English and in isiZulu (l . = 3.35, p>0.05). Fewer learners in the research sample answered this question correctly when the test was written in isiZulu (6) compared to the English version test (8).
The X2 test (contingent table) indicated that there was no significant difference in the choice pattern between the TIMSS 2003 sample and the research sample who wrote the test in English (X 2 = 7.46, p>0.05). The X2 test (contingent table) indicated that there was no significant difference in the choice pattern between the TIMSS 2003 sample and the research sample who wrote the test in English (X 2 = 1.70, p>0.05). More students in the study sample answered this question correctly as the test was written in isiZulu (11) compared to 8 in English.
DISCUSSION
Conclusion
The purpose of this study is to describe the performance of and explore the strategies used by isiZulu-speaking students when answering questions in the TIMSS 2003 test. The aim of the first phase was to describe the South African students' performance in the TIMSS 2003 science test. The results of this study confirm the findings of other studies of TIMSS in South Africa showing the poor performance of South African Grade 8 students on the TIMSS 2003 science test (HSRC, 2004; Dempster & Reddy, in press; and Reddy, 2006).
Research has shown that language has an effect on the learning and teaching of science (Rollnick, 1998); the majority of the teachers and learners at ex-DOO schools in the KZN province are first language isiZulu speakers. The success of the following phases in the model will be strongly influenced by operation in this phase. The South African constitution committed South Africa to the development of multilingualism in the country.
Dlodlo (1999) suggests the use of the Nguni language in science learning and teaching. Reddy (2006) reported that in the South African TIMSS 2003 survey, one third of teachers taught mathematics and science without appropriate knowledge and skills. The school curriculum since apartheid: intersections of policy and politics in the South African transition.
The use of mother tongue and English in learning and expressing science concepts: a classroom-based study.
TIMSS
Iqoqo 2 Abantu Izinyoka
- NAT0306?
I didn't understand the question in the isiZulu test, but I understood it better in the English test. SBT0308: I did not understand the question in English so I tried to read isiZulu then I understood what was happening and chose the answer A. MCT0305: You must read the question first so you will understand what it goes, and then it answers.
MCT0306: Read the question and all the answers first, then see what the answer is. SBT0309: I chose C because it's the only word I know and I didn't understand what the question was asking. MCT0302: First you read the question and the answers, if you still feel you don't understand, read the question again.
MCT0309: Yes, when I don't understand the question or some words, I just guess the answer. MCT0308: J first read the question and J looked at the pictures at the bottom, then J thought that the answer was C.
