<div dir="ltr"><br clear="all">
<h1 id="content_title">Science has its own language</h1>
<p>24 Jul 2015 00:00
<a class="content_place_line_author" href="http://mg.co.za/author/samuel-ouma-oyoo">Samuel Ouma Oyoo</a></p>
<div class="addthis_responsive_sharing"><div class="at-resp-share-element addthis_32x32_style addthis-smartlayers addthis-animated at4-show" id="atrsb"><a style="background-color:rgb(68,152,200)" class="at-share-btn at-svc-linkedin"><span title="LinkedIn" class=" at4-icon aticon-linkedin"></span><span title="LinkedIn" class="label">LinkedIn<span class="at4-share-count-container">1</span></span></a><a style="background-color:rgb(44,168,210)" class="at-share-btn at-svc-twitter"><span title="Twitter" class=" at4-icon aticon-twitter"></span><span title="Twitter" class="label">Twitter<span class="at4-share-count-container">8</span></span></a><a style="background-color:rgb(206,77,57)" class="at-share-btn at-svc-google_plusone_share"><span title="Google+" class=" at4-icon aticon-google_plusone_share"></span><span title="Google+" class="label">Google+</span></a><a style="background-color:rgb(48,88,145)" class="at-share-btn at-svc-facebook"><span title="Facebook" class=" at4-icon aticon-facebook"></span><span title="Facebook" class="label">Facebook<span class="at4-share-count-container">5</span></span></a><a style="background-color:rgb(252,109,76)" class="at-share-btn at-svc-compact"><span title="More" class=" at4-icon aticon-compact"></span><span title="More" class="label">More</span></a></div></div>
<p>Research shows that pupils at the same skills level in a single language will do better in science.</p>
<a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2015-07-23-science-has-its-own-language" title="">
<img src="http://cdn.mg.co.za/crop/content/images/2015/07/23/graphic-oyooedit_landscape.jpg/676x380/" alt="Graphic: John McCann" height="380" width="676">
</a>
<div id="body_content"><p style="">Mother-tongue
education has long been a political powder keg in South Africa. This
started with the 1976 Soweto uprisings when school children staged
protests after Afrikaans became the medium of instruction.</p><p style="">Today,
the country’s policies promote multilingualism.
But its schools are battling with too few African language teachers.
Many teachers are not multilingual. All the high-stakes examinations are
also taken in only English or Afrikaans. </p><p style="">This means
most of South Africa’s 11 official languages take a back seat to English
and Afrikaans when it comes to formal school learning and teaching.</p><p style="">Language
rights are enshrined in South Africa’s Constitution and there’s an
ongoing debate about how best to promote multilingualism in schools. </p><p style="">But
is this debate relevant when it comes to teaching science? My answer is
no. Instead, science should be taught in only one language from grade 4
onwards.</p><p style="">This is a conclusion reached after more than
three decades as a school physics teacher, a science teacher educator
and through sustained research about language for the effective learning
of school science.</p><p style="">In the past five years, this research
has been conducted as part of the language and learning of physical
science project at Wits University’s Marang Centre for Mathematics and
Science Education.</p><p style="">It has involved about 3?500 physical
science pupils from 35 high schools in Johannesburg and teaching
students from Wits. A total of 70 physical science teachers have also
participated. Data has been collected through word tests and structured
interviews.</p><p style="">Science is a practical subject, but it also
has its own language. Teachers must explain what they are doing when
setting up an experiment, for instance, and use everyday language to
clarify complex concepts.</p><p style="">In South African schools, a
language’s appropriateness for learning and teaching is judged mainly by
whether it is the pupils’ mother tongue, no matter what subject is
being taught. </p><p>Teachers assume that, if a pupil is proficient in a language, they’ll be able to cope with the subject matter.</p><p>So, in science, those who speak and are taught in English are presumed to have an advantage. </p><p style="">If
that was the case, all first-language English speakers who are taught
in English would excel in science – but this is simply not true.</p><p style="">That’s
because science classrooms have an entirely different language. A pupil
who is fluent in English will know what “decay” means in an English
lesson or a biology text. In physics, the word means something totally
different.</p><p style="">Our findings over the past five years have
been nearly identical to those in other transnational studies and in my
earlier work. </p><p style="">Teaching students and pupils battle with
the unique language of the science classroom irrespective of gender,
cultural or linguistic backgrounds.</p><p style="">Proficiency in the
language of the science classroom is key, though it’s certainly not the
only factor that will stop people from performing well in the subject. </p><p style="">Our
research suggests that if everyone is at the same level of proficiency
in a single language when they start learning science, it removes a
serious barrier to performance.</p><p>Many of South Africa’s children are still learning in a second or even third language. </p><p style="">The
shortage of qualified African language teachers is a situation that
seems unlikely to improve any time soon. While debates about
multilingualism continue, we cannot sit idle. So why not level the
playing field by using just one language for all learning beyond grade
3?</p><p style="">As to which language this should be, there is evidence
to suggest that many South African parents want their children to be
taught and become proficient in English. English is considered useful
for future studies at tertiary institutions anywhere in the world and is
also the most widely spoken of the 11 official languages globally.</p><p style="">Once
a language has been chosen, the education department can focus on
ensuring that pupils are proficient in it, in much the same way that
schools foster computer literacy. </p><p style="">Pupils will then be
able to learn and perform in science according to their individual
capabilities to handle science concepts without language as an added
handicap.</p><p style="">A similar policy has been pursued elsewhere in
sub-Saharan Africa. In Lusophone countries, Portuguese is the language
of instruction, Francophone countries often use French as the medium of
instruction and Anglophone countries favour English in the classroom.</p><p style="">These
languages hark back to colonial times, which may make people
uncomfortable. But on a practical level they are similar to English –
far more widely spoken globally than any local languages.</p><p style="">This
is not to say that all other official languages as recognised in the
Constitution are irrelevant or that multilingualism shouldn’t have any
place in schools. </p><p>Multilingualism fosters social cohesion and languages are a crucial part of people’s individual cultures.</p><p style="">When
it comes to learning school science, however, the single language
policy is a sustainable one. One language for all school learning will
focus pupils’ efforts on attaining good proficiency levels in it.</p><p style="">The
single language policy therefore has the potential to enhance learning
outcomes and to speedily produce the science skills that South Africa
needs. – <a href="http://theconversation.com">theconversation.com</a></p><p><em>Samuel Ouma Oyoo teaches science education at Wits University</em></p><p><em><a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2015-07-23-science-has-its-own-language">http://mg.co.za/article/2015-07-23-science-has-its-own-language</a><br></em></p></div><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">**************************************<br>N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its members<br>and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal, and to write directly to the original sender of any offensive message. A copy of this may be forwarded to this list as well. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)<br><br>For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to <a href="https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/" target="_blank">https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/</a><br>listinfo/lgpolicy-list<br>*******************************************</div>
</div>