An evaluation of the use of an e-learning platform in complementing Xhosa language teaching and learning as an additional language

Abstract

Within medical facilities in South Africa, including the Western Cape, language barriers often exist between healthcare professionals and their patients. This can cause a barrier to efficient patient treatment. In order to address this problem, educational institutions in the Western Cape have started to introduce Xhosa language facilitation for healthcare professionals. In order to facilitate the learning of this additional language, the use of e-learning as a complement to traditional classroom lectures was investigated. The students who participated in this Xhosa language facilitation were specifically identified. This study was quantitative in nature and questionnaires were used. It was concluded that the combination of lectures and the complementary e-learning component helps to improve the student’s ability to learn an additional language, in this case Xhosa. Recommendations were made that would possibly alleviate the problem of language barriers in healthcare settings in the Western Cape.