XiTsonga and school language policy formulation and implementation: the case of senior secondary schools in Ivory Park informal settlement

Abstract

South Africa has a long history of linguistic imbalances in senior secondary schools. In the past, learners in township schools were made to use English for teaching and learning, instead of their indigenous home languages. There are 11 official home languages in South Africa. In order to redress these past injustices in educational provision, the government developed the Language In Education Policy to work as a guideline for the formulation and implementation of school language policy in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. The government indicated that school governing bodies (SGBs) should establish language committees in an attempt to solve the language policy issues in schools and redress past inequities. However, to date there has been no common practice by school language policy developers and implementers that indicates a common understanding of this activity and recognition of the national School Language Policy documents.