FET education

English summary:

Multilingualism is a reality in South African classrooms. The Constitution of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996) and the national language policy recognize language rights and aims at supporting, promoting and developing the official languages. However, despite the advantages of mother tongue education, English is often chosen as language of learning and teaching at the cost of the African official languages. This study proposes the accommodation and promotion of multilingualism through blended learning.

Blended learning refers to the blending of traditional instruction methods, such as face-to-face instruction, with other forms of instruction such as online learning and teaching. Through a discussion of asynchronous and synchronous learning tools it was established that wikis would be used for this study. In terms of blended learning and learning theories the main emphasis in this study is on socio-constructivism as well as communal constructivism.

The empirical research in this study focused on the establishment and testing of a conceptual model for the accommodation and promotion of multilingualism through blended learning in the subject IT. The research took the form of a sequential embedded mixed methods design. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used. A questionnaire was used with IT teachers to investigate the language and blended learning context. This was followed up with qualitative research in the form of interviews aimed at provincial and national experts in terms of the subject IT and e-learning. Based on the literature and these two investigations, a conceptual model was developed. The conceptual model’s effectiveness was tested through a quasi-experimental study. A questionnaire was also completed by the respondents at the schools after the completion of the study. Through the testing of the effectiveness of the conceptual model it was found that multilingualism could successfully be accommodated and promoted through this conceptual model.



Afrikaans summary:

Meertaligheid is ’n werklikheid in Suid-Afrikaanse klaskamers. Die Grondwet van Suid-Afrika (Wet 108 van 1996) en die nasionale taalbeleid erken taalregte en het die ondersteuning, uitbreiding en ontwikkeling van die amptelike tale ten doel. Hierteenoor, ten spyte van die voordele van moedertaalonderwys, word Engels dikwels as taal van onderrig en leer gekies ten koste van die Afrikatale wat amptelike tale is. Hierdie studie stel die akkommodering en uitbreiding van meertaligheid deur gemengde leer voor.

Gemengde leer verwys na die mengsel van tradisionele onderrigmetodes, soos gesig-tot-gesig-onderrig, met ander vorme van onderrig soos aanlynonderrig en -leer. Deur ’n bespreking van asinchrone en sinchrone leertegnologie is bepaal dat wiki’s vir hierdie studie gebruik sal word. Met betrekking tot gemengde leer en leerteorieë was die fokus van hierdie studie op sosio-konstruktivisme sowel as gemeenskapskonstruktivisme.

Die empiriese navorsing van hierdie studie het op die daarstelling en toetsing van ’n konseptuele model vir die akkommodering en uitbreiding van meertaligheid deur gemengde leer in die vak IT gefokus. Die navorsing was in die vorm van ’n sekwensiële, insluitende gemengde metode ontwerp. Beide kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe benaderings is gevolg. ’n Vraelys is aan IT-onderwysers gestuur om die konteks in terme van taal en gemengde leer te bepaal. Dit is opgevolg deur kwalitatiewe navorsing in die vorm van onderhoude met die provinsiale en nasionele kenners van die vak IT en e-leer. Op grond van die literatuur en die twee ondersoeke is ’n konseptuele model ontwikkel. Die konseptuele model se effektiwiteit is gemeet deur middel van ’n kwasi-eksperimentele studie. ’n Vraelys is ook deur die respondente by die skole voltooi nadat die studie voltooi is. Daar is, na aanleiding van die toetsing van die effektiwiteit van die konseptuele model, bevind dat meertaligheid suksesvol deur die konseptuele model geakkommodeer en uitgebrei kan word.