The attitudes of teachers and senior pupils towards Xhosa grammar in Alice and Zwelitsha schools

Date
2014-05-27
Authors
Mdaka, Vivienne Nomafa
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This study focussed on the attitudes of senior pupils and teachers towards the teaching and learning of Xhosa grammar in Alice and Zwelitsha schools, in the Eastern Cape Province. Its aims were to establish the attitudes of teachers and pupils towards Xhosa gramm ar, to investigate factors th at contribute to the formation of these attitudes; and to suggest recom m endations for improving these attitudes if necessary. This study reviewed literature on : curriculum context (Grundy’s and Cornbleths’ approaches to curriculum); factors th a t enhance or inhibit successful language learning and teaching; and language attitudes with the purpose of developing a theoretical framework tha t underpinned the study. Using qualitative research methods, the study analysed the responses of 28 participants. The main finding of the study was that generally, the majority of respondents had a negative attitude towards the teaching and learning of Xhosa grammar. The frequently mentioned unpopular components were morphology, phonetics and general knowledge, b u t the most recurring was the last. W hat was striking w as that, although m ost respondents recorded a negative attitude towards gram m ar, when they were asked w hether it should be taught, the majority responded positively. This inconsistency forms the basis of what can be regarded as one of the core findings of this study, that the majority of the respondents were fully cognisant of the importance of grammar in the m astery of a language bu t certain factors em anating from the educational and socio-cultural contexts were responsible for the negative attitude formation towards Xhosa grammar. In addressing the factors emanating from the socio-cultural context, this study recommended that a democratic and an anti-linguistic language policy should be formulated. Communicative language teaching, the teaching of Xhosa grammar in the morning when students are still fresh and alert, and empowering and re-skilling of teachers through providing the necessary pre-service and in-service training were the recommendations suggested to address factors emanating from the educational context. This study concluded (inter alia) by suggesting areas for further research.
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