Book contents
- The Transformative Power of Language
- The Transformative Power of Language
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Preface
- Abbreviations and Acronyms
- Introduction
- Part I Mental Decolonisation and Cultural Diversity
- Part II Multilingualism and Intellectualisation of African Languages
- Part III Digitalisation and Democratisation of Knowledge
- Part IV Interlingual and Intercultural Cross-Fertilisation
- 14 Orality in the Digital Age
- 15 Interpreting Research in South Africa
- 16 Exploring the Potential of Increasing Epistemological Access for University Students of African Languages through the Translation of English Academic Texts
- 17 Translation in Foreign Language Teaching
- Index
- References
16 - Exploring the Potential of Increasing Epistemological Access for University Students of African Languages through the Translation of English Academic Texts
from Part IV - Interlingual and Intercultural Cross-Fertilisation
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 September 2020
Book contents
- The Transformative Power of Language
- The Transformative Power of Language
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Preface
- Abbreviations and Acronyms
- Introduction
- Part I Mental Decolonisation and Cultural Diversity
- Part II Multilingualism and Intellectualisation of African Languages
- Part III Digitalisation and Democratisation of Knowledge
- Part IV Interlingual and Intercultural Cross-Fertilisation
- 14 Orality in the Digital Age
- 15 Interpreting Research in South Africa
- 16 Exploring the Potential of Increasing Epistemological Access for University Students of African Languages through the Translation of English Academic Texts
- 17 Translation in Foreign Language Teaching
- Index
- References
Summary
This chapter seeks to explore the potential of increasing epistemological access for university students of African languages through the translation of English academic texts. It uses charts and tables to illustrate the negative effects that the scarcity of academic texts written in African languages has on students’ academic performance. A scientific text based on periodontal examination was translated from English to isiXhosa. Thereafter, ten test questions based on this text were drawn up using Bloom’s Taxonomy model. These questions were made available in both English and isiXhosa and were distributed among twenty-five first-year students of an isiXhosa mother tongue course. In this group, thirteen students wrote the test in isiXhosa, while twelve of them wrote it in English. The test results were compared to investigate whether students obtain higher marks when taught and examined in their first language or in their additional language. Ultimately, the researcher tried to investigate whether or not there is a relationship between students’ academic performance and their language of teaching and learning (LoTL). Furthermore, the study investigated the significance of mother-tongue-based education for curriculum access.
Keywords
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Transformative Power of LanguageFrom Postcolonial to Knowledge Societies in Africa, pp. 326 - 350Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020
References
Alexander, N. 2003. The African renaissance and the use of African languages in tertiary education. PRAESA Occasional Papers No. 13. Cape Town: PRAESA, pp. 1–42.Google Scholar
Alexander, N. 2005. The potential role of translation as social practice for the intellectualization of African Languages. PRAESA Occasional Papers No. 33. Cape Town: PRAESA, pp. 1–28.Google Scholar
Alexander, N. 2007. The role of African universities in the intellectualization of African languages. Journal of Higher Education in Africa/Revue de l’enseignement supérieur en Afrique, 5(1): 29–44.Google Scholar
Bamgbose, A. 1991. Language and the Nation: The Language Question in Sub-Saharan Africa. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.Google Scholar
Brock-Utne, B. & Skattum, I. 2009. Languages and Education in Africa: A Comparative and Transdisciplinary Analysis. Oxford: Symposium Books Ltd.Google Scholar
Bryman, A. 2012. Social Research Methods (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Cummins, J. 1989. The sanitized curriculum: Educational disempowerment in a nation at risk. In: Johnson, D. M. and Roen, D. H. (eds.), Richness in Writing: Empowering ESL Students. New York: Longman.Google Scholar
Hlongwa, Nobuhle. 2009. Ukuhlelwa Kolwimi: IsiZulu Language Planning Manual. Pietermaritzburg, Cape Town: Shuter & Shooter Publishers, pp. 1–181.Google Scholar
Heugh, K. 2003. Language policy and democracy in South Africa. Published PhD thesis. Centre for Research on Bilingualism. Stockholm University.Google Scholar
Maseko, P. 2011. Intellectualisation of African languages with particular reference to isiXhosa. Unpublished PhD thesis. Grahamstown: Rhodes University.Google Scholar
Mawonga, S. 2015. Bilingual teaching practices in South African higher education: Making a case for terminology planning. Unpublished MA thesis, Rhodes University, Grahamstown.Google Scholar
Mawonga, S., Maseko, P., & Nkomo, D. 2014. The centrality of translation in the development of African languages for use in South African higher education institutions: A case study of a political science English-isiXhosa glossary in a South African university. Alternation Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of the Arts and Humanities in Southern Africa, Special Edition, 17: 55–79.Google Scholar
Mbude-Shale, N. B. N. 2013. Exploring the correlation between language medium and academic achievement: A comparative study of the language of learning and teaching (LoLT) and mathematics results in the 2010 grade 12 National Senior Certificate Examinations in the Eastern Cape. Unpublished MA thesis, Rhodes University, Grahamstown.Google Scholar
McNelly, C. A. 2015. Language learning policy through the lens of language as a problem, as a right and as a resource. NABE Journal of Research and Practice, 6: 1–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mesthrie, R. 2008. Necessary versus sufficient conditions for using new languages in South African higher education: A linguistic appraisal. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 29(4): 325–340.Google Scholar
Mkhize, N. 2016. Away with Good Bantus: De-linking African language literature from culture, ‘tribe’ and propriety. Sage Journals, 15(1): 146–152. Article first published online: 19 January 2016. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474022215613600Google Scholar
Obanya, P. 2004. Learning in, with, and from the first language. PRAESA Occasional Papers No. 19, pp. 1–30.Google Scholar
Paxton, M. I. J. 2009. ‘It’s easy to learn when you using your home language but with English, you need to start learning the language before you get to the concept’: Bilingual concept development in an English medium university in South Africa. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 30(4): 345–359.Google Scholar
Planas, N. & Setati-phakeng, M. 2014. On the process of gaining language as a resource in mathematics education. FIZ Karlsruhe, 10(46): 883–893.Google Scholar
Probyn, M. 2015. Pedagogical translanguaging: Bridging discourses in South African science classrooms. Language and Education, 29(3): 218–234.Google Scholar
Seddon, G. M. 1978. The properties of Bloom’s Taxonomy of educational objectives for the cognitive domain. American Educational Research Association, 48(2): 303–323.Google Scholar
Tashakkori, A. & Teddlie, C. 2003. Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social & Behavioral Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Venkatesh, V., Brown, S. A., & Sullivan, Y. W. 2013. Guidelines for conducting mixed-methods research: An extension and illustration. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 17(7): 435–495.Google Scholar
Von Witt, N. 2013. Cracking the code: An exploration of codeswitching used by Mathematics and Natural Science and Technology teachers at a Grahamstown School. Rhodes University: Grahamstown.Google Scholar
Wababa, Z. 2009. How scientific terms are learnt in intermediate phase. Unpublished MA thesis, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch.Google Scholar