A recent study in a Cape Town school found that teaching and testing science topics in both English and students' home language, isiXhosa, produced significantly better results than using English only. The study involved 168 Grade 4 learners who were given a bilingual science textbook in English and isiXhosa. The findings showed that children were more engaged in their learning, contributed more to class discussions, and wrote more in their exercise books.
The bilingual approach was implemented in a no-fee school in Khayelitsha, Western Cape, which attracts learners from a wide area due to its good reputation. The school's language policy was English medium in all subjects, but the principal agreed to trial the bilingual approach in science for the study. One class was given a bilingual test, while the others wrote the conventional English-only test. The results showed that students who wrote the bilingual test scored an 86% pass rate, compared to 51% for those who wrote the English-only test.
Parents of the students in the study expressed their satisfaction with the programme during a feedback session. They appreciated how the bilingual textbook connected them with their child's learning at home, enabling them to engage more with their child's schoolwork. Parents reported that their children taught them about science and made links between the world around them and the concepts they were learning at school.
The study's findings suggest that bilingual classroom teaching and assessment could be used more widely in South Africa's public basic education system, which serves around 12.7 million learners. Currently, 80% of learners are taught through a language that is not their home language. The study's results indicate that well-resourced mother-tongue bilingual science lessons and tests can improve Grade 4 performance and parent involvement.
Despite the dominance of English in society, which often leads to a perception that English-only education is better for future success, research shows that English-only education contributes to low achievement in subjects like mathematics and science. The study's findings highlight the importance of informing parents about the benefits of bilingual learning and providing them with exposure to strong models of bilingual education.
The bilingual science study demonstrates that when a bilingual programme is well-resourced with teaching, assessment, and bilingual learning materials, it can produce excellent results. Parents who are well-informed about bilingual learning support it, appreciating the positive impact on their children's full participation in learning, both in school and outside.
The study's results have implications for the implementation of bilingual education in South Africa. Parents want to know if mother-tongue based bilingual education will be rolled out across the country and in all grades. The study's findings suggest that scalable bilingual education is possible, and it is essential to ensure that parents understand the benefits of this approach.
Key points
- Bilingual science tests improved student performance, with an 86% pass rate compared to 51% for English-only tests.
- Parents supported the bilingual programme, citing its positive impact on their engagement with their child's learning.
- The study's findings suggest that well-resourced bilingual education can be implemented on a larger scale in South Africa's public basic education system.
