The study sought to investigate the role played by language in the academic performance of science students at a high school in the Free State province, South Africa who are taught through a language different from their mother tongue. The paper reports on the decisive mantle language plays in the comprehension and subsequent scholastic…

We argue that opening a space for dialogic, imaginative writing in the classroom can create entry points for a culturally responsive writing pedagogy (CRWP). We explore how collaborative writing for a pre-existing community digital platform (FundZa) and audience aids the implementation of CRWP in a creative writing course for South African…

This chapter analyses interviews with 13 African scholars from a range of countries who are currently working at a South African university. The interviews explore aspects of their migration journeys and the role that language, particularly the English language, has played in their mobility. The majority of the participants originate from…

This paper explores tensions in translating multilingual language policy to classroom linguistic practice, and especially the paradoxical role of and demand for English as a tool of decolonization for multilingual populations seeking equitable access to a globalizing economy. We take an ecological and sociolinguistic approach, depicting tensions…

In this article, the authors briefly describe key issues central to what Spring (2007) refers to as the "industrial-consumer paradigm" and the role of English as the global language characterized by what Harvey (1990) called "time and space compression." The authors also comment and provide a critique of some of its primary…

Investigates the implications of language in education policy in post apartheid South Africa, for both schools and universities, examining recommendations of the Language Task Action Group (LANGTAG), which was delegated to establish South Africa's language-related needs and policies across different societal domains. The paper supports a proposed…

The present Information Circular covering the language situation in East Africa has been prepared as a bibliographic reference tool for specialists, universities, and libraries. The introductory section describes the work of EARIC (East African Research Information Centre), which is sponsored by the East African Academy and financed by the Ford…

The account of language use in Accra, capital of Ghana, focuses on the social history of language use and on issues of language choice in a multilingual society. The first chapter gives an account of a language dispute that demonstrates both literally and symbolically the historically rooted relationships of the four main languages of Accra: Ga,…

Language policy and language usage trends in Nigerian education are examined, particularly as they concern the role of Anglo-Nigerian Pidgin (ANP), an inter-ethnic lingua franca. Language policy and practice for official and native languages both before and since Nigerian independence are chronicled. Results of a survey of 240 individuals in six…

Anglo-Nigerian Pidgin (ANP), the principal lingua franca of intercultural communication in multiethnic Nigeria, has no recognition as an official language but has penetrated the print and electronic media, especially in southern Nigeria. A survey in six urban centers in southern Nigeria, part of a larger study, investigated the status,…

A discussion of the choice of official languages in Nigeria first gives an overview of the current language situation in Nigeria, particularly of indigenous language usage, sketches the history of English, French, and Anglo-Nigerian Pidgin (ANP) both before and after independence, outlines the main proposals for language planning, and draws some…

This book contains 22 studies relating to the social implications of multilingualism in Eastern Africa. The first section, "General and Theoretical Studies," contains papers on national languages and languages of wider communication in developing nations; the communication roles of languages in multilingual societies; the social and…

The apartheid state deliberately encouraged linguistic diversity and actively built cultural infrastructures which impeded Anglicisation. With the end of apartheid has come "de facto" Anglicisation. So although South Africa has, since 1994, had 11 official languages, in reality, English is swamping the other 10 languages. Afrikaans has,…

In this investigation of education, conducted in South West Africa/Namibia, it was found that the medium of instruction was one of the basic causes of the teaching and educational problems experienced at schools. In South West Africa/Namibia, several languages, including English and Afrikaans as official languages, are involved in the…