Managing Instructional Challenges: Strategies Employed By Teachers in Supporting Multilingual Primary School Learners in South Africa

Abstract

We investigated strategies employed by teachers in supporting non-isiXhosa speaking primary school learners in South Africa’s Mthatha district. IsiXhosa is the language of learning and teaching (LOLT) in the schools. This qualitative study adopted a case study design. Data were collected from seven purposively sampled teachers using face-to-face tape recorded interviews. Data were thematically analysed. Results revealed that teachers employed the generic teaching strategies mainly grouping and code-switching. Barriers militating against effective learning and teaching included: using isiXhosa, learner absenteeism and indiscipline, and limited parental involvement. We implore teachers to use multi-pronged teaching strategies in linguistically diverse classrooms alongside implementing the national language policy.