Editor: Viv Edwards (University of Reading, UK)
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Volume: 16 Number: 2 Page: 128–149
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Incomplete Journeys: Code-switching and Other Language Practices in Mathematics, Science and English Language Classrooms in South Africa
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Mamokgethi Setati, Jill Adler, Yvonne Reed and Abdool Bapoo
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In this paper we describe and discuss the language practices of mathematics, science and English language teachers and learners in a sample of urban and rural, primary and secondary schools in South Africa.
We focus particularly on the reception and production of language through code-switching, exploratory talk and discourse-specific talk. We situate the article in the policy and practice environment of post-apartheid
South African education in which additive bi/multilingualism is officially advocated. We use the metaphor of a journey to describe how teachers and learners move from informal, exploratory talk in learners'
main languages to discourse-specific talk and writing in English. A key finding from our study is that few teachers and learners completed this complex journey and that the constraints differed across classroom
context, level and subject being taught.
© Multilingual Matters 2002
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