The impact of language policy and practice on childrens learning argues that improved evidence, networking, southtosouth learning and advocacy are going to be crucial to create a focus on mothertongue education environments. When linguistic diversity is viewed as a resource, policy statements in. It is closely related to the northern and southern sotho languages. The language policy, cultural rights and the law in botswana. This paper presents the language policy in botswana within this legal framework, the impact of the policy on linguistic and cultural rights and the longstanding agitation of the unrecognized groups for such rights. This paper critiques the language practices and languageineducation policy of botswana from a translanguaging perspective. It was little known that a colonial language policy was embedded within the chieftainship act of 1933, which recognizes the tswanaspeaking ethnic groups as the only tribes, with sovereignty over land, and.
Arabic is the only official language of the nationfrench is regarded as a foreign language and is taught starting from the fourth year of the primary level mostari, 29. The official languages of botswana are english and tswana. English is the official language and setswana is the national language. The practice of social policy in botswana lengwekatembula mw ansa, taglo lucas, kwaku oseihwedie introduction thispaper is a product of the social policy project, sponsored by the international developmentcentre idrc, canada, tofoster acommon understanding ofsocial policiesasthey impact on socioeconomic development processes in southern and.
Sekalanga, spoken by the bakalanga, is the most commonly used of. Good governance, good policies, and good luck 83 the counterintuitive notion that the endowment of natural resources is a curse rather than a blessing has become received wisdom. Travelling around botswana learn to speak setswana. Setswana is spoken by about 90% of the population either as mothertongue or as a second language in botswana. Below is the link to past and the most recent prsps for this country in the published language. Chinese, gujarati, hai om, hindi, luyana, northern sotho, southern sotho, xhiosa, and zulu. The following lessons have been designed to suit any new learner in setswana who has had little or no exposure to setswana language.
Language planning and education policy in botswana by lydia. The medium of education is setswana for the 1 st 4 years, thereafter english. For example, bazezuru are found in some areas of botswana such as gaborone, serowe and francistown and other villages but in small numbers. However there was just sufficient understanding of the commitment to womens advancement by the world body to encourage botswana to set up a womens affairs unit in 1981. Botswanaeu policy dialogue facility 20192022 the facility is designed to encourage and respond to requests from botswana stakeholders for policy dialogues and technical assistance to reinforce the relationships in areas of common concern that are considered priorities by the government of botswana. A case study of selected junior secondary schools in botswana mbizo mafuraga, mbiganyi moremi botswana international university of science and technology abstract the paper discusses how information and communication technology ict could be integrated in the teaching of english language in botswana junior secondary schools. Language policy and practice in botswana in the context of. Not only does it boast a liberal telecoms policy, its education and national ict policies are linked to a broader economic vision for the country. However, there are indications that urban agriculture is growing and is contributing considerably to income generation, employment creation and poverty alleviation hovorka 2004. Botswana is one of the countries that were formally governed by britain. Botswana, malawi and mozambique are not well represented in the international language policy planning literature, while the south african section draws together the published literature in this area. This necessitated the formulation of the ecce policy of. A critique of botswanas language policy from a translanguaging.
The tswana language or setswana is a language spoken in southern africa. Policies in botswana global database on the implementation. The language policy of botswana has in many ways caused the promotion of. English, which was inherited from colonial rule see. As the years went by, there was a rapid increase in the num ber of women. Bechuanaland protectorate, is the official business language of botswana, and most written communication is in english.
He is currently a final year doctorate student in the institute of linguistics, university of vienna. Botswana language policy botswana language policy nikeisha. The official language of botswana is english although setswana is widely spoken across the country. In 1977, the government created the national language institute to assist with the implementation of language policy. There are a total of 3 institutional languages, 10 developing languages, vigorous languages and 3 languages that are in trouble. Implementation of the languageineducation policy and. A majority of the population speaks tswana, but there are over 20 much smaller languages. English, which was inherited from colonial rule, is the official business language of botswana, and most written communication is in english. Tswana language simple english wikipedia, the free.
Another arabization push began in 1989 an d culminated in law no. Language planning and education policy in botswana by. The language in education policy documents which follow have been the subject of discussions and debate with a wide range of education stakeholders and roleplayers. According to nyatiramahobo 2004, botswanas language education policy is not written. The revised national policy on education, april 1994. Botswanas role as chair of sadc from 2015 to 2016 has reinvigorated debate in the country over the need for a structured foreign policy framework. This paper critiques the language practices and language ineducation policy of botswana from a translanguaging perspective. It belongs to the nigercongo language family within the sotho languages.
The substudies focus on issues ranging from language choice, proficiency levels in the namibian languages to other aspects around teacher education and development. Setswana is the only local language that is used in national life and english as the official language. In some african states, the costs monetary, human, and temporal of civil war, rapidly varying commodity prices, human resources shortages, the aids epidemic, etc. View essay botswana language policy from ell 361 at ashford university. There are also immigrant languages in botswana which include. The authors are indigenous and have been participants. Labour and home lands and housing language leavers ministry of. Growth in botswana will be affected by the levelling off of diamond. The policy interest on urban agriculture was necessitated by the following. According to the revised national policy on education government of botswana, 1994, p. The report provides a critical evidence base for responding to the changing development context.
Language of instruction policy and practice in africa. Given this multilingual situation in botswana, the challenges of implementing the language ineducation policy are still daunting. Integrating information and communication technology in. The language in education policy documents which follow have been the subject of discussions and debate.
Moreover, in practice, botswana arguably boasts among the highest pc penetration in education institutions in africa. In 1985, it was renamed the institute of national african languages roycampbell, 176. The bantu language of kgalagadi, also known as kalahari, is spoken by about 40,000 people in botswana and namibia. Given this multilingual situation in botswana, the challenges of implementing the languageineducation policy are still daunting. There are 29 languages listed in botswana, all of which are living languages lewis, et al, 20. Home affairs immediately implementation junior certificate junior secondary education labour and home lands and housing language leavers ministry of education ministry of labour monitoring national council national development plan outofschool. Implementing the transitional bilingual education policy in.
This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Children speaking minority languages would be allowed to learn in their mother tongue. Education in botswana is free for the first 10 years, which completes the cycle through middle school. The national language as a language of instruction in. Founded on the principles of the botswana national health policy, it aims at ensuring access to good quality, essential healthcare by all citizens of botswana, as well as assuring equitable distribution and utilization of resources and services. The current languageineducation policy in botswana requires the use of setswana as a language of instruction at standard 1 in public schools. This article explores language practice in botswana in the context of disseminating information related to environmental issues. The paper recommends that policy planners should recognise the existence of botswana english and its influence on learners acquisition of english, and appropriately reflect this in language. The medium of education is setswana for the 1 st 4 years, thereafter english middle education. In setswana, prefixes are more important than they are in many other languages, since setswana is a bantu language and has noun classes denoted by these prefixes. In sum, literacy in botswana, among the educated and the tobe educated is associated with speaking and reading english. The current languageineducation policy recommends the use of setswana at standard one with a switch to english at standard two. Language planning and education policy in botswana.
Negotiation with hegemony by wendo nabea department of linguistics, university of vienna, vienna, austria the author teaches linguistics at egerton university, kenya. The impact of language policy and practice on childrens. This volume covers the language situation in botswana, malawi, mozambique and south africa explaining the linguistic diversity, the historical and political contexts and the current language situation, including languageineducation planning, the role of the media, the role of religion, and the roles of nonindigenous languages. Language policy and planning in botswana, malawi, mozambique.
Botswana international network for language education policy. Policy of 1980 proved to be outdated as it ran short of address ing issues such as standards and regulations, training of teach ers, curriculum development, and support of different types of programs such as children under the age of two years and community involvement or participation. Peace corps botswana an introduction to the setswana language setswana is one of the bantu language groups, mostly spoken in botswana, south africa and namibia southern africa. Botswana international cooperation and development. Language policies are expressions of a longlasting linguistic culturei. This paper uses a translanguaging approach to critique botswanas language planning and languageineducation policy.
They have also been the subject of formal public comment following their publication on 9 may 1997 government notice no. Sachs and warner 1995 report regression results showing that being a natural resource or mineral exporter reduces a countrys devel. Botswana ifap seat holder computer science and information systems b. Inleps, the international network of language education policy studies, focuses on issues related to language policies in schools and education worldwide. This article examines the use of the national language, setswana, as the language of instruction in linguistically and ethnically complex primary schools in botswana, and the dilemmas it presents. This volume covers the language situation in botswana, malawi, mozambique and south africa explaining the linguistic diversity, the historical and political contexts and the current language situation, including language ineducation planning, the role of the media, the role of religion, and the roles of nonindigenous languages. Ict literacy policy botswana study and report by botswana ifap committee 9th session of the intergovernmental council for the ifap 30 may 2016 31 may 2016 unesco headquarters paris, france dimane mpoeleng, ph.
This chapter addresses the status of the sebirwa language in botswana in relation to the countrys language and education policy. Mothertongue education in botswana international journal of. Language policy and practice in botswana in the context of education for sustainable development. In particular, implementing the transitional bilingual. Language of instruction policy and practice in africa ayo bamgbose preliminary information and comments this text is intended to accompany the map entitled african community languages and their use in education. Global database on the implementation of nutrition action gina submit. Documents such as the national constitution merely allude to language policy, but stop short of fully declaring a position. Language policy and planning in botswana, malawi, mozambique and south africa. An introduction to the setswana language setswana is one of the bantu language groups, mostly spoken in botswana, south africa and namibia southern africa. Most of them originated from zimbabwe but settled in botswana a long time ago. Despite the fact that indigenous languages are invaluable carriers of environmental education, the current language policy in botswana does not provide room. Lessons for botswana 735 relegated indigenousmarginalized languages to the background.
Civil war made teaching in any language unproductive. However there was just sufficient understanding of the commitment to womens advancement by the world body to encourage botswana to set up. Journal of the botswana educational research association i, 23. Language policies in african states updated, january 2012.
There are 29 languages listed in botswana, all of which are living languages. A sociolinguistic survey of the languages of botswana. The botswana national drug policy bndp shall act as a crucial tool in the attainment of the goals of vision 2016. Click download or read online button to get languages in botswana book now. The impact of language policy on education in botswana. In botswana, kgalagadi speakers account for about 3.
We begin with an overview of linguistic demographics in botswana and then turn to the specific situation of sebirwa, presenting evidence for its marginalized, and indeed endangered, status. With respect to language policy, the commission recommends that the national setswana language council be renamed the botswana languages council and be given revised terms of reference, including the responsibility for developing a comprehensive language policy p. Setswana is the mother tongue of approximately 80% of the population and is the second language of an additional 10% nyatiramahobo, as cited in adeyemi, 2008, making it the national lingua franca. A study of the summarizing strategies used by esl first year science students at the university of botswana. The policy and programmes prescriptions in prsps can have a direct andor indirect impact on the child labour situation in the country. Fortyfive countries are represented, and understandably, the languages are listed on the map close to the. By so doing, it revisits our commonly held perceptions about. While english is the official language and setswana the national language, there are over 20 other languages spoken in botswana, which are mostly used by the nonsetswanaspeaking groups. Botswana also has many dying languages and also many expanding languages. The intergovernmental conference on language policies in africa, which was held in harare zimbabwe from 17 21 march 1997, was the first meeting of its kind involving language specialists attending as governmental experts and doing the preparatory work for and advising. It is the language of national unity and cultural identity in a country situated in a politically and economically unstable. The first 7 years of this are at primary school, where the pupilteacher ratio is approximately to 1.
This means that the two groups learn setswana as a second language and english as a foreign language as compared to their counterparts from other ethnic groups. The impact of language policy and practice on childrens learning. Languages in botswana download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. Implementing the transitional bilingual education policy.
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