Language planning and education policy in botswana by. There are a total of 3 institutional languages, 10 developing languages, vigorous languages and 3 languages that are in trouble. The substudies focus on issues ranging from language choice, proficiency levels in the namibian languages to other aspects around teacher education and development. Civil war made teaching in any language unproductive. 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. A majority of the population speaks tswana, but there are over 20 much smaller languages. Language of instruction policy and practice in africa. Language planning and education policy in botswana by lydia.
Setswana is the only local language that is used in national life and english as the official language. There are 29 languages listed in botswana, all of which are living languages lewis, et al, 20. Moreover, in practice, botswana arguably boasts among the highest pc penetration in education institutions in africa. The report provides a critical evidence base for responding to the changing development context. Setswana is spoken by about 90% of the population either as mothertongue or as a second language in botswana.
In 1985, it was renamed the institute of national african languages roycampbell, 176. Language policies are expressions of a longlasting linguistic culturei. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Growth in botswana will be affected by the levelling off of diamond. 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. Language policy and practice in botswana in the context of. Sekalanga, spoken by the bakalanga, is the most commonly used of. He is currently a final year doctorate student in the institute of linguistics, university of vienna.
Given this multilingual situation in botswana, the challenges of implementing the language ineducation policy are still daunting. The botswana national drug policy bndp shall act as a crucial tool in the attainment of the goals of vision 2016. Botswana international network for language education policy. 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. English, which was inherited from colonial rule see.
Sachs and warner 1995 report regression results showing that being a natural resource or mineral exporter reduces a countrys devel. The impact of language policy and practice on childrens learning. They have also been the subject of formal public comment following their publication on 9 may 1997 government notice no. 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.
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. 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. Despite the fact that indigenous languages are invaluable carriers of environmental education, the current language policy in botswana does not provide room. Language policy and planning in botswana, malawi, mozambique and south africa. In 1977, the government created the national language institute to assist with the implementation of language policy. The following lessons have been designed to suit any new learner in setswana who has had little or no exposure to setswana language.
This chapter addresses the status of the sebirwa language in botswana in relation to the countrys language and education policy. 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. However there was just sufficient understanding of the commitment to womens advancement by the world body to encourage botswana to set up. It belongs to the nigercongo language family within the sotho languages. The language policy, cultural rights and the law in botswana. The medium of education is setswana for the 1 st 4 years, thereafter english. The tswana language or setswana is a language spoken in southern africa. Another arabization push began in 1989 an d culminated in law no. Policies in botswana global database on the implementation.
Fortyfive countries are represented, and understandably, the languages are listed on the map close to the. Languages in botswana download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. 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. In sum, literacy in botswana, among the educated and the tobe educated is associated with speaking and reading english. According to nyatiramahobo 2004, botswanas language education policy is not written. 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. 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. The policy and programmes prescriptions in prsps can have a direct andor indirect impact on the child labour situation in the country. A critique of botswanas language policy from a translanguaging. Chinese, gujarati, hai om, hindi, luyana, northern sotho, southern sotho, xhiosa, and zulu.
A study of the summarizing strategies used by esl first year science students at the university of botswana. English is the official language and setswana is the national language. There are also immigrant languages in botswana which include. This necessitated the formulation of the ecce policy of.
Documents such as the national constitution merely allude to language policy, but stop short of fully declaring a position. The language policy of botswana has in many ways caused the promotion of. Journal of the botswana educational research association i, 23. 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. View essay botswana language policy from ell 361 at ashford university. This paper critiques the language practices and language ineducation policy of botswana from a translanguaging perspective. A sociolinguistic survey of the languages of botswana. It is the language of national unity and cultural identity in a country situated in a politically and economically unstable. Botswana language policy botswana language policy nikeisha.
Click download or read online button to get languages in botswana book now. For example, bazezuru are found in some areas of botswana such as gaborone, serowe and francistown and other villages but in small numbers. As the years went by, there was a rapid increase in the num ber of women. There are 29 languages listed in botswana, all of which are living languages.
Global database on the implementation of nutrition action gina submit. However, there are indications that urban agriculture is growing and is contributing considerably to income generation, employment creation and poverty alleviation hovorka 2004. 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. 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. The language in education policy documents which follow have been the subject of discussions and debate. 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. Mothertongue education in botswana international journal of. Language policy and practice in botswana in the context of education for sustainable development. Most of them originated from zimbabwe but settled in botswana a long time ago. The impact of language policy on education in botswana. Given this multilingual situation in botswana, the challenges of implementing the languageineducation policy are still daunting. Botswana is one of the countries that were formally governed by britain. In some african states, the costs monetary, human, and temporal of civil war, rapidly varying commodity prices, human resources shortages, the aids epidemic, etc. Botswana also has many dying languages and also many expanding languages.
In particular, implementing the transitional bilingual. Tswana language simple english wikipedia, the free. 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. 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. The national language as a language of instruction in. Children speaking minority languages would be allowed to learn in their mother tongue. 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. The revised national policy on education, april 1994. Labour and home lands and housing language leavers ministry of. 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. Language policy and planning in botswana, malawi, mozambique. Bechuanaland protectorate, is the official business language of botswana, and most written communication is in english.
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. Education in botswana is free for the first 10 years, which completes the cycle through middle school. 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. 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. Implementing the transitional bilingual education policy in. Integrating information and communication technology in. It is closely related to the northern and southern sotho languages.
This paper uses a translanguaging approach to critique botswanas language planning and languageineducation policy. Botswana ifap seat holder computer science and information systems b. The official language of botswana is english although setswana is widely spoken across the country. Implementing the transitional bilingual education policy. Botswana international cooperation and development. This article explores language practice in botswana in the context of disseminating information related to environmental issues. Travelling around botswana learn to speak setswana. The policy interest on urban agriculture was necessitated by the following. Language policies in african states updated, january 2012. Below is the link to past and the most recent prsps for this country in the published language.
The current languageineducation policy in botswana requires the use of setswana as a language of instruction at standard 1 in public schools. The first 7 years of this are at primary school, where the pupilteacher ratio is approximately to 1. The medium of education is setswana for the 1 st 4 years, thereafter english middle education. 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. Inleps, the international network of language education policy studies, focuses on issues related to language policies in schools and education worldwide. When linguistic diversity is viewed as a resource, policy statements in. The bantu language of kgalagadi, also known as kalahari, is spoken by about 40,000 people in botswana and namibia. 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. 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. 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.
The official languages of botswana are english and tswana. In botswana, kgalagadi speakers account for about 3. Lessons for botswana 735 relegated indigenousmarginalized languages to the background. English, which was inherited from colonial rule, is the official business language of botswana, and most written communication is in english. 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. By so doing, it revisits our commonly held perceptions about. 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. According to the revised national policy on education government of botswana, 1994, p. The authors are indigenous and have been participants. An introduction to the setswana language setswana is one of the bantu language groups, mostly spoken in botswana, south africa and namibia southern africa. 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. Implementation of the languageineducation policy and. 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. 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.
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