Translanguaging in Mathematics and Life Skills classrooms in the Foundation Phase schools in Mopani District: A case study of Khelovedu dialect

South African Journal of Childhood Education

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Translanguaging in Mathematics and Life Skills classrooms in the Foundation Phase schools in Mopani District: A case study of Khelovedu dialect
 
Creator Ramothwala, Tsebo Cekiso, Madoda Mandende, Itani P.
 
Subject — dialects; translanguaging; Khelovedu; Northern Sotho; Foundation Phase; monolingualism; bilingualism; multilingualism
Description Background: The usage of dialects in South African classrooms is prohibited, and this puts dialectal learners at a disadvantage. To address challenges faced by dialectal learners, this article explores the use of Khelovedu as a dialect through the translingual approach.Aim: The article aims to explore the instances of translanguaging in the Foundation Phase (FP) classrooms during Mathematics and Life Skills lessons.Setting: This study was carried out at a rural primary school in Mopani district, Limpopo province, South Africa.Methods: This study employed a qualitative approach with a case study design, utilising a purposive sample of four FP teachers and 129 learners for data collection. The data were collected through classroom observations and analysed using content analysis.Results: The findings revealed that FP teachers used the Khelovedu dialect through the translingual approach to teach Mathematics and Life Skills. The findings suggest that incorporating dialects in the classroom provides more advantages than disadvantages.Conclusion: This article concludes that the usage of dialects in the classroom benefits learners optimally. It is therefore recommended that teachers and the Department of Basic Education adopt the translingual approach as a tool to accomplish communicative goals and to enhance learners’ understanding.Contribution: Using the translanguaging theory, this article framed dialects such as Khelovedu as a valuable resource rather than an interference in learning. This article therefore contributes towards the formulation of policies that permit the usage of dialects in education.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2025-06-20
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — observations
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/sajce.v15i1.1691
 
Source South African Journal of Childhood Education; Vol 15, No 1 (2025); 9 pages 2223-7682 2223-7674
 
Language eng
 
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The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/1691/3384 https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/1691/3385 https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/1691/3386 https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/1691/3387
 
Coverage — — —
Rights Copyright (c) 2025 Tsebo Ramothwala, Madoda Cekiso, Itani P. Mandende https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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