Taxi texts as reading material and a source of cultural schemata for L2 Zulu

Abstract

This paper examines issues surrounding the teaching of culture and reading comprehension in Zulu as a second language in Gauteng primary schools. Given the limited time available for the teaching of Zulu and the lack of availability of comprehensible, authentic texts for learners with limited competence, one solution to the lack of suitable materials for the target group is the use of information found on the backs of taxis as reading material. These texts portray the values, worldviews and beliefs of the authors of the texts which can be incomprehensible and meaningless unless appropriate background knowledge and cultural schemata are present. Those aspects of reading theory and the teaching of culture which fit the needs of the target group are discussed and reasons as to why this taxi genre provides suitable reading material for them are put forward. Using the Vygotskyan notion of the teacher mediating shared meaning between the text and author, the texts are analysed and categorized within the context of Zulu izibongo and customs relating to naming so that interactive, transactionist, aesthetic reading can be supported.

Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2004, 22(3&4): 143–157