A problem-oriented, form-focused course design for teaching isiZulu as an additional language

Abstract

This article describes the development of a university course for mother-tongue isiZulu students on the learning and teaching of isiZulu as an additional language at school level. The course was developed at a university in KwaZulu-Natal for second and third year students in the general BA degree and was based on three fundamental principles: (i) that learning should be task and problem-based leading to reflection; (ii) that tasks and materials should include authentic and relevant content and data for problem-solving; and (iii) that the students would derive more from an instructional context that made use of their mother tongue as well as English. The course design and methodology draw on research into teacher thinking and cognition which lays emphasis on consciousness-raising and reflection while the course content conveyed in worksheets and seminar inputs draws on psycholinguistic theories of second language acquisition with emphasis on developmental processes. The course is described with the focus on the main research assignment as an example of the task-based, mediated approach used in the course. A case is made for the explicit focus on form encouraged by the worksheets because of the structural nature of the language in question and the challenges it poses for learners, and also for the use of complementary languages of instruction.

Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2013, 31(2): 219–233