Attitudes of university students towards Sesotho: a case study of students enrolled in Sesotho modules

Language attitudes towards Sesotho remain a largely unexplored area of sociolinguistics in South Africa. African languages in parts of Africa did not enjoy the parity of use in business, justice system, politics and media during colonial and apartheid eras. This limited function given to indigenous languages in formal functions or settings has significantly affected the perceptions of speakers of African languages about their languages. The depravation of African languages an opportunity for equivalent usage in various prestigious domains by the governments that ruled South Africa until the collapse of apartheid has dented African languages. Linguistic practices observed in the education, business and legal system prior democratic rule in South African have not significantly changed. The hegemony of English is still observed. Indigenous languages have yet to play significant roles in society and in strategic sections of the state. This study, therefore, aimed at establishing university students’ attitudes towards one of the formerly marginalised indigenous South African languages, Sesotho. While the primary objective was to establish students’ attitudes, attention was also given to factors which are responsible for the attitudes possessed by university students enrolled in Sesotho towards Sesotho. The study used a multipronged approach in its elicitation of data. Employing both questionnaires and interviews. The findings indicate that there are positive attitudes towards Sesotho among students enrolled for Sesotho modules. Students’ responses largely suggested that they want the language to be meaningfully developed so that it can be actively used in education, particularly higher education. Students also realised the benefits inherent in getting education in their own languages. Moreover, students indicated bilingual practices in teaching practices within lectures may prove to benefit their education in higher education especially at the university which this study used as its research site. This study therefore recommends that practical steps must be taken to advance the use of Sesotho in higher domains. The language question in higher education must be taken seriously. Independent structures and bodies must be established within universities to monitor and enforce adherence to prescriptions as provided in institutional language policies. Institutions must quickly realise impact that indigenous languages can have in the development of the country. The government together with its chapter 9 institutions must actively engage institutions with clear-cut programmes on the elevation of indigenous languages.