Learning concepts, language, and literacy in hybrid linguistic codes: the multilingual maze of urban grade 1 classrooms in South Africa
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Date
2012-09
Authors
Henning, Elizabeth
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of Education, University of the Free State
Abstract
From the field of developmental psycholinguistics and from conceptual development theory there is
evidence that excessive linguistic ‘code-switching’ in early school education may pose some hazards for
the learning of young multilingual children. In this article the author addresses the issue, invoking post-
Piagetian and neo-Vygotskian ideas on children’s cognitive development and its interplay with language in
an argument for a linguistically ‘stable’ pedagogy that prepares learners for the world of written language
in which they have to express most of their learning in school. She argues that language development,
literacy learning, and the development of concepts are intertwined phenomena in a child’s development
and that semantically and semiotically unambiguous and systematic classroom communication is therefore
vital for learning success in the early grades when the foundations for cognitive academic language
proficiency are laid. She calls for longitudinal research of young children’s learning, investigating how
language hybrids in classroom communication may impact it. Taking cognisance of linguistics theory that
posits language as fluid, she hypothesizes that if language use, in mixed code, is excessive, it may lead to
cognitive instability and insecure academic discourse.
Description
Keywords
Conceptual development, Urban South African classrooms, Code-switching, Academic language insecurity
Citation
Henning, E. (2012). Learning concepts, language, and literacy in hybrid linguistic codes: the multilingual maze of urban grade 1 classrooms in South Africa. Perspectives in Education, 30(3), 69-77.