Theory and Practice: The Case of the Mother Tongue, SiSwati Language in Education Policy

The competition between colonial and indigenous languages is always a threat towards the implementation of language in education policies. The study investigates implementation of the language in education policy which postulates that siSwati shall be used as the medium of instruction from the 1st four grades. The objectives were to determine the language of instruction used to teach pupils in the 1st four grades and to ascertain the factors that determine the language of instruction used to teach pupils in the first four grades. The assumptions raised are modelled by the bilingualism model which pronounces teachers’ use of medium of instruction in bilingual contexts as either additive or subtractive. It used qualitative research approach, case study design and a semi-structured interview guide with twelve (12) items designed by the researchers. The population for the study was teachers of the 1st four grades in the Hhohho region. Purposive sampling was used to select two (2) schools, and four (4) teachers as participants. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse data. The findings revealed that teachers offered instruction in English or both languages, while siSwati was used during siSwati lessons and to clarify most challenging concepts during the use of English as a medium. The factors that determine the use of siSwati were the language of instruction used in prescribed texts, the syllabus and the pupils’ language background. It was concluded that teachers did not adhere to the policy. There is need to revise the language of textbooks and to capacitate teachers on the psychological benefits of offering instruction in the mother tongue.