Abstract:
This study aimed to investigate the experiences of teachers and learners in being
multilingual in resource-constrained environments where the LoLT is English. The
sociocultural theory was used as the theoretical framework for this study. Given the
factors involved, a mixed-method approach was favourable for collecting and
analysing data. The qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews
with five teachers and focus group discussions with an overall number of seventeen
learners from two different township schools in Pretoria. The quantitative data was
collected from the same schools through a survey questionnaire with a total number
of forty-seven respondents.
Inductive thematic analysis and descriptive statistics were utilised for analysis of
data. The key recurring discoveries from the participants were overcrowding,
language diversity, insufficient training received by teachers, limited educational
resources, lack of LoLT proficiency from learners, and being restricted to use other
languages by the school policy. Educational resources serve as a bridge to mediate
inefficient language development in multilingual learners, the lack of resources
hinders positive learning experiences. Experiences of the participants across
languages are regarded as problematic instead of a resource. Although these
experiences are known to act as barriers to the process of teaching and learning,
this study contributes by providing a deep comprehension of multilingualism in the
South African setting. It provides resolutions to enhance the use of multilingualism
for effective teaching and learning.
