Parents' and Teachers' Views on the Use of Mother Tongue for Learning and Teaching in a Quintile 1 Primary School

This paper reports the parents' and teachers' views on the use of mother tongue for learning and teaching in a Quintile 1 primary school in Gauteng, South Africa. Current research indicates that parents generally prefer English as the language of learning and teaching (LoLT) for their children's primary education. However, there is paucity of research on how parents and teachers in Quintile 1 schools view and perceive the use of mother tongue for teaching and learning in the early stages of their children's education. In this study, a qualitative approach was employed, using semi-structured interviews with ten parents and ten teachers. Some South African language policies were also consulted to ascertain if the stakeholders understood them. Findings from the interviews with the parents indicated that even though parents were aware of the benefits of using a mother tongue for teaching and learning, there was preference for English as LOLT. In respect to language policies, while teachers understood the implications of the prescribed language policies for schools, parents seemed to be unsure about these. Future research should focus on how best the school governing bodies and teachers could expose parents to information regarding the benefits of existing language-related policies.