A critique of Botswana’s language policy from a translanguaging perspective
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12677768 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mompoloki Mmangaka Bagwasi (0000-0003-0898-0448, University of Botswana, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 199-214 |
| Publication date | 2016-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Current Issues in Language Planning (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1466-4208 • E-ISSN: 1747-7506 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/14664208.2016.1246840 |
| OpenAlex | W2557716444 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 22 |
This paper critiques the language practices and language-in-education policy of Botswana from a translanguaging perspective. By so doing, it revisits our commonly held perceptions about multilingualism, bilingualism and language and its boundary. We commonly perceive languages as autonomous and as having boundaries and we perceive bilingualism or multilingualism as consisting of two or more of these fixed languages. Such views have come under attack by theorists who, after observing the movements of people and languages as well as the language practices of bilinguals, have come to the conclusion that languages can neither be separated nor fixed to any one speech community, location or function. The current paper finds weakness in Botswana’s approach to language planning and language-in-education policy. It argues that the approach does not promote multilingualism, that it is out of touch, and prescriptive in so far as it fails to recognize that multilingualism is supposed to embrace flexibility, continuity and multiplicity. The paper advocates for the translanguaging approach which appreciates the fuzziness of language boundaries, the fluidity and creativity of languages instead of their distinctiveness. The paper recommends a language-in-education policy which is akin to what bilinguals do in their speech and conversations, that is, a language policy that allows for the use of several languages in the classroom and enables learners to utilize their whole linguistic repertoire to interrogate issues, understand the subject matter and express themselves fully
Bilingual education · First language · Language planning · Language policy · Linguistics · Multilingualism · Neuroscience of multilingualism · Pedagogy · Sociology · Translanguaging · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Multilingual Education and Policy · Second Language Learning and Teaching
Linguistic Dominance and Translanguaging
Why is a gradual transition to Botswana’s languages in higher education necessary? How can it be achieved
Towards models of language supportive pedagogy in Sub-Saharan Africa
Status of minority languages in South Africa
Exploring pedagogical translanguaging strategies in ESL primary classrooms
Tu connais le answer?’
Language of instruction
Education, multilingualism and bilingualism in Botswana
Language in Society
The Sociolinguistics of Globalization
Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism
Translanguaging
Translanguaging in the Bilingual Classroom
The Multi/Plural Turn, Postcolonial Theory, and Neoliberal Multiculturalism
Language policy and practice in Botswana in the context of education for sustainable development
Code-switching in Botswana History classrooms in the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development
Language policy incongruity and African languages in postapartheid South Africa
Metrolingualism
The Language Situation in Botswana
The Functional Distribution of Setswana and English in Botswana
Disinventing and (Re)Constituting Languages
The Linguistic Repertoire Revisited
| Unique citing works | 8 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1.33 |
| Citation span | 2020 - 2026 (7) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 8 |