“Pedagogy must be oriented not to the yesterday,
but to the tomorrow of the child’s development”
Lev Vygotsky
Le-Anne Goliath
Learning Support 771
RESPONDING TO
LANGUAGE DIVERSITY
IN THE CLASSROOM:
THE SOCIO-CULTURAL
PERSPECTIVE
, Introduction
The 2012 Census found that only 9.6% of households in S.A. describe themselves as
English home language speakers (Dippenaar & Livingston, 2019:184), while schools
in S.A only offer English and Afrikaans as a medium of instruction. This disparity
between home language and Language of Teaching and Learning (LoLT), demands
that the pedagogy of S.A teachers be reconceptualized to support the current
phenomenon.
Purpose
According to Aimin (2013:164) Socio-cultural Theory (SCT) provides a fresh
perspective on second language acquisition (SLA), one which states that the social,
cultural- historical and biological histories of learners should be valued and used as
the basis for mediating new learning, as knowledge is fundamentally co-constructed.
Subsequently, a learning environment that acknowledges multicultural contexts and
provides mediated pedagogical strategies for diverse learners are offered.
Such an understanding of learning is beneficial to the S.A education system in which
inappropriate LoLT are described as a systemic barrier that may cause learners to
have different learning needs, ultimately resulting in labelling, misclassification and
leaving them vulnerable to exclusion (Dreyer,2017:2).
SCT further proposes that scientific concepts (abstract concepts requiring instruction
from a MKO to be learnt) and everyday knowledge (knowledge acquired through the
interaction with the world) are both needed for learning (Hardman, 2019:66).
Therefore, teaching in a non-native language/ to non-native learners entails, providing
concrete examples and incorporating learner’s everyday knowledge (prior knowledge
and experiences) in hopes of guiding them to meaning making, and guiding learners
in making everyday knowledge conscious by linking it to scientific concepts.
Ultimately, SCT provides a framework for interpreting SLA when exposure to the
additional language is limited as may be the case in S.A.
Role of mediation
Mediation within the teaching and learning context, refers to the process of structured
collaborative guidance. It involves a more knowledgeable other (MKO) and a learner
1
but to the tomorrow of the child’s development”
Lev Vygotsky
Le-Anne Goliath
Learning Support 771
RESPONDING TO
LANGUAGE DIVERSITY
IN THE CLASSROOM:
THE SOCIO-CULTURAL
PERSPECTIVE
, Introduction
The 2012 Census found that only 9.6% of households in S.A. describe themselves as
English home language speakers (Dippenaar & Livingston, 2019:184), while schools
in S.A only offer English and Afrikaans as a medium of instruction. This disparity
between home language and Language of Teaching and Learning (LoLT), demands
that the pedagogy of S.A teachers be reconceptualized to support the current
phenomenon.
Purpose
According to Aimin (2013:164) Socio-cultural Theory (SCT) provides a fresh
perspective on second language acquisition (SLA), one which states that the social,
cultural- historical and biological histories of learners should be valued and used as
the basis for mediating new learning, as knowledge is fundamentally co-constructed.
Subsequently, a learning environment that acknowledges multicultural contexts and
provides mediated pedagogical strategies for diverse learners are offered.
Such an understanding of learning is beneficial to the S.A education system in which
inappropriate LoLT are described as a systemic barrier that may cause learners to
have different learning needs, ultimately resulting in labelling, misclassification and
leaving them vulnerable to exclusion (Dreyer,2017:2).
SCT further proposes that scientific concepts (abstract concepts requiring instruction
from a MKO to be learnt) and everyday knowledge (knowledge acquired through the
interaction with the world) are both needed for learning (Hardman, 2019:66).
Therefore, teaching in a non-native language/ to non-native learners entails, providing
concrete examples and incorporating learner’s everyday knowledge (prior knowledge
and experiences) in hopes of guiding them to meaning making, and guiding learners
in making everyday knowledge conscious by linking it to scientific concepts.
Ultimately, SCT provides a framework for interpreting SLA when exposure to the
additional language is limited as may be the case in S.A.
Role of mediation
Mediation within the teaching and learning context, refers to the process of structured
collaborative guidance. It involves a more knowledgeable other (MKO) and a learner
1
