Mapping the literate lives of two Cameroonian families living in Johannesburg: Implications for language and literacy education

The language and literacy practices of two French-speaking Cameroonian families living in South Africa are the focus of this paper. Since its democracy, there has been an influx of immigrants from all over the world into South Africa. This influx has inevitable consequences for education. The aim of...

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Main Authors: Ngoh, Doris, Kajee, Leila
Format: Article
Language:Afrikaans
Published: Stellenbosch University 2018-08-01
Series:Per Linguam : A Journal of Language Learning
Subjects:
Online Access:http://perlinguam.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/827
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author Ngoh, Doris
Kajee, Leila
author_facet Ngoh, Doris
Kajee, Leila
author_sort Ngoh, Doris
collection DOAJ
description The language and literacy practices of two French-speaking Cameroonian families living in South Africa are the focus of this paper. Since its democracy, there has been an influx of immigrants from all over the world into South Africa. This influx has inevitable consequences for education. The aim of this research was to map the language and literacy practices of two immigrant Cameroonian families residing in Johannesburg, South Africa. The case study utilised interviews with the parents and children, as well as home observations. The research findings reveal that little linguistic congruence exists between the home and school, and that the parents and children serve as language brokers at different points. The study concludes that, if South Africa wants to live up to its democratic status, inclusive to all who live in it, teachers need to be versed in the multiple layers of literacy practices of learners from diverse backgrounds and consider initiatives such as family and community literacy programmes. This is vital not only for immigrant children, but for the South African education system as well.
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spelling doaj.art-c838afb9f0374e68b169bfb67ff777342022-12-22T03:00:21ZafrStellenbosch UniversityPer Linguam : A Journal of Language Learning0259-23122224-00122018-08-0134111610.5785/34-1-827Mapping the literate lives of two Cameroonian families living in Johannesburg: Implications for language and literacy educationNgoh, Doris 0Kajee, Leila 1University of JohannesburgUniversity of JohannesburgThe language and literacy practices of two French-speaking Cameroonian families living in South Africa are the focus of this paper. Since its democracy, there has been an influx of immigrants from all over the world into South Africa. This influx has inevitable consequences for education. The aim of this research was to map the language and literacy practices of two immigrant Cameroonian families residing in Johannesburg, South Africa. The case study utilised interviews with the parents and children, as well as home observations. The research findings reveal that little linguistic congruence exists between the home and school, and that the parents and children serve as language brokers at different points. The study concludes that, if South Africa wants to live up to its democratic status, inclusive to all who live in it, teachers need to be versed in the multiple layers of literacy practices of learners from diverse backgrounds and consider initiatives such as family and community literacy programmes. This is vital not only for immigrant children, but for the South African education system as well.http://perlinguam.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/827Immigrant literaciesliteracy as social practiceFamily literacy practices
spellingShingle Ngoh, Doris
Kajee, Leila
Mapping the literate lives of two Cameroonian families living in Johannesburg: Implications for language and literacy education
Per Linguam : A Journal of Language Learning
Immigrant literacies
literacy as social practice
Family literacy practices
title Mapping the literate lives of two Cameroonian families living in Johannesburg: Implications for language and literacy education
title_full Mapping the literate lives of two Cameroonian families living in Johannesburg: Implications for language and literacy education
title_fullStr Mapping the literate lives of two Cameroonian families living in Johannesburg: Implications for language and literacy education
title_full_unstemmed Mapping the literate lives of two Cameroonian families living in Johannesburg: Implications for language and literacy education
title_short Mapping the literate lives of two Cameroonian families living in Johannesburg: Implications for language and literacy education
title_sort mapping the literate lives of two cameroonian families living in johannesburg implications for language and literacy education
topic Immigrant literacies
literacy as social practice
Family literacy practices
url http://perlinguam.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/827
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