Botswana secondary school students' attitudes towards the use of Setswana as a medium of instruction in secondary schools

Abstract

This work reports the findings of a study which its objective was to investigate the student’s attitudes towards the use of Setswana as a medium of instruction at secondary school level, it was also meant to determine the factors that give rise to these attitudes and to assess the extent to which the current attitudes towards Setswana are affecting the effectiveness of Setswana as a medium or subject in schools. It was also meant to find out the ways of creating more positive attitudes towards Setswana and how to enhance the position of Setswana in the educational system. The focus of the investigation was secondary students, teachers and parents/guardians. The findings indicate that although Setswana language is not under imminent threat of loss, there are clear indications of gradual shift to English and a lot of code-switching and borrowing. This conclusion was reached based on language use and preference and students attitudes towards Setswana language. The results show that informants use English frequently even in domains where they could use Setswana. They also show that majority of the informants have negative attitudes towards Setswana, and their attitudes affect the effectiveness of Setswana as a medium and subject in schools. The results also proved that there is a lot that can be done in order to create positive attitudes and also to enhance the position of Setswana in the educational system of Botswana.