The impact of the language of learning and teaching (LoLt) on, TVET college students’ performance

Abstract

While performance statistics have improved somewhat in recent years, many failures are still reported at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges [Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), 2023], particularly in the National Certificate Vocational (NCV), a qualification delivered since 2007. Research has shown that African first-language students face considerable difficulty learning through the medium of English, the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) at TVET colleges, and that the disadvantage of learning in what is, for them, a second or third language has affected their academic performance. This study investigated how TVET college students in the Eastern Cape, a province where 90% of the population is isiXhosa-speaking, experienced learning in English and the role that the language of learning and teaching played in their academic performance. Six colleges, comprising three urban and three rural campuses where most students are Black African, were involved in the study. A mixed method design utilised quantitative and qualitative data-gathering methods to probe the research questions posed herein. Students and lecturers were interviewed to determine how they were addressing learning and teaching in English, and the interventions that had assisted, both in their micro and macro learning environments. Findings revealed that the language of learning and teaching had indeed impacted on these TVET students’ academic performance despite the completion of levels for successful students. Students reported difficulties with oral presentations in English, understanding vocational terminology content, and in confident classroom participation. Furthermore, students’ home environments made practising English communication problematic, for instance there was a perception that home language was being undermined.