Sixteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

In addition to local languages, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa encourages the development and learning of foreign languages. To this effect, in 2015 a Chinese language called Mandarin was introduced for implementation at the pilot stage as a non-official optional language in 2016 in primary schools. One essential stakeholder at the centre of the implementation of Mandarin, whose voice has not been directly heard are teachers. Hence, this paper examines the teachers’ attitudes on Mandarin in South African schools, focusing on its teaching and learning by both teachers and learners. The methodology adapted in the collection of data is quantitative in that a questionnaire was completed by primary school student teachers who were in their final year of study at a South African university. The results indicate mixed attitudes with more teachers appearing to be not fully supportive of this political move by the Department of Basic Education (DBE). The findings suggest a need for the DBE to rethink this plan, the consultation and the training to be provided to teachers.