Arousing Learner Interest and Engagement in a Multilingual Classroom Context: English Second Language Teachers’ Experiences and Strategies
Sboniso Praisegod Zondi 
& Siphelele Mbatha
Issue: Vol.5 No.8 Issue Article 9 pp.1543-1554
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2024589 | Published online 6th August, 2024
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) to learners of different basic schooling phases is arguably an interesting yet enigmatic phenomenon, which features a variety of factors such as language diversity, curriculum, policy, and cultural factors. This paper sought to explore the experiences and the strategies employed by ESL teachers to aid learners navigate through linguistic diversity in English Second Language classroom contexts. From the interpretivist epistemological stance, the researchers inferred qualitative data through semi-structured interviews from ten (10) purposively sampled high school ESL teachers from one district in Durban. Data was thematically analysed through the Social Constructivist Theory. The study’s findings indicated that the primary approach used by ESL teachers in linguistically diverse classrooms was various languages in English literature classrooms. Furthermore, the study discovered that using various languages arouses learners’ interests and enhances learner involvement in classroom-based activities. In this regard, the researchers concluded that learners are more engaged and motivated to learn to read, analyse and respond to texts in a multilingual classroom than in monolingual classrooms. The researchers further recommend that teachers use strategies beyond the textbook and policy documents to capture the learner’s attention. Using various teaching approaches, codeswitching, and translanguaging are effective strategies teachers and the Department of Education should not shy away from.
Keywords: Learner interest, Learner engagement, English as a Second Language, Multilingual classrooms, Literature in English, Code-Switching.
Alstad, Gunhild Tomter, and Pauliina Sopanen. “Language Orientations in Early Childhood Education Policy in Finland and Norway.” Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy 7, no. 1 (2021): 30–43.
Bada, Steve Olusegun, and Steve Olusegun. “Constructivism Learning Theory: A Paradigm for Teaching and Learning.” Journal of Research & Method in Education 5, no. 6 (2015): 66–70.
Bender, William N. “20 Strategies for Increasing Student Engagement,” 2017.
Cardoso, Anna Carolyna Ribeiro, and Neuda Alves do Lago. “Literature in EFL Classes: Four Teachers’ Experiences in Brazil.” Revista Investigações 34, no. 2 (2021): 1–22.
Cekaite, Asta, and Lorenza Mondada. Touch in Social Interaction: Touch, Language, and Body. Routledge, 2020.
———. “Towards an Interactional Approach to Touch in Social Encounters.” In Touch in Social Interaction, 1–26. Routledge, 2020.
Celce-Murcia, M., and E. Olshtain. Discourse and Context in Language Teaching: A Guide for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
Celce-Murcia, Marianne. “An Overview of Teaching Grammar in ELT.” Teaching and Learning English Grammar, 2015, 3–18.
Christison, M., and D. E. Murray. What English Language Teachers Need to Know Volume III: Designing Curriculum. Routledge, 2021.
Coetzee‐Van Rooy, Susan. “Being English in Multilingual South Africa.” World Englishes 40, no. 1 (2021): 98–120.
Davies, Lucy, Douglas Newton, and Lynn Newton. “Teachers’ Pedagogies and Strategies of Engagement.” International Journal for Talent Development and Creativity 6 (2018): 169–80.
García, Ofelia, and Li Wei. “Translanguaging, Bilingualism, and Bilingual Education.” The Handbook of Bilingual and Multilingual Education, 2015, 223–40.
Ge, Jianqiao, Gang Peng, Bingjiang Lyu, Yi Wang, Yan Zhuo, Zhendong Niu, Li Hai Tan, Alexander P Leff, and Jia-Hong Gao. “Cross-Language Differences in the Brain Network Subserving Intelligible Speech.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112, no.10(2015): 2972–77.
Grove, Anita. The Teacher’s Role in Student Engagement. Gardner-Webb University, 2019.
Hartono, Wira Jaya, Nurfitri Nurfitri, Ridwan Ridwan, Emanuel B S Kase, Floribertha Lake, and Rony Sandra Y Zebua. “Artificial Intelligence (AI) Solutions In English Language Teaching: Teachers-Students Perceptions And Experiences.” Journal on Education 6, no. 1 (2023): 1452–61.
Hutchison, Charles B. “Cultural Constructivism: The Confluence of Cognition, Knowledge Creation, Multiculturalism, and Teaching.” Intercultural Education 17, no. 3 (2006): 301–10.
Kicha, Leni. “A Systematic Review: Local Literature in Integrated Skills for English Teaching.” Journal of English Language Teaching, Literature and Culture 2, no. 1 (2023): 59–66.
Kretzer, Michael M, and Russell H Kaschula. “Language Policy and Linguistic Landscapes at Schools in South Africa.” International Journal of Multilingualism 18, no. 1 (2021): 105–27.
Lazar, Gillian. Literature and Language Teaching: A Guide for Teachers and Trainers. Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Mthembu-Funeka, Winfred Nonhle Zabathembu. “Genre-Based Approach to IsiZulu Home Language Education as a Means to Successful English First Additional Language Education,” 2009.
Mtsatse, Nangamso, and Celeste Combrinck. “Dialects Matter: The Influence of Dialects and Code-Switching on the Literacy and Numeracy Achievements of IsiXhosa Grade 1 Learners in the Western Cape.” Journal of Education (University of KwaZulu-Natal), no. 72 (2018): 21–37.
Muthusamy, Chittra, Syahaizad Mohd Salleh, Angelina Subrayan Michael, A S Arumugam, and Xavier Thayalan. “Methods Used in Teaching and Learning of Literature in the ESL Classroom and Adult Learners’ Attitude.” Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research 4, no. 2 (2017): 17–25.
Peng, Peng, Xin Lin, Zehra Emine Ünal, Kejin Lee, Jessica Namkung, Jason Chow, and Adam Sales. “Examining the Mutual Relations between Language and Mathematics: A Meta-Analysis.” Psychological Bulletin 146, no. 7 (2020): 595.
Shah, J. “ Engaging Students in the ESL Classroom.” In Engaging Learners In the Twenty-First Century, edited by T. S. Sanjayan, 59–61. Taran Publication, 2021.
Shen, Qi. “Commentary: Directions in Language Planning from the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Multilingua 39, no. 5 (2020): 625–29.
Thara, S, and Prabaharan Poornachandran. “Code-Mixing: A Brief Survey.” In 2018 International Conference on Advances in Computing, Communications and Informatics (ICACCI), 2382–88. IEEE, 2018.
Vygotsky, L. S. Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1978.
Xu, Ziling, and Yeli Shi. “Application of Constructivist Theory in Flipped Classroom-Take College English Teaching as a Case Study.” Theory and Practice in Language Studies 8,no.7(2018):880–87.
Sboniso Praisegod Zondi is a Lecturer at the University of the Free State, South Africa. His research focus is on the teaching of English as a Second Language, Multilingualism and multilingual pedagogies, Translanguaging, and the teaching of IsiZulu at basic and higher education institutions. He advocates for multilingual pedagogies in English classrooms where learners are using English as a Second Language.
Siphelele Mbatha is a Lecturer at the University of the Free State, South Africa. His research interests lie in the teaching and learning of isiZulu literacy in childhood and in adult education, correctional adult early literacy and numeracy as well as adult education as the behaviour rehabilitation strategy in correctional centre facilities. His research advocates for the intellectualization of isiZulu as the Language of Learning and Teaching in childhood and in adult education spaces. He has published in national and international journals.
Zondi, Sboniso Praisegod & Siphelele Mbatha. “Arousing Learner Interest and Engagement in a Multilingual Classroom Context: English Second Language Teachers’ Experiences and Strategies,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 5, no.8 (2024): 1543-1554. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2024589
© 2024 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
