English–Sepedi code-switching in FET Geography teaching: Effects on learner achievement in Capricorn District, Limpopo Province, South Africa

English–Sepedi code-switching in FET Geography teaching: Effects on learner achievement in Capricorn District, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Sibonangaye Dick Nkalanga & Mohammed Xolile Ntshangase

Issue: Vol. 7 No.10 2026 Article 6 pp.3001 – 3017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20267106 Published online 9th November 2026

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ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on code-switching use between English and Sepedi in Further Education and Training (FET) Geography classrooms in the Capricorn District of Limpopo Province, South Africa. It investigates how teachers manage language policy instructions while at the same time considering the multilingual nature of their classrooms and how this impacts learner performance. The research combined quantitative and qualitative methods through classroom observations, teacher interviews, learner assessments, and document analysis. It involved 8 teachers and 120 Grade 10–12 Geography learners from four secondary schools. The findings revealed that code-switching, when used strategically, greatly clarifies difficult geographical concepts for learners. Learners in the code-switching classrooms scored 23% higher than those in English-only classes. Teachers use code-switching as an instructional aid to explain jargon, provide background information, and fill cultural knowledge gaps. Nevertheless, there are contradictions between the official language-in-education policies and the real classroom situation, where teachers worry about preparing learners for assessments and their own teaching identity. This paper deepens the understanding of translanguaging practices in the South African educational system and gives concrete suggestions for aligning policy and curriculum development to acknowledge multilingual learners’ linguistic resources as an asset.

Keywords: Code-switching, Translanguaging, Multilingual Education, FET Geography, Language Policy.

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ABOUT AUTHOR(S)

Sibonangaye Dick Nkalanga is a Lecturer in Geography Education in the Department of Social Sciences and Economic Management Education at the University of Limpopo, South Africa. His work sits where land, law and learning meet. He is completing a PhD in Geography and Environmental Studies that examines how environmental laws are enforced and how compliance is governed in Nkomazi Local Municipality, Mpumalanga Province, where statutory regulation and customary authority operate side by side. His wider research spans environmental governance, legal pluralism, climate adaptation and Geography education in the South African context.

Mohammed Xolile Ntshangase holds a PhD (Philosophy) from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. As he has always believed that sharing his knowledge and perspectives with others brings more pleasure, Mohammed enjoys sharing his views with fellow academics from different fields. He is currently affiliated with the University of Limpopo in the Department of Education Studies, where he serves as a senior lecturer of Philosophy & Psychology of Education. His areas of research interest are: African philosophy, philosophy of education, psychology of education, and gender studies. He has attended and presented papers in 14 academic conferences, including national and international ones, and he has more than 85 publications in DHET-accredited journals. Among his ambitions, Mohammed wishes and works towards being a global scholar renowned in different areas/ disciplines with his polymathic approach to research, which has attracted researchers to collaborate with him nationally and abroad. Mohammed believes that the interconnectedness of knowledge and the cry for interdisciplinarity and multidisciplinary in research nowadays cannot be ignored. His scholarly awards include the VC’s 2023 Best Teacher Award and 2024 Best Researcher Award in the SoE (UL).

TO CITE ARTICLE

Nkalanga, Sibonangaye Dick, and Mohammed Xolile Ntshangase. “English–Sepedi code-switching in FET Geography teaching: Effects on learner achievement in Capricorn District, Limpopo Province, South Africa.” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 7, no.10 (2026): 3001 – 3017. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20267106