• Thadeus Marungudzi

  Author

Despite calls for the upgrading of Shona and Ndebele into languages of
learning and teaching in secondary schools in Zimbabwe, and for the teaching of the
so-called official minority languages, things have virtually remained unchanged in
terms of the language of learning and teaching being used in the schools. English
continues to dominate the role of medium of instruction. It is becoming more and more
apparent in Zimbabwe that government calls for the use of indigenous languages as
languages of learning and teaching in secondary schools have not been complemented
by practical action. However, appealing to their sense of plausibility, teachers have
reined in the indigenous languages into their classroom practice, through code
switching, realising positive results in the process. The teaching of previously
marginalised so-called minority languages is also steadily growing, particularly at
tertiary level. Through observation of classroom practice and interviews in 10
secondary schools in the Masvingo District of Zimbabwe, it emerged that English-
Shona code switching helped teachers achieve content transmission and classroom
management goals. It emerged that the teachers have innovatively carved a
momentous niche in a language policy environment that continues to effectively
marginalise indigenous languages from the classroom.

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