Original title: Whose home language? Bridging the gap between Sepitori and Setswana for improved learning outcomes in Pretoria classrooms
In Pretoria, many learners speak Sepitori at home, while formal lessons use standard Setswana. The study looked at classroom observations and the experiences of learners and teachers. It found that insisting only on standard Setswana can leave Sepitori-speaking learners at a disadvantage. Flexible teaching that draws on both forms can support understanding and participation.
Imagine a family cooking from a recipe written in a style some people at the table rarely use. They may know the ingredients but struggle to follow each step. In this paper, the recipe’s formal wording stands for standard Setswana, while the family’s familiar way of speaking stands for Sepitori; making room for both can help learners follow the lesson.
When lessons use standard Setswana but learners mainly speak Sepitori, the gap can make it harder to understand, join in, and do well at school. The study suggests teachers can use both language forms as learning resources instead of treating Sepitori as a barrier.
The abstract describes qualitative evidence from classroom observations, learner experiences, and educator perspectives, but gives no details about the sample, locations beyond Pretoria, or methods of analysis. It does not report measured changes in academic performance or establish that the proposed approaches improve outcomes across other settings.
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Whose home language? Bridging the gap between Sepitori and Setswana for improved learning outcomes in Pretoria classrooms — Koketso Botlholo — South African Journal of African Languages — doi:10.1080/02572117.2026.2695628
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper.