Education and Literacy as Metonyms for English: Adult Basic Education and Domestic Workers in South Africa. Research Brief #9

Autor/in	Kaiper, Anna
Institution	Pennsylvania State University, Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy
Titel	Education and Literacy as Metonyms for English: Adult Basic Education and Domestic Workers in South Africa. Research Brief #9
Quelle	(2018), (8 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; English (Second Language); Adult Basic Education; Second Language Learning; Housework; Motivation; Literacy Education; Females; Blacks; Unskilled Workers; Language Skills; Social Influences; South Africa + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Adult; Adults; Education; Adult education; Erwachsenenbildung; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Hausarbeit; psychologische; Motivation (psychologisch); Weibliches Geschlecht; Black person; Schwarzer; Unskilled worker; Hilfsarbeiter; Language skill; Sprachkompetenz; Sozialer Einfluss; Südafrika; Süd-Afrika; Republik Südafrika; Südafrikanische Republik
Abstract	There is a curious and contradictory phenomenon in current adult education and language learning. Around the world, many educators and researchers have called for policies and practices that recognize Indigenous and multiple languages --particularly adults' native languages--to be taught and used in education and within the broader public. And yet, those who seemingly would most benefit from such language policies are seeking instead to learn English. The English language learning of South African domestic workers offers an ideal case to examine this incongruity. This study draws from ethnographic research over a three-year span to understand South African domestic workers' motivations for taking English language literacy classes. Narratives of 28 domestic workers were examined through a critical, ethnographic lens. Focusing on notions of metonymy, a word or concept that is used to mean something other than its original definition, the study shows that in a South African adult education context, the terms "literacy" and "education" have come to connote "'English' literacy" and "'English' education." Moreover, knowing English was associated with being considered "smart," and conversely, not knowing English with being "stupid." (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy. 405 Keller Building, University Park, PA 16802. Tel: 814-865-5876; Fax: 814-863-6108; e-mail: goodlinginstitute@psu.edu; Web site: http://www.ed.psu.edu/educ/goodling-institute
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01