Family language policy: Choices in isiXhosa families and implications for multilingual education

Abstract

Background: This study explores how family language policies (FLPs) in multilingual homes where isiXhosa is the primary language influence caregiver choices regarding children’s language development and education.

Objectives: The study aims to give insight on how non-nuclear family structures in a selected sample of Western Cape families are associated with FLPs that embrace multilingualism, even while English is the official language of education in the schools parents choose for their children. One objective is to amplify parent voices on their FLP and its role in making educational choices for their children. Another objective is to consider a ‘constructively aligned’ approach to early education that acknowledges the multilingual repertoires of learners.

Method: Interviews with seven isiXhosa-speaking families shed light on their language choices, exploring how parents justify language choices at home and their school choices for their children, drawing on existing definitions of FLP.

Results: By examining the perspectives of isiXhosa-heritage language families, the study sheds light on the complex family structures of the participants sample and their FLPs, which simultaneously perpetuate use of the family heritage language and navigate means of opening life chances for their children.

Conclusion: The findings highlight an interplay between vulnerability and resilience, offering insights into the enactment of FLP in multilingual Western Cape families who have roots in the Eastern Cape province (predominantly isiXhosa speakers).

Contribution: The study contributes to understanding the multilingual spaces in which language development and education take place, particularly within the context of multilingual families with FLPs that balance language maintenance with socio-economic opportunities in a linguistically diverse setting.