Xhosa Speaking Nursing Student's Experiences of Education in a Language That's Not Their Mother Tongue

Abstract

Session presented on Saturday, July 23, 2016 and Sunday, July 24, 2016: Purpose: Nursing students attending any nursing school in South Africa are taught in English. A large percentage of students are second language English speakers who have to be taught nursing jargon as well as theory in English. These students have difficulty communicating with lecturers, colleagues and patients and struggle with reading textbooks or writing tests, assignments and examinations. Young men and women who are interested in a nursing career come from all walks of life and circumstances. Often the individual comes from a rural area and received all his/her schooling in their mother tongue, which in the case of Eastern Cape individuals may be Xhosa. One of the school subjects they would have been exposed to is English second language. This means that although he/she may have passed the subject, the student may not be proficient in speaking, reading or writing English on the level required in tertiary education. To access nursing education, this person has to register with an institution of higher learning in which the medium of instruction is English. Instruction in class as well as follow-up discussions in the wards takes place in English. Even the textbooks the students have to learn from are written in English. This may mean that first year Xhosa speaking nursing students may encounter difficulty understanding the material they are exposed to and may have difficulty communicating their thoughts in English. This led the researchers to the following questions: Young men and women who are interested in a nursing career come from all walks of life and circumstances. Often the individual comes from a rural area and received all his/her schooling in their mother tongue, which in the case of Eastern Cape individuals may be Xhosa. One of the school subjects they would have been exposed to is English second language. This means that although he/she may have passed the subject, the student may not be proficient in speaking, reading or writing English on the level required in tertiary education. To access nursing education, this person has to register with an institution of higher learning in which the medium of instruction is English. Instruction in class as well as follow-up discussions in the wards takes place in English. Even the textbooks the students have to learn from are written in English. This may mean that first year Xhosa speaking nursing students may encounter difficulty understanding the material they are exposed to and may have difficulty communicating their thoughts in English. This led the researchers to the following questions: How do first year Xhosa speaking nursing students experience their training, in a language which is not their mother tongue? What can be done to support these students to cope better with the language barriers they experience? How do first year Xhosa speaking nursing students experience their training, in a language which is not their mother tongue? What can be done to support these students to cope better with the language barriers they experience? Explore and describe how first year Xhosa speaking nursing students experience their training in a language which is not their mother tongue. Make recommendations to support students. Methods: Nursing students attending any nursing school in South Africa are taught in English. A large percentage of students are second language English speakers who have to be taught nursing jargon as well as theory in English. These students have difficulty communicating with lecturers, colleagues and patients and struggle with reading textbooks or writing tests, assignments and examinations. The design for the study is qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual. The research population consists of first year Xhosa speaking nursing students who are registered at a private nursing education institution in the Eastern Cape. Sampling will be convenient and purposive. Data will be gathered using semi-structured interviews, using an interview schedule where the participants will be asked to tell the story of their experiences of being taught nursing in English. Data will be analyzed making use of content analysis. Trustworthiness as well as high ethical values will be ensured. Ethical permission is being obtained from a formal ethical committee. Results: Data still in the process of being captured. Conclusion: findings will be finalised early 2016 and prior to the conference