Times Of Swaziland: COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE USED IN SCHOOLS

COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE USED IN SCHOOLS
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The Editor on 28/01/2021 23:35:00


Sir,
You might have had an experience where you asked someone a question relative to
their field of profession and all of a sudden they go on with all kinds of
verbiage, esoteric terms – showing you how much they know or how clever they
are.
In schools’ subjects, pupils are taught using language, and the subjects are
understood by understanding the language that expresses them. A great teacher
would begin by seeking to understand the mind of his pupil as to what it
comprehends and what it does not yet comprehend.
Language
The next thing he would seek to use the language most suitable for the pupil.
For he knows that in order to impress his lessons or ideas, it is critical that
he uses not only the language understood by him, but also understood by the
learner.
But responsibilities to communicate and learn rest not only with the teacher,
but learners too have a share in this. Thus the teacher will also encourage his
learners to be industrious in seeking to learn the language with which the
subject is being conveyed to them. He may also encourage his learners to tell
him what language is most suitable to their learning - a language that will
impress his ideas to them in a manner that such ideas will be remembered by the
pupils.
Humble
The teacher should be humble enough to take the advice of his learners on what
language is most suited to them. For at the end of the day, it is not the
teacher we are most concerned about, but it is the pupils who should have the
learning. It is very bad for the teacher, standing before pupils, to think he is
teaching them only to find that he is talking to himself, because he uses a
language understood by only himself.
It is very easy for a teacher to go to his pupils and show them how clever and
learned he is by using big and strange words that wows or stuns his learners but
leave them confused. This has a tendency to lead the pupils celebrating the
teacher and not celebrating the teachings which they are at school for.
Majority
Sometimes when the majority of the pupils don’t understand, because he uses a
language they don’t understand, he says; “Ngihamba nala bahambako”, a very
irresponsible attitude.
Therefore, as Brigham Young says; “How precious is the gift of communication.
How delightful it is to a person whose mind is stored with rich ideas to have
power to communicate them to his fellows, to his family, friends and the
acquaintances with whom he associates.” Therefore, teachers, males or females,
please use a language that your pupils will understand.
M Nkambule