ABSTRACT
With 3.4 million speakers in South Africa alone, Xitsonga is one of the official Indigenous languages recognized by the government of South Africa as a medium of instruction in early childhood and a language in which literacy can be developed. Xitsonga is a Bantu language, which has a subject-verb-object order, like most other Bantu languages. The authors describe an inconsistent implementation of the language policy, such that some Xitsonga-medium schools are actually English-medium schools, particularly in traditional Black township areas of South Africa. Additionally, Xitsonga materials are not utilized in many Black township and rural schools, a practice that may minoritize Tsonga children; township schools often opt for English or Afrikaans. The authors focus on teaching practices in rural schools where Xitsonga materials are used and children learn to read and write in Xitsonga. Using Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural theory to frame the analysis, the chapter discusses the use of folktales as the starting point for dramatic enactments and creative writing among 9-year-old children.
