Sesotho Language Acquisition by Faculty of Education Students in South Africa: A Systematic Review

Nthabiseng B. Khoalenyane; Patrick Alpheous Nyathi; Precious Moyo

doi:10.71514/jssal/2025.176

Authors

Nthabiseng B. Khoalenyane Department of Languages and Social Sciences, University of Zululand, KwaDlangezwa, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3964-5255
Patrick Alpheous Nyathi Department of Educational Foundations, College of Education, University of South Africa, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3473-7743
Precious Moyo Department of Languages and Social Sciences, University of Zululand, KwaDlangezwa, South Africa https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3927-1249

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.71514/jssal/2025.176

Keywords:

Conversational language, challenges, functional language, native language, official languages

Abstract

Higher education institutions are increasingly interested in teaching African languages, specifically as third, fourth, or additional languages. Learning Sesotho poses a unique challenge to non-native speakers if introduced at the exit phase. This systematic review aims to identify the challenges students face while learning Sesotho at the exit stages of their educational degrees and explore how their proficiency in Sesotho can benefit professional teaching practices in different regions of South Africa. Within the scope of this objective, a comprehensive literature search was conducted in "Google Scholar, Scopus, and JSTOR" As of 22 September 2024, a total of 73 articles were identified from the databases. During the initial screening of titles and abstracts, 11 duplicates were excluded. Of the remaining 62 articles, 40 were excluded based on relevance, and 22 were downloaded to the digital workspace. Prioritising African languages in education, particularly by studying additional indigenous languages, can result in significant advantages. Therefore, the study examines the pros and cons of acquiring conversational Sesotho proficiency, particularly in a university setting where IsiZulu may be the predominant language. This exploration highlights the broader implications and benefits of introducing linguistic diversity in educational environments in exit phases. In order to capture nuanced perspectives and experiences, this paper adopts a systematic literature review approach to gain a comprehensive knowledge of the challenges, benefits, and implications of learning Sesotho as an additional language in higher education contexts. The findings of this research highlight that student-teachers lack an understanding of the need to learn an additional language, and therefore, they are not motivated to acquire this knowledge.

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