Abstract
Learning science is more than just grasping scientific concepts; it includes the need to understand the technical and non-technical language. This poses a question of whether learners who learn in their home languages have an advantage over learners who learn in a second language. There is therefore a need to investigate performance differences of learners taught in home language (Afrikaans) and second language (English). South Africa has 11 official languages, however, for Natural Sciences (amongst other subjects), the medium of instruction is in two languages, namely English and Afrikaans. According to Statistics South Africa (2018), 80,9% of the South African population is Black Africans, whose home languages are neither English nor Afrikaans. This study is aimed at determining the differences in the performance of Grade 8 learners taught Natural Sciences in their home language and those taught in English (second language). This study was conducted at a high school in the Johannesburg East district in the Gauteng Province. The school was purposefully and conveniently selected because it enrols both Afrikaans-speaking Coloured learners and Black learners whose home languages are different from the medium of instruction...
M.Ed. (Science and Technology Education)