On students’ challenges and motivations learning Spanish with the current curriculum in South African universitie

  1. María Recuenco Peñalver 1
  2. Arturo Mendoza Ramos 2
  1. 1 University of Cape Town
    info

    University of Cape Town

    Rondebosch, Sudáfrica

    ROR https://ror.org/03p74gp79

  2. 2 University of the Witwatersrand
    info

    University of the Witwatersrand

    Johannesburgo, Sudáfrica

    ROR https://ror.org/03rp50x72

Journal:
Revista Nebrija de Lingüística aplicada a la enseñanza de Lenguas

ISSN: 1699-6569

Year of publication: 2022

Volume: 16

Issue: 33

Pages: 160-178

Type: Article

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Abstract

Spanish is one of the most widely spoken and learnt languages worldwide. Spanish teaching in Africa has been predominantly in Francophone countries and the Magreb. In the Southern region of Africa, Madagascar and SouthAfrica are the two countries with the highest number of learners. In South Africa, although students in higher education are motivated to learn Spanish, the implementation of language policies and the current Spanish language curriculum in South African universities have affected the number of enrolments in recent years. In this paper, we examine the current situation of Spanish studies in higher education institutions in South Africa, focusing on the cases of the University of Cape Town and the Universityof the Witwatersrand. A survey was conducted among 89 first, second and third-year students who were learning Spanish at those universities in 2019 and 2020. The results suggest that Spanish is an important language to learn in South African universities,but its implementation at the tertiary level might benefit from some revision of the current Spanish language curriculum. Finally, we would argue that the design and implementation of language policies in higher education are having a negative impact on the opportunities for students to learn Spanish.

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