Exploring New Scientific Methods in the Teaching and Learning of Sesotho

Abstract

Teaching and learning of languages especially modern languages, be they
 L1, L2 or L3, continue to evolve and shift from the traditional approach
 where the physical instructor was key to the educational process to
 contemporary interactive digital approaches that give the learn a certain
 amount of confidence and autonomy. However, this is not the case in Lesotho
 where the approach in the teaching and learning of Sesotho has arguably
 been traditional, despite the fact that Sesotho is not only the official
 language but also the only indigenous language spoken across the country.
 This article concerned with problems related to teaching and learning of
 Sesotho through the use of traditional methods. It argues that contemporary
 approaches would render the language much more accessible to the masses
 locally and internationally, particularly in the information age. Secondly,
 new methods would help re-document the language with all the indigenous
 knowledge and savoir-faire proper to the language and culture of Basotho.
 The article explores possible avenues of electronic language documentation
 and digitisation with the aim of improving the teaching and learning of
 Sesotho in formal academic establishments and in informal settings
 generally meant for foreign agents working or representing international
 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the rural areas of Lesotho. This
 is where citizens may know how to read and right but not be particularly
 conversant in the second official language - English. Finally, the article
 advocates for collaboration between computer scientists and linguists with
 the objective of developing an on-point Sesotho language software that
 supports regulated online language learning platforms.