The multilingual radiography classroom and the world of clinical practice

Abstract

Enabling students to access the discourse of their chosen discipline is to open the door to the content knowledge of that discipline. The medium of instruction (MOI) at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) is officially English. Consequently, the student primarily experiences English in the classroom. However in experiential practice in the workplace, the student experiences a multilingual work environment. In the health care environment of the Western Cape, the student will experience interchanging use of the regional languages, English, Xhosa or Afrikaans, when communicating with the patients. Students not fluent in the languages used may misunderstand some of the transactions occurring between the supervising member of staff and the patient. Appropriate multilingual translations need to occur between the supervising member of staff, the patients and students. Students experiencing those transactions with the patient may also require more informal terminology to ensure common understanding among all role-players. This article reports on the language and cultural diversity within the student body and the language requirements of the clinical workplace. In the light of these requirements, the article repositions the tertiary healthcare educator's required expertise in terms of language and disciplinary content.