Promoting Ubuntu and women’s rights through noun pedagogy in the IsiZulu home language classroom

In language classes, words that hurt other people’s feelings, words that make other students feel uneasy or feel discriminated against, are used. It cannot be denied that learners adopt language informally from their communities, and the language use is solely from the communities. South African research indicates that most women are victims of abuse. Abuse does not promote Ubuntu. This abuse starts from the language, which is known as verbal abuse, and then it grows in stages. Hence, this research seeks to investigate how teachers teach learners about humanity and respecting the rights of women in IsiZulu HL and the content embedded in it, investigating how nouns are taught, used and applied to girl learners both in class and in the community. This study used a qualitative case study design within an interpretive paradigm. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations with four isiZulu HL teachers. Data analysis was carried out using the thematic analysis approach, and the study was guided by Afrocentric theory. The findings reveal that teachers employ an Afrocentric approach, yet classroom discussions frequently surface deeply discriminatory nouns. This study also underscores the need for collaboration. The participants quoted discriminatory nouns from the learners. This study recommends greater collaboration between the school and the community, positing that fostering respect and Ubuntu cannot be the responsibility of teachers alone.