Multilingualism and Language Use Patterns: Students Attitude towards Kiswahili in Garissa Town, Kenya (original) (raw)
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Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 2013
Abstract The role of language attitudes on language choice, development and policy in multilingual societies cannot be over emphasized (Adegbija, 1994; Batibo, 2005). Monolingual speakers have only one attitude towards their language because they have no other languages to compare it with. However, where speakers are bilingual or multilingual; there is a tendency to develop different attitudes to each of the languages used. These attitudes, whether positive or negative, will normally depend on the degree of symbolic or socio-economic value manifested by each language. Tanzania, a multilingual country with over 128 languages and with a bilingual language policy in education is therefore a fertile ground for studies on language attitudes. In recent years, there have been concerted efforts by various stake holders to propagate growth and development of English in Tanzania. English has been lauded as the essential language which links Tanzania to the rest of the world through technology, commerce and administration. Against this backdrop, this study sought to investigate students’ attitudes towards Kiswahili so as to determine whether the shift to English had impacted students’ attitude formation towards Kiswahili. This survey comprised of 340 students sampled from six selected schools of Mtwara Urban and Mtwara Rural districts. Results show that most Tanzanian students have favourable attitudes towards Kiswahili and the language’s status among secondary school students has not diminished. Kiswahili remains the most preferred language of use in all major domains. This study proposes that the place and role of Kiswahili be further enhanced in the country by exploring its possible use as a medium of instruction at secondary school level. Further, the study proposes that local vernaculars, which face extinction due to language shift that has taken place, need drastic measures in order to preserve them. Keywords: Multilingualism, Bilingual education, language attitudes, Kiswahili
Language Attitudes and Kiswahili Language Learning in Primary Schools in Kenya
Journal of Education and Practice, 2020
Kiswahili and English are two important languages taught and examined at the national level in Kenya's education system. Students' academic performance in the subjects keeps varying in national examinations. Different from English, however, poor performance in Kiswahili is more often associated with negative attitudes. Nevertheless, empirical validations have in most cases, not been established. The present study explores pupils' attitudes toward Kiswahili in the context of second language learning in Siaya County of Kenya. The study is anchored on the assumption that although language attitudes play a big role in second language learning and development, primary school pupils have often been neglected in the investigation of language attitudes despite the fact that Kiswahili language learning and teaching begins at that level. A sample size of 360 class eight pupils randomly picked from 18 primary schools of Siaya County participated in the survey. Data collection was by use of attitude questionnaires and, analysed by mixed method approach. Results showed that primary school pupils had positive attitudes towards Kiswahili. The attitudes were due to the communicative and integrative functions of Kiswahili. Pupils however indicated that English remained instrumental to their academic and future pursuits. Consequently, Kiswahili was not accorded the same weight as English, which in turn influenced negatively Kiswahili language learning. The study calls for creation of awareness about the instrumental value of Kiswahili language to learners. This be done, from the early stages of their academic development. Moreover, it recommends that the culture of using grammatical language by learners be encouraged, as much as it is possible. This will serve to improve their Kiswahili language skills and contribute to good performance.
Attitude towards Kiswahili in Urban Kenya
2014
The present paper Attitudes Towards Kiswahili in Urban Kenya aims at observing, identifying, classifying and analyzing language attitudes regarding Kiswahili in urban Kenya in order to show how they impact on Kenya’s language policy generally and on language planning in particular. Data for this paper was collected by means of library research, field visits, interviews, observations and discussions. This work, being field based, used tape recorders also and the information recorded was transcribed and analysed focusing on specific items of the interview schedule. This work purposively selected its sample and was conducted with the participation of 100 respondents. Using the sociological theoretical framework and the social psychological theory, the paper has found out that the majority of urban Kenyans have positive attitudes towards Kiswahili mainly for integrative reasons and not for instrumental reasons.
Student Mother Tongue Usage, Preference, and Attitudes in Bungoma County, Kenya
2018
This paper presents and discusses results of a language survey carried out at Mihuu Secondary School in the Bungoma County of western Kenya. It is shown that although students have diverse linguistic backgrounds, language use patterns tend to converge as they tend to use Kiswahili and English to communicate with their friends at school and others in society. Hence, it was found that students were proficient in English, but their mother tongue did not seem to be as secure as has often been assumed, and thus, a significant number of students were not proficient in the mother tongue, and the younger the student, the less likely they are to be proficient in the mother tongue. Therefore, it is argued that inter-ethnic marriages, linguistic heterogeneity, and Kenya’s current language policy are responsible for this trend.
East African Scholars Journal of Education, Humanities and Literature
Kiswahili is a very important language in Kenya. It is both a national and official language in the republic of Kenya. However, there are concerns that the poor performance in Kiswahili in national examinations is partially attributed to the laxity in the enforcement of the school language policy. The objective of the study was to assess how the motivation, structure and enforcement of the school language policy impacts on the use of Kiswahili within the school setting, The study was conducted in 30 out of 300 public secondary schools found in Bungoma County. The respondents were 360 form three students, 90 teachers of Kiswahili and 30 principals. Stratified, purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used to sample the target groups. The questionnaire, FGD guide and document analysis guide were used to collect data. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics which included the use of frequencies, percentages and narrations. The study established that the sampled s...
In the Kenyan education system, Kiswahili is taught as compulsory and examinable subject at primary and secondary schools. This study sought to find out the influence of students' attitudes towards the implementation of Kiswahili curriculum at secondary level in Igembe South District. The study employed descriptive survey research design where the target population was 2,400 form four secondary school students from all 24 public secondary schools in Igembe South District, Meru County, Kenya. Data was collected through questionnaires from thirteen (13) students who were selected using simple random sampling method. The findings revealed that secondary school students in Igembe South District have a negative attitude towards Kiswahili as a subject which affects it implementation. The study recommends that the school administration and the Kiswahili subject teachers should find ways of helping students cultivate positive attitude towards Kiswahili through drama competitions in Kiswahili, poetry competitions in Kiswahili, taking students to theatres which show Kiswahili plays, encouraging students to join Kiswahili clubs such as journalism, debating, and young writers in Kiswahili.
Linguistic Realities in Kenya: A Preliminary Survey
The present paper investigates the linguistic realities of Kenya. In this multilingual country every language is not equal in status. Broadly, there are three language groups in Kenya, namely Bantu, Nilotic and Cushitic, and each group includes more than five languages which makes Kenya as a multilingual country with about forty two languages. Kiswahili, an indigenous language, is a national language of Kenya, and it is mainly used in schools and universities along with English as a medium of instruction. Under linguistic hegemony minor and lesser known languages have often been neglected inside and outside the country. However, they have been serving as a marker of identity among the ethnic community in the country. The linguistic diversity in Kenya is a boon for a field linguist but misinformed politicians and education policy makers are deliberately forgetting this language heritage. This paper will not only discuss the challenges that these languages are facing but also give suggestions to revive the linguistic culture in the country.
KELVIN D TOBIAS , 2014
As students, from our innermost feelings we thank our almighty God for his joy and grace of being with us since the beginning of our studies up to date where we are graduating in our degree program. We would like to appreciate spiritual and financial support from our parents since we started our studies up to now. May Almighty God bless them and give them long life. Furthermore, we would like to recognize and appreciate our supervisor Mr. Mpalanzi, Jacob Stephan, for his academic support to us since we started working for research proposal and report writing. Fairly, he used his golden time in advising us concerning our study. For real he made us competent in this field of research. We would like to thank Regional Administrative Officer of Iringa and Iringa Municipality for giving us permission to collect data concerning our study in schools. We also thank the Head Teachers, English Language Teachers and their pupils from these primary schools; Ngome, Tumaini, Mkimbizi and Highland also parents for their positive contribution to our study as they made us to obtain concrete data to produce this report. Additionally, we thank the University of Iringa members especially Department of Education for their advices to us. Also we thank our sister in law Mama John Chacha (Kichere’s wife), our maids Anna and Ivon Mweya for their delicious meals they prepared for us all the time when preparing this report.
An investigation into language attitudes of secondary school students in Zimbabwe
Zambezia, 1990
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF the role that attitudes play in language education, planning and development has been noted by researchers in Africa and elsewhere. To date there have been very few documented studies on language attitudes in Zimbabwe. This present study was inspired by previous work carried out by Ngara (1982), Mparutsa (1986), and Chiwome and Thondhlana (1989). Ngara examined the attitudes to English and Shona of 60 Shona-speaking students in Form III at three different schools. Hofman (1977) writing earlier, felt able to categorize language attitudes into intrinsic and extrinsic value systems, noting the ambivalence with which the dominant language, English, was viewed by first language (LI) Shona speakers. But, as Ngara notes, the liberation war radicalized African politics and Zimbabweans became increasingly aware of language as a symbol of culture and nationalism. While English is still regarded as the language of officialdom and education, there is an increasingly positive attitude towards the use and the value of Shona (Ngara, 1982, 24-6). Mparutsa (1986), in an unpublished study of 100 Harare residents, found that, although English was seen as the language of success, a high proportion of the respondents would like to see Shona used more widely. Similarly, Chiwome and Thondhlana (1986), in their interviews with secondary-school teachers and students, reported that, while many students chose to do English at 'O' level, they often felt that they could express themselves better in Shona. * This article is based on a paper originally given at the Socio-linguistics in Africa Conference, University of the Witwatersrand, Jan.-Feb. 1990 to be published in R. Herbert (ed.), Language and Society in Africa: The Theory and Practice ofSociolinguistics (Johannesburg, Witwatersrand Univ. Press). ' Kwayedza is a Shona-language newspaper with an Ndebele supplement.