The use of an African language as language of instruction at university level : the example of Kiswahili department at the University of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania (original) (raw)

Language is an important tool for daily communication between one individual and another. It plays vital roles in our daily lives, for example, it has played and continues to play an important function in learning and teaching processes (Senkoro 2004b). Since language enables teaching and learning activities to be well accomplished, both teachers and learners should be familiar with the language which is used. If learners and even teachers are incompetent in the language which is used as a medium of instruction, then the learning process cannot take place effectively (Malekela 2004). In this case, language can simultaneously play conflicting roles in the educational sphere. It can be a factor in either providing or withholding access to education.