Abstract
Abstract: This study focuses on the continuity and/or discontinuity of language and educational policies related to the teaching of French as a foreign language in Kenya from 1963 to 2017. As a learner and teacher of French in secondary school for several years, we have observed changes in relation to the place of this language at the secondary school level, hence the interest in the Kenyan language and education policies. The objectives of the study were as follows: 1. To identify the languages of instruction as evidenced in the various educational reports and at the same time identify the languages continually discussed in these reports. 2. To specify the functions of each of these languages taught in Kenyan schools. 3. To identify the terms and/or expressions used in the education reports, which refer to the prestige of French. This study was based on the human capital and economics of education theory developed by Grin (1999), which explores the relationship between language and remuneration. Data collection for the study was carried out by means of questionnaires administered to teachers of French and heads of secondary schools where French is offered as a subject in the counties of Vihiga, Kakamega, Kisumu, Mombasa and Nairobi, and from education reports on language policy, for the period 1963 to 2017. Content analysis was done qualitatively and quantitatively. The study identified the languages of instruction from the educational reports for the stated period and established that there is continuity and discontinuity of the Kenyan language and education policies in relation to these languages. The study also established the specific function (s) of each of these languages as well the terms and/or expressions used in the education reports that refer to the prestige of French. The results of this study would bring, on the part of the decision-makers of the country's language and educational policies, education specialists as well as teachers of French, elements of reflection and of the revalorization of French in the Kenyan education system. Keywords: Continuity, discontinuity, French as a foreign language, language and education policy
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