How Tanzanian Universities Can Respond to Increasing Market Demands of Specialized Forms of English Language Learning and Communication Skills

Abstract

English language and communications skills have undergo tremendous changes in the recent years globally.Increasingly, people realise that they need English language and communication skills not only in employment butalso in full participation in social and political discourses, and Information and Communication Technology. Studieshave shown that while learners have the motivation and innate ability to learn English, there is lack of requisiteopportunities to learn and practice the language. This is because many English language learning proficiencyprogrammes especially in Tanzania are unstructured and not tailored to learners’ particular interests; this is inaddition to using methodologies that emphasize on teaching about language instead of teaching language use. Thecurrent study therefore sought to explore the roles in which universities in Tanzania could play to address the risingmarket demand of English language proficiency programmes with the aim of providing outreach services andgenerate revenue. Face to face interviews, telephone conversations, focus group discussion, questionnaires, anddocumentary review were carried out during data collection. The findings show that the demand for Englishlanguage proficiency programmes in Tanzania is strong. Similarly, the assessment of motivation and expectationindicates that availability of professional teachers and practical sessions, fair fee structure, and learners’ passion forlearning the language were key drivers behind attending the programme. This implies that English languageproficiency is a potential niche market which Tanzanian universities could exploit to meet the rising languagedemands and at the same time generate the much required income.