Abstract
The focus of this study was to examine students and teachers attitude towards multilingualism in the selected primary school of Bale and west Arsi zone. The study employed mixed research method. On the basis of this eight primary schools from Goba, Robe, Shashemene and Ginir town were selected as a sample schools. Purposive sampling technique was employed to select schools, students’ grade level, teachers and community members, whereas random sampling was chosen to select students. In total of 377 (Grade 7 and 8) students and 48 language teachers filled the questionnaire survey and 8 focus group discussions was conducted among teachers. In order to get detailed information the researchers employed an individual interview with 16 community members. Mixed data analysis method is selected in reporting and analyzing the result. The data collected through interview and focus group discussion qualitatively analyzed. However, questionnaires are analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively ( average mean and standard deviation, independent t-test and partial correlations) because the questioners organized both open and close-ended question types. DOI: 10.7176/JLLL/86-02 Publication date: February 28 th 2022
Highlights
Background of the StudyBefore 1970’s most peoples to be bilingual or multilingual is considered as aberration and a deficit for social, economic and political development
The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) government’s Education and Training Policy (1994) stated the following core points regarding language use: 1. Bearing in mind the pedagogical advantage of the child and the rights of ethnic groups to develop their languages, primary education will be given in the ethnic languages 2
Conclusion This study was designed to assess students and teachers attitude towards multilingualism in selected primary schools of Bale and West Arsi zone
Summary
Background of the StudyBefore 1970’s most peoples (people in Europe and North America who speak a ‘big’ language) to be bilingual or multilingual is considered as aberration and a deficit for social, economic and political development. Language diversity of one sort or another is held to cause the retardation of development, both political and economic. Edwards (1994) explained that even if above 5,000 languages are spoken in our world only a quarter of all states (less than 40 countries) recognize more than one language Even in those countries in which two or more varieties have legal status, one language is usually predominant, or has regional limitations, or carries with it disproportionate amounts of social, economic and political power. The same to gender, students grade level (52.7% from Grade 7 and 47.3% were Grade 8) and medium of instruction (50.4 % who taught in Amharic and 49.6 % were Afan Oromo) get equivalent representations in the sample distributions This was done purposively by the researchers to compare their mean difference and to show the significance of gender, mother tongue and medium of instruction on respondents’ attitude to multilingualism. The big difference observed on students mother tongue (Amharic n=207, 52.9 %; Afan Oromo - n=145, 37.1 %; Both Amharic and Afan Oromo- n=35, 9 % and the remaining scored others like Tigrigna, Somali, Gamo and Wolayita)
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